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BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 

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THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


CONSTITUTION 


QUOTATIONS     FF\OM     THE      REGISTER^ 


Oregon  Pioneer  Association  ; 


TOGETHER    WITH 


THE   ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK,    REMARKS    OF 
GOV.  L.  F.  GKOVEB,  AT  HE-UNION  JUNE,  1874, 


OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTEREST. 


SALEJtf,   OREGON: 
E.  M.  WAITE,  BOOK   AND  JOB  PRINTER. 

1875. 


F 


.074 


CONSTITUTION 


OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION. 


We,  the  members  of  th.e  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION,  do  hereby  adopt 
this  Constitution  as  the  fundamental  law  by  which  the  proceedings  of  this  Asso 
ciation  shall  be  governed. 

ARTICLE    I. 

This  organization  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  OREGON  PIONEER  AS 
SOCIATION. 

ARTICLE    II. 

The  objects  of  the  Association  shall  be  to  collect,  from  living  witnesses,  such 
facts  relating  to  the  Pioneers  and  history  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  as  the  As 
sociation  may  deem  worthy  of  preservation,  and  to  promote  social  intercourse 
among  its  members. 

ARTICLE    III. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  consist  of  President,  Vice  President, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  who  shall  form  the  Executive  Board  ;  and  a  Board  of 
five  Directors,including  the  President  and  Vice  President,  who  shall  be  ex-officio 
members  of  the  same.  All  officers  of  the  Association  shall  hold  their  respective 
places  for  one  year,  or  until  their  successors  shall  have  been  elected  as  hereinafter 
provided. 

ARTICLE    IV. 

The  President  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Association,  and  in  case  of 
his  absence  or  inability  so  to  act,  the  Vice  President  shall  preside.  The  Presi- 


4  CONSTITUTION. 

dent,  with  the  concurrent  opinion  of  a  majority  of  the  Executive  Board,  shall 
have  power  to  call  special  meetings  whenever,  in  his  judgment,  the  best  inter 
ests  of  the  Association  shall  demand  it,  countersigning  all  calls  for  the  same  ; 
also,  all  orders  drawn  on  the  Treasurer  by  the  Secretary,  and  perform  such  other 
duties  as  the  Association  may,  by  resolution,  impose  upon  him. 

ARTICLE   V. 

The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  correct  record  of  all  proceedings  of  the  Associa 
tion,  sign  all  orders  drawn  upon  the  Treasurer ;  also,  all  calls  for  meetings  ; 
shall  file  copies  of  all  letters  written  by  himself  on  special  business,  touching 
the  objects  of  the  Association,  and  faithfully  preserve  all  communications 
which  he  may  receive  relating  to  the  Pioneers  and  history  of  the  Territory  of 
Oregon,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  shall  be  imposed  upon  him  by  resolu 
tion  at  the  meetings  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

The  Treasurer  shall  receive,  and  safely  keep,  all  moneys  belonging  to  the 
Association,  pay  all  orders  properly  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary,  and 
keep  books  for  the  correct  statement  of  his  accounts. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to  call  meetings  of  the  Executive  officers 
and  Board  of  Directors,  at  such  time  and  place  as  he  may  designate,  and  the 
Secretary  shall  notify  the  Directors  for  what  purpose  they  are  to  convene.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Directors  to  select  the  place  for  holding  the  annual  re 
unions  of  the  Association ;  to  receive  and  examine  the  annual  reports  of  the 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  and  have  power  to  require  semi-annual  reports  from 
the  same,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  by  resolution  in  annual  session 
be  imposed  upon  them. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

All  immigrants,  male  and  female,  who  reside  within  the  bounds  of  the  orig- 
nal  Territory  of  Oregon,  under  joint  occupancy  of  the  country  by  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  and  those  who  settled  within  said  Territory  prior  to 
the  first  day  of  January,  1853,  are  eligible  to  become  members  of  this  Associa 
tion. 

ARTICLE    IX. 

All  persons  having  the  qualifications  set  for  h  in  the  preceding  Article,  choos 
ing  to  become  members  of  this  Association,  are  required  to  subscribe  their 


CONSTITUTION.  5 

names  in  the  Register  kept  for  that  purpose,  or  may  forward  the  same  to  the 
Secretary  to  be  recorded,  giving  the  date  of  his  or  her  arrival  in  the  Territory  of 
Oregon,  where  from,  native  State  or  country,  and  year  of  birth,  and  pay  an  ad- 
mission  fee  of  one  dollar  ($1.00)  and  a  yearly  due  of  like  amount  at  each  an 
nual  meeting  ;  Provided,  that  no  admission  fee  or  yearly  due  be  exacted  from 
female  members  of  the  Association  ;  but  all  members  are  required  to  furnish 
the  Secretary  with  their  photographs  on  becoming  members,  or  as  soon  there 
after  as  convenient,  the  same  to  be  arranged  in  groups  to  accord  with  the  date 
of  arrival  of  each  year's  immigration,  and  to  be  preserved  with  the  memoirs  of 
the  Association. 

ARTICLE   X. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Board  to  select  annually  a  Chaplain, 
Occasional  and  other  Orators,  Chief  Marshal,  and  such  subordinate  officers  and 
invited  guests  of  the  Association,  as  in  its  judgment  may  be  proper  and  neces 
sary  for  the  occasion  of  each  annual  re-union. 

ARTICLE    XI. 

The  time  of  holding  the  annual  meetings  shall  be  June  I5th,  except  when 
that  date  falls  on  Sunday,  in  which  event  the  re-union  shall  take  place  on  the 
following  Tuesday.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  to  give  at  least 
sixty  days'  notice  of  the  same,  through  the  medium  of  the  public  press,  stating 
the  time  and  place  designated  for  such  purpose. 

ARTICLE     XII. 

The  officers  of  the  Association  shall  be  elected  by  ballot  at  the  annual  meet 
ings.  The  candidates  having  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  shall  be  by  the 
President  declared  duly  elected.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to 
appoint  two  members  to  act  as  tellers,  and  conjointly  with  the  Secretary  and  his 
assistant,  shall  receive  and  canvass  the  votes. 

ARTICLE    XIII. 

The  Association  shall,  at  each  annual  meeting,  make  an  appropriation  out  of 
moneys  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  sufficient  to  enable  the  Sec 
retary  to  provide  the  officers  of  the  Association  with  suitable  books,  stationery, 
and  stamped  envelopes,  as  may  be  necessary  to  enable  them  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  to  meet  all  outstanding  indebtedness  or  in. 
cidental  expenses  incurred  in  conducting  the  business  of  the  Association. 
2 


O  CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE    XIV. 

This  Constitution,  defining  the  objects  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  the 
powers  and  duties  of  its  officers  and  members,  shall  not  be  changed  or  amended 
except  by  a  two-third's  vote  of  the  members  voting  in  the  affirmative  at  the  an 
nual  meetings  of  the  Association  ;  but  the  members  may,  by  resolution,  require 
the  President  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three  members  to  revise  and  report  an 
amended  copy  of  this  Constitution  at  the  annual  meeting  next  ensuing,  and  if 
the  copy  so  reported,  or  any  Article  or  Section  thereof,  shall  receive  two-thirds 
of  the  votes  cast,  it  shall  become  valid  as  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Associa 
tion. 

ARTICLE    XV, 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  to  procure  from  the  author  of  each  an 
nual  address,  a  manuscript  copy,  the  same  to  be  preserved  with  the  archives  of 
the  Association  ;  also,  manuscript  or  printed  copies  of  each  regular  address  de 
livered  by  special  invitation  of  the  Board  ;  and  all  papers  read  before,  or  pre 
sented  to  the  Association,  to  be  in  like  manner  preserved. 

ARTICLE    XVI. 

The  Association,  in  its  deliberations,  shall  be  governed  by  rules  made  in  com 
formity  with  parliamentary  usage. 


QTJOTA.TIOISrS 

FEOM    THE 

JOURNAL  AND  KEGISTER, 

WITH     APPENDED     REMARKS. 


There  had  existed,  for  a  number  of  years,  a  growing  desire  on 
the  part  of  a  goodly  number  of  the  early  immigrants  who  settled 
the  Wallamet  and  other  vallies  of  Oregon  Territory,  to  organize 
an  Association,  the  object  of  which  should  be  to  collect  reminis 
cences  relating  to  the  Pioneers  and  early  history  of  the  Territory; 
to  promote  social  intercourse,  and  cultivate  the  life-enduring 
friendships  that  in  many  instances  had  been  formed  while  making 
the  long,  perilous  journey  of  the  wide,  wild  plains,  which  separa 
ted  the  western  boundary  of  civilization  thirty  years  ago,  from 
the  land  which  they  had  resolved  to  reclaim. 

Accordingly,  a  few  individuals  signed  a  call  for  a  meeting  of 
Pioneers,  to  be  held  at  Butteville,  Marion  County.  After  seve 
ral  preliminary  meetings,  an  organization  was  effected  Oct.  i8th, 
1873,  by  adopting  a  constitution,  and  electing  the  following  Ex 
ecutive  Board : 

Hon.  F.  X.  Mathieu,  President,  J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  President, 
W.  H.  Rees,  Secretary,  and  Eli  C.  Cooley,  Treasurer. 


QUOTATIONS  FROM  JOURNAL  AND  REGISTER. 

Their  first  annual  re-union  was  held  at  the  same  place  on  the 
nth  of  November  following,  in  commemoration  of  the  i6th  an 
niversary  of  the  adoption,  by  the  people,  of  the  State  Constitu 
tion.  There  were  in  attendance  at  this  first  meeting,  some  500 
persons.  Ex-Gov.  Geo.  L.  Curry  delivered  the  Occasional  Ad 
dress.  Speeches  were  made  by  Gen.  Joel  Palmer,  Hon.  S.  F. 
Chadwick,  and  Dr.  Wm.  Keil. 

The  Pioneer  ladies  had  prepared  bountifully  for  the  feast,  and 
throughout  the  entertainment,  all  who  chose  to  accept  their  hos 
pitality,  Avere  made  welcome  at  the  festive  board. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  annual  meeting,  the  Pioneer  Register 
contained  the  names  of  45  members. 


The  second  annual  re-union  of  Pioneers  took  place  at  Aurora, 
Marion  County,  June  i6th  1874.  The  programme  for  the  occa 
sion  was  promptly  executed  by  W.  J.  Herren,  Esq.,  Chief  Mar 
shal,  assisted  by  his  aids.  After  the  procession,  numbering  some 
1500,  had  been  comfortably  seated  in  the  Aurora  Park,  Hon.  F. 
X.  Mathieu,  President  of  the  Association,  called  the  meeting  to 
order,  opening  the  exercises  in  a  brief  and  very  appropriate 
address: 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  :— In 
opening  the  exercises  of  our  second  annual  re-union,  permit  me  to  congratulate 
you,  one  and  all,  upon  this  happy  meeting  of  long-cherished  friends--the  fa^ 
thers  and  mothers  of  Oregon's  earliest  Christian  civilization. 

I  see  around  me  a  goodly  number  of  faces  that  were  familiar  to  me  more  than 
thirty  years  ago.  To  have  seen  them  at  that  time,  in  the  full  vigor  of  man 
and  womanhood,  buoyed  up  only  by  their  firm  resolves,  and  looking,  long  years 
in  the  future,' for  the  rewards  which  their  posterity  are  now  enjoying,  you  would 
have  beheld  as  true  a  type  of  the  Western  Pioneer  as  ever  followed  the  course 
of  the  setting  sun. 

I  am  truly  proud  to  say  in  the  presence  of  the  sea  of  upturned  (aces  before  me 


QUOTATIONS    FROM    JOURNAL    AND    REGISTER.  9 

here  to-day,  that  although  Old  Time  has  brought  his  many  years  of  toil,  with 
privations  and  hardships  incident  to  frontier  life,  and  has  given  to  many  of  our 
friends  a  venerable  appearance,  they  are  nevertheless  the  same  honored  and 
honorable  Pioneers  to-day.  I  have  done. 

Then  introduced  Rev.  J.  L.  Parrish,  Chaplain,  who  invoked 
the  Divine  Blessing  upon  the  Pioneers  who  had  laid  the  founda 
tion  of  the  thirty-third  State  of  the  American  Union  in  the  wilds 
of  Oregon  Territory  long  years  ago,  and  upon  the  State  and  her 
people  for  all  coming  time. 

Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick,  Secretary  of  State,  delivered  before  the 
Association  the  second  annual  address,  which  was  replete  with 
historical  facts  and  incidents  .of  Pioneer  Life  in  the  Territory  of 
Oregon. 

He  was  followed  by  His  Excellency,  Hon.  L.  F.  Grover,  in  a 
very  able  disquisition  upon  the  early  history  of  the  Northwest 
Coast,  and  especially  the  Oregon  controversy  which  terminated 
in  the  definite  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  June  15,  1846. 

These  addresses  will  be  preserved  with  the  archives  of  the 
Association. 

During  the  afternoon,  brief  addresses  were  delivered  by  Rev. 
J.  L.  Parrish,  Col.  J.  L.  Meek  and  A.  F.  Davidson,  Esq.,  which 
Were  heartily  applauded. 

At  6  P.  M.,  two  large  halls,  furnished  with  bands  of  music  and 
all  necessary  appointments  for  the  amusement  of  the  younger  por 
tion  of  the  assembly,  were  thrown  open  under  the  direction  of 
the  Chief  Marshal. 

At  7  P.  M.  the  members,  with  invited  guests,  assembled  at 
Pioneer  Hall  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  annual  election  of 
officers,  and  transacting  the  general  business  for  the  ensuing  year. 
The  balloting  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  following  officers  for 
the  year  ending  June  i6th,  1875  : 


to  QUOTATIONS  FROM  JOURNAL  AND  REGISTER. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Grim,  President,  E.  C.  Cooley,  Vice  President, 
W.  H.  Rees,  Secretary,  and  Hon.  F.  X.  Mathieu,  Treasurer. 

The  President  and  Vice  President,  conjointly  with  the  Hons. 
J.  B.  McClain,  Jos.  Watt  and  W.  J.  Herren,  form  the  Board  of 
Directors. 

The  VHIth  Article  of  the  Constitution  was  amended  by  stri 
king  out  the  words,  "  and  are  now  citizens  of  Oregon,"  for  the 
purpose  of  making  eligible  to  membership  all  Pioneers  who  may 
reside  anywhere  within  the  bounds  of  the  original  Territory  of 
Oregon. 

Hons.  E.  N.  Cooke,  J.  M. 'Bacon  and  G.  W.  Dimick  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  confer  with  the  Pioneer  and  Historical 
Society,  whose  place  of  business  is  located  at  Astoria,  with  a  view 
of  uniting  under  one  constitution  the  two  organizations.  Also,  a 
committee,  of  which  W.  J.  Herren  is  Chairman,  to  revise  the 
Constitution,  and  prepare  a  code  of  By-Laws  for  the  Association. 


Perhaps  no  event  which  occurred  in  the  early  history  of  the 
Territory,  occasioned  more  rejoicing  among  the  Pioneers  than 
the  settlement  of  the  long  controverted  question  as  to  whether 
the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon  should  become 
subject  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  or  an  undisputed  Territory 
of  the  United  States.  The  final  settlement  of  the  vexed  ques 
tion  by  treaty  between  the  contending  powers,  occurred  June  15, 
1846.  Hence,  the  Association  has  resolved  to  set  apart  the  isth 
of  June  as  an  anniversary  day  for  the  re-union  of  Oregon  Pio 
neers. 

A  synoptical  glance  at  the  Register  will  serve  to  impart  to  dis 
tant  friends  information  not  unfrequently  asked  for. 

At  the  adjournment  of  the  second  annual  re-union,  the  Regis 
ter  contained  the  names  of  145  members,  male  and  female.  Since 


QUOTATIONS    FROM    JOURNAL    AND    REGISTER.  II 

that  time,  Pioneers  have  continued  steadily  to  forward  their 
names  to  the  Secretary,  and  the  Directors  and  other  authorized 
agents  in  different  localities  have  enrolled  a  goodly  number, 
whose  names  have  not  as*yet  been  returned  to  this  office.  It  will 
not  be  an  over  estimate  to  say  that  by  the  close  of  the  third  an 
nual  re-union  in  June  next,  the  Register  will  show  a  membership 
not  below  300. 

Col.  Jo.  L.  Meek  is  the  first  member  of  the  Association  who 
made  a  foot-print  within  the  boundaries  of  Oregon  Territory,  which 
occurred  in  1829  ;  came  to  the  Wallamet  Valley  in  1841  ;  is  a 
native  of  Virginia,  born  in  the  year  1810. 

Col.  L.  N.  English,  in  point  of  age,  is  father  of  the  Associa 
tion.  Arrived  in  Oregon  from  Missouri  in  the  year  1845.  A 
native  of  Maryland  ;  born  in  the  year  1792. 

Second  among  its  members,  as  to  age,  is  Father  Joseph  C. 
Geer,  who  arrived  in  the  Territory  in  1847,  from  Illinois  ;  is  a 
native  of  Connecticut  ;  year  of  birth,  1792. 

Geo.  Gay  came  to  the  Territory  from  California,  and  settled 
in  the  Wallamet  Valley  in  1835  ;  is  a  native  of  England,  born  in 
1810. 

The  only  death  of  a  member  reported  since  the  organization, 
is  that  of  Edward  Jeffries,  which  occurred  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska, 
Dec.  12,  1874,  while  en  route  to  revisit  his  native  land.  Mr. 
Jeffries  arrived  at  Vancouver  on  board  Her  Majesty's  sloop  of 
war,  "  Modeste,"  from  England,  his  native  country,  in  the  year 
1845  ;  was  born  near  Liverpool  in  1819. 

There  are  other  features  of  interest  to  the  Pioneers,  connected 
with  the  organization,  but  with  the  Constitution,  the  quotations 
from  the  Journal  and  Register,  with  a  few  remarks  herewith  sub 
mitted,  it  is  believed  will  be  quite  sufficient  to  inform  our  friends 

3 


12  QUOTATIONS    FROM    JOURNAL    AND    REGISTER. 

generally  in  regard  to  the  useful  purposes  which  the  Association 
is  designed  to  accomplish. 

The  Board  has  thought  it  proper  to  suggest  for  the  considera 
tion  of  the  members  at  their  ensuing  annual  meeting,  the  propri 
ety  of  gradually  providing  a  fund  to  be  set  apart  for  the  relief  of 
the  aged  and  helpless  members  who  may  need  the  kind  offices  of 
humane  care,  and  to  be  made  applicable  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
a  humble  stone  to  mark  the  last  resting  place  of  unfortunate  Pio 
neers.  Nor  can  we  too  earnestly  urge  upon  the  members  the 
importance  of  their  assistance  in  reducing  to  writing  such  remi 
niscence  as  they  may  choose  to  select  from  their  bountiful  store. 
Biographical  sketches  of  deceased  Pioneers,  incidents  of  Indian 
wars,  anecdotes,  crossing  the  plains,  wanderings  in  the  moun 
tains  and  gold  fields.  In  truth,  the  Pioneers  who  settled  the 
many  vallies  of  Oregon  Territory  are  in  possession  of  much  the 
larger  part  of  her  correct  unpublished  annals,  as  they  have  trans 
pired  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  her  civilization.  For  instance, 
our  old  and  esteemed  Pioneer  friend,  Gen.  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  has 
agreed  to  furnish  a  paper  which  he  will  present  to  the  Pioneers  at 
their  annual  meeting  in  June  next,  narrating  many  thrilling  inci 
dents  of  that  memorable  journey  across  the  bleak,  cheerless  plains, 
which  he  performed  in  company  with  the  late  gallant  Dr.  Whit 
man,  during  the  winter  of  1842-3.  All  papers  relating  to  the 
Pioneers  and  early  history  of  Oregon  Territory,  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Secretary,  are  properly  filed  with  the  archives,  and  subject 
only  to  the  order  of  the  Association  in  annual  session. 

The  Board  of  Managers  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  at 
their  meeting  in  November  last,  passed  a  resolution,  tendering 
to  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  the  use  of  their  Fair  Grounds 
and  buildings  for  holding  the  annual  re-union  in  June  next. 
These  grounds,  situated  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  capital 
of  the  State,  offer  at  once  every  necessary  convenience  for  the 


QUOTATIONS    FROM   JOURNAL   AND    REGISTER.  13 

accommodation  of  the  Pioneers  and  the  public  generally,  who  are 
invited  to  attend.  This  munificent  offer  of  the  Agricultural  So 
ciety  has  been  accepted  by  the  Directors  of  the  Association. 


It  is  eminently  appropriate  that  the  men  and  women  who  en 
countered  the  perils  and  hardships  of  the  long  journey  of  two 
thousand  miles  in  crossing  the  wild,  arid  plains  that  intervene 
between  their  eastern  homes  and  the  then  no  less  wild  vallies 
which  they,  unaided  by  any  government,  settled  and  reclaimed, 
should,  as  year  after  year  shall  roll  over  their  adopted  land,  as 
semble  themselves  together  on  the  morning  of  the  i5th  of  June, 
to  interchange  kindly  greetings,  return  thanks  and  rejoice  to 
gether  for  the  manifold  blessings  which,  through  their  toiling  ef 
forts  to  some  extent,  will  descend  to  their  children  and  children's 
children,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  down  through  the  returning  cycles  of 
all  the  years  to  come. 

Many  of  the  early  Pioneers  of  Oregon  have  passed  away,  and 
those  who  remain  soon  will  have  passed  their  own  human  dura 
tion.  But  ere  the  early  fathers  and  mothers  shall  have  bid  a  final 
adieu  to  their  chosen  land,  let  them  not  fail  to  leave  in  the  ar 
chives  of  our  Pioneer  Association,  at  least  some  of  the  many  deeds 
of  love  and  valor  performed  by  our  departed  friends.  How  well 
do  we  remember  when  they  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  us  in 
those  trying  times,  when  small  beginnings  and  big  hearts  were  the 
rule  throughout  this  western  land. 

To  our  old  Pioneer  friends  who  now  reside  in  Washington  and 
Idaho  Territories,  we  are  pleased  to  say:  the  united  voice  of  our 
members  has  been  heard  in  the  land,  and  it  bids  you  welcome  to 
membership  in  our  social  band.  And  it  is  the  intention  to  make 
our  annual  re-unions  alike  enjoyable  and  instructive  for  both  the 
old  and  the  young.  We  shall  also  be  pleased  to  give  our  children 


14  QUOTATIONS    FROM   JOURNAL   AND    REGISTER. 

and  friends  a  hearty  welcome  on  the  occasion  of  each  returning 
jubilee — they  who  will  soon  be  called  upon  to  fill  the  places  now 
filled  by  the  Oregon  Pioneers.  Faithfully  may  they  labor  to  im 
prove  and  protect  the  priceless  inheritance  bequeathed  by  their 
progenitors,  steadily  advancing  under  the  benign  influence  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  in  the  refulgent  light  of  progressive 
science,  the  guiding  star  of  truth. 

WILLARD  H.   REES, 
BUTTEVILLE,  Jan.  ist,  1875.  Secretary. 


ADDRESS. 


BT   HON.   S.   F.    CHADWICK. 


PIONEERS  OF  OREGON — LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN — FELLOW  CITIZENS: 
We  welcome  this  occasion  with  more  than  ordinary  interest.  We  have  come  to 
gether  at  this  time,  as  friends  and  neighbors,  to  rejoice  over  the  achievements  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Oregon,  and  to  celebrate  her  final  deliverance  from  the 
grasp  of  a  foreign  power  once  contending  for  her  possession,  and  the  settlement 
of  her  title  without  insurrection  or  war.  As  pioneers  of  Oregon,  we  meet  to 
enjoy  the  amenities  of  social  intercourse  and  to  break  bread  together.  The 
Great  Pioneer  of  all,  He  who  was,  is  and  ever  shall  be,  has  so  constituted  us, 
that  we  can  sympathize  with  each  other;  work  for  each  other;  delight  in  the 
prosperity  of  one  another;  bear  each  other's  trials  and  misfortunes;  connect  in 
memory  the  old  with  the  new;  celebrate  a  whole  pioneer  life  in  one  day,  and 
thus  unite  in  one  scene  of  pleasure  the  past  with  the  present.  Life  is  but  one 
long  day  of  toil,  and  man  is  ever  blindly  delving  into  the  hidden  mysteries  of 
the  future;  night  is  but  a  moment  of  suspense  for  dreams  or  reflection; — repose 
without  rest:  the  morrow  comes  bearing  the  effects  of  yesterday's  burden  upon 
man,  and  moves  him  and  his  fellows  on  and  on  in  the  line  of  mutual  action. 

We  meet  to  recount  and  review  the  years  of  our  experience  here,  and  we  may 
with  propriety  cast  our  eyes  over  the  debit  and  credit  columns  of  the  table  of 
our  social  and  business  intercourse.  Ciphers  which  add  nothing  to  the  result, 
and  which  are  ornamental  only,  may  have  crept  into  this  record.  But  there  is 
no  evidence  of  it  before  us.  Each  one  of  you  by  your  cheerful  presence  confesses 
to  a  value  and  shews  an  abhorrence  of  everything  that  does  not  add  in  a  sub 
stantial  manner  to  your  comfort  and  prosperity. 

Nature  smiling  through  her  rills,  streams,  hills,  valleys  and  mountains,  greets 
us  this  morning  and  welcomes  us  to  partake  of  her  bountiful  hospitality.  How 
beautiful  she  is.  Clothed  in  her  attractive  habiliments  of  spring;  in  her  tender, 
strong,  but  gracious  reproduction  of  everything  in  her  kingdom  for  the  suste- 


l6  ADDRESS    OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

nance  of  man.     Here  are   flowers  of  every  hue  and  description,  filling  the  air 
with  fragrance;    the  woods  and  forests  are  made  attractive  by  the  shrill  notes  of 
nature's  sweet   songsters.     Spring,  in  all  her  beauty,  like  hope  in  its  innocent 
fullness,  charms  as  it  possesses  us,  filling  us  with  the   promise  of  offerings  the 
mind  craves,  and  bespeaks  the  approach  of  an  abundant  harvest  for  our  physical 
well-being;  a  season  of  plenty  for  the  husbandman,  his  fields,  flocks  and  herds; 
a  season  in  which,  with  a  light  heart,  he  may  go  forth  to  the  hills,  valleys   and 
fields   and   welcome  this   plenteous   out-pouring  from  the  liberal  hand  of  the 
Great  Giver  of  all  things.     By  the  return  of  these  seasons  we  are  reminded  of  the 
care  and  provision  that  Nature  makes  for  us.     By  the  aid  of  her  wealth  we  are 
required  and  enabled  in  one  season  to  prepare  for  the  next.     With  gratitude  for 
all  these  blessings  we  enter  upon  this  day  as  a  day  of  jubilee.     The  object  of 
this  Society,  now  perfectly  organized   with  a  large  membership,  is  to  bring  to 
gether  in  annual  reunion  the  pioneers  of  Oregon.     Is  th^re  an  institution  which 
should  have  greater  claims  upon  pioneers  than  that  which  unites  them  in  the 
grand  alliance  of  an  indestructable  brotherhood  ?     Through  your  privations  and 
sufferings   you  had  nothing  to  lead  or  guide  you  but  the  mysterious  hand  of 
Providence.     Should  you  not,  then,  before  starting  out  upon  that  journey  from 
which  none  shall  ever  return,  meet  as  often  as  possible  and  show  your  outfit  for 
the  unexplored  regions  beyond  the  present  scene  of  action.     To  do  this,  these 
meetings  are  necessary.     We  must  preserve  in  memory  and  in  history  the  names 
and  virtues  of  the  members  of  this  Association,  and  the  events,  great  and  small, 
through   which   our  beloved  Oregon,  both  as  a  Territory  and  as  a  State,  has 
passed.     We  must  weigh  in  the  scale  of  human  progress  one  year  with  another, 
We  must  array  the  living  on  one  side,  never  failing  to  place  those  who  are  gone 
forever  in  a  more  favorable  contrast  on  the  other.     It  is  at  the  domestic  hearth 
stone,  at  the  festive  board  and  in  the  promiscuous   gathering  that  the  weightier 
and  more  interesting  facts  are  brought  out.     It  is  there  where  the  mind  lingers 
the  longest,  and  where  friends  feel  the  strength  of  the  cord  that  binds  them  to 
gether.     How  valuable,  then,  is  this  day  to  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon.     Continue 
to  cultivate  it.     May  you  all  live  long  to  enjoy  its  annual  return.     Your  number 
will  not  increase  beyond  that  of  the  Pioneers.     Time  instead  of  adding  to  it, 
will  diminish  it.     When  one  is  taken  away  there  will  be  none  to  take  his  place. 
Indeed,  it  is  an  honor  to  be  reckoned  among  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon.     Your  po 
sition  is  an  enviable  one.     And  generation  after  generation  for  whom  your  work 
has  been  done,  may  well  but  vainly  crave  the  opportunity  to  enroll  their  names 
in  provisional  records  as  Pioneers,  and  upon  the  escutcheon  of  a  new  State  as  its 
founders.     They  will   regard  your   sacrifices  as  dross  compared  to  the  golden 
fame  that  is  yours  forever. 

Come,  then,  to  this  grand  repast.     You  who  are  bent  down  with  care  like  the 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    T.    CHADWICK.  17 

bow  when  it  is  strung  for  constant  use,  and  require  a  day  of  relaxation,  come! 
You  who  have  plodded  along  as  if  upon  an  endless  journey,  if  any  there  are,  step 
aside  now  and  join  these  festivities.  You  who  are  seeking  relief  from  constant 
application,  take  now  your  day  of  recreation.  All  who  can  should  contribute 
to  the  pleasures  of  this  occasion.  Remember  how  true  it  is  that  there  is  no  day 
of  jubilee  for  the  idle  man. 

This  day,  the  1 5th  of  June,  chosen  for  this  re-union,  commemorates  an  im 
portant  event  in  the  history  of  Oregon.  The  question  of  title  to  all  the  territory 
lying  west  of  the  Stony  or  Rocky  Mountains,  and  between  the  parallels  of  lati 
tude  42  deg.  and  54  deg.  40  m.  was  a  serious  matter  of  dispute  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  for  years.  Both  great  Powers  claimed  all  of  Ore 
gon.  On  the  28th  of  October,  1818,  a  convention  of  joint  occupancy  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  was  signed  in  London.  In  1827  this  treaty 
of  joint  occupancy  was  renewed  with  the  privilege  to  either  party  of  abrogating 
it  after  one  year's  notice  to  the  other.  Under  this  condition  of  things,  Oregon 
began  to  be  settled  principally  by  Americans.  In  1844,  this  important  question 
of  title  to  Oregon  was  again  agitated.  The  probability  of  a  war  with  Great 
Britain  and  of  its  dire  consequences,  and  a  stern  determination  to  maintain  the 
title  to  Oregon,  disturbed  this  entire  nation.  Politicians  seized  upon  this  op 
portunity  to  test  public  sentiment  in  the  United  States  upon  this  exciting  subject. 
At  this  time  those  twin  sisters,  Texas  and  Oregon  were  brought  to  notice  by 
their  god-fathers,  the  Pioneers,  and  were  taken  up  at  once  and  cradled  in  the 
Baltimore  Presidential  Convention  of  that  year,  and  after  a  severe  struggle,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  by  their  votes  affirmed  their  legitimacy,  and  to-day 
they  salute  each  other  from  the  extreme  south  and  north  as  sisters  than  whom 
there  are  none  more  beautiful  in  our  Republic.  Official  notice  that  the  treaty  of 
joint  occupancy  should  cease  was  given  by  the  United  Stales.  Negotiations  fol 
lowed  for  the  peaceful  settlement  of  the  title,  which  terminated  on  the  I5th  of 
June,  A.  D.  1846,  by  the  signing  of  the  treaty  in  regard  to  limit  westward  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  by  the  respective  plenipotentiaries  of  these  two  great 
nations.  Thus  this  load  of  anxiety  was  removed  and  a  feeling  of  joy  and  security 
pervaded  the  whole  country.  But  none  were  more  overjoyed  by  the  removal  of 
this  weight  from  them  than  that  little  band  of  Pioneers  who  were  a  part  and 
parcel  of  the  title  of  Oregon.  When  the  news  of  the  signing  of  this  treaty  was 
received  in  this  Territory,  it  came  as  a  bright  star  of  hope.  Those  who  before 
could  not  see  through  the  darkness  that  almost  led  to  dispair  could  now  behold 
the  light  descending  along  the  very  line  of  time  itself.  That  great  cloud  of 
doubt  that  had  stood  over  this  infant  Territory  so  long  ready  to  burst  at  any 
moment  and  deluge  the  country  with  blood,  had  now  by  the  gentle  and  ever 
bloodless  hand  of  compromise,  been  rolled  beyond  your  limits  and  dissipated 


l8  ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

into  light  by  which  the  trail  of  the  Pioneer  could  be  seen  as  an  attractive  road 
to  the  immigrant.  The  consummation  of  this  great  event  occurred  on  this  day, 
and  well  may  you  celebrate  it.  It  is  your  day.  It  is  your  act. 

This  news  did  not  reach  Oregon  for  several  months  after  its  publication  East. 
As  a  test  of  the  patriotism  of  the  American  sympathizers  here,  it  would  not  be 
out  of  the  way  to  mention  the  following  incident :  On  the  4th  of  July,  1846 — 
months  before  you  received  the  news  of  the  adoption  of  the  treaty  of  the  I5th 
of  June  preceding,  and  while  you  were  yet  ignorant  of  what  had  taken  place  in 
regard  to  Oregon — you  celebrated,  in  a  heavy  rain,  the  Anniversary  of  American 
Independence.  The  Oregon  Rangers,  a  military  company  organized  in  May 
previous,  were  out  in  force,  and  despite  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  acquit 
ted  themselves  creditably.  There  is  nothing  in  rain  to  deter  an  Oregonian  from 
pleasure  or  duty.  There  may  be  some  of  that  company  here  to-day.  This  cel 
ebration  was  not  for  display.  It  was  not  mere  pomp  and  parade  to  gratify  the 
applause  of  men,  for  this  small  band  embraced  a  good  portion  of  the  settlers. 
Nor  was  it  an  idle  pastime.  It  was  social  in  its  nature,  sincere  in  its  object 
and  eminently  patriotic.  These  Pioneers  were  repeating  for  the  purpose  of  pre 
serving,  the  traditions  of  their  fathers  in  a  land  which,  for  aught  they  knew, 
was  still  claimed  as  it  had  been,  by  Great  Britain,  and  liable  to  fall,  in  part  or 
wholly,  into  her  hands  through  the  skill  of  diplomacy,  or  by  the  arbitrament  of 
war.  What  a  4th  of  July  that  would  have  been  to  you,  had  you  but  known 
that  your  own  land — your  Oregon — had,  like  that  of  your  fathers,  been  conceded 
to  you  by  the  only  adverse  claimant  among  the  powers  of  the  earth;  that  the 
Government  of  your  fathers  was  now  yours,  and  that  the  day  you  were  celebra- 
.ting  was  legitmately  a  day  for  Oregon  After  all,  this  act  ought  to  stand  for  a 
victory  over  doubt.  The  battle  of  New  Orleans  was  fought  after  peace  had 
been  declared  but  before  the  fact  had  reached  the  contending  armies.  Was  it 
any  the  less  a  victory  over  the  surroundings?  We  allude  to  this  matter  in  no  in 
vidious  sense.  Our  Pioneers  of  other  nationalities  were  as  true  to  their  own 
countries;  and  those  of  Great  Britain  especially,  no  doubt  desired  the  scale  of 
title  to  turn  in  her  favor — a  natural  result  of  the  birth  and  education  of  the  sub 
ject  or  citizen,  no  matter  of  what  country. 

American  Pioneers  do  not  go  into  new  countries  to  open  the  way  for  citizens 
to  follow  with  military  strength  and  display .  Nations  bent  upon  the  acquisition 
of  territory  for  power  and  subjugation,  proclaimed  their  advances  into  foreign 
countries  by  the  noise  and  grandeur  of  invading  armies.  Death  and  destruction 
marked  their  policy  and  their  marches.  In  the  American  practice  we  some 
times  find  the  navigator  in  advance  of  the  landsman,  but  both  preceding  the 
soldier,  differing  in  these  particulars  from  the  custom  of  an  earlier  civilization. 


AbDRESS   OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  19 

The  real  Pioneer  of  America  has  been  the  landsman.  Daniel  Boon  is  the  type. 
Among  the  noblest  is  the  pioneer  of  Oregon,  whose  dependence  was  solely  upon 
his  own  resources  and  nature's  generous  gifts.  He  took  possession  of  the  land, 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his  labor  he  was  enabled  to  enlarge  his  es- 
tatesy  and  add  to  his  fortune.  In  the  natural  order  of  things,  based  on  a  pru 
dent  and  industrious  life,  and  the  gradual  increase  of  population  around  him,  he 
built  up  as  opportunity  offered,  not  only  the  rudiments,  but  a  high  order  of  so 
ciety  itself.  With  the  touch  of  the  skillful  hand  of  science  and  art  the  wilder 
ness  blossomed.  He  caused  "cities  to  rise  on  the  stations  of  fur  traders,  and 
and  agriculture  to  supercede  hunting  and  trapping."  There  was  nothing  in 
this  of  the  furious  rage  found  in  the  conqueror's  subjugation  of  a  people.  You 
achieved  more  than  he  who  conquers  by  the  strength  of  numbers  and  for  power 
only;  you  conquered  yourselves,  and  by  that  means  obtained  power,  without 
the  fear  of  losing  or  abusing  it;  That  power  made  you  what  you  were  in  your 
model  Republic  and  what  you  are  to-day.  You  were  possessed  of  a  knowledge 
of  the  source  of  strength  for  effective  purposes,  that  strength  which  lies  in  a 
conciousness  of  right  and  of  justice  towards  those  with  whom  you  deal;  a  sense  of 
mutual  dependence,  of  equal  standing  in  society,  disturbed  only  by  vicious  con 
duct;  and  a  willingness  to  perpetuate  life  and  discharge  its  various  duties  upon 
the  plane  of  reciprocity.  Individual  subjugation  by  the  individual  himself 
makes  the  man;  it  lessens  the  necessity  for  artificial  restraint,  and  for  the  enact 
ments  of  laws  to  enforce  obedience  to  principles  of  recititude.  This  is  your  in 
heritance,  and  your  countrymen  may  well  be  proud  of  your  example. 

But  the  Pioneer  has  his  day  in  which  he  lives  for  himself  alone.  He  is  re 
garded  as  a  stepping  stone  for  those  for  whom  he  periled  his  life.  He  must  die 
before  he  is  honored.  This  proceeds  from  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  adventure 
in  others  is  never  looked  upon  with  favor  by  those  who  do  not  possess  it.  It  is 
so  with  the  genius  of  invention.  The  most  successful  in  both  cases  have  at 
some  time  been  regarded  as  visionary,  if  not  foolish.  We  need  not  consult  the 
history  of  Galileo,  or  of  the  many  martyrs  to  science  in  proof  of  this  fact.  The 
principle  is  found  ih  our  country  everywhere,  and  is  still  as  fresh  as  in  the  days 
of  the  celebrated  astronomer,  but  without  the  penalties  affixed  by  rulers.  Ap 
ply  the  test  of  this  principle  to  the  pioneers  of  America,  and  what  do  we  find  ? 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  America  has  belonged  to  the  civilized  Pioneer, 
from  the  day  of  Columbus  to  the  present  iime,  yet  we  find  no  Isabella  connect 
ed  with  any  of  its  governments.  Our  own  country  for  instance,  never  has 
helped  those  who  have  not  first  helped  themselves.  American  pioneers  must 
first  do  their  work,  and  that  with  success,  and  make  themselves  a  name  worthy 
of  national  recognition,  before  the  United  States  will  make  them  and  their  new 


2O  ADDRESS    OF    HON,    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

country  an  integral  part  of  this  Union.  Discovery  is  an  experiment  and  an 
apprenticeship  at  the  hazard  and  expense  of  the  pioneer,  and  if  crowned  with 
victory,  a  reward  is  found  in  the  arm  of  the  Government  which,  as  a  protector, 
civil  and  military,  is  thrown  around  the  new  member  of  the  great  body  politic. 
This  policy,  from  which  Oregon  has  suffered,  is  peculiar  and  questionable. 
Pioneers  at  the  outset  have  never  received  substantial  aid,  if  even  encourage 
ment  from  State  or  nation.  Plans  to  colonize  and  expeditions  for  exploration 
have  been  in  the  first  instance  put  on  foot  in.  almost,  if  not  quite,  every  case  by 
private  enterprise.  We  have  remarked  tbat  after  the  pioneer  has  won  his  prize, 
Government  steps  in  and  offers  its  power  to  preserve  it.  Oregon  did  not  receive 
this  aid  and  protection  until  nearly  sixty  years  after  her  pioneers  had,  unaided 
by  the  Government,  established  the  American  title  to  this  territory  as  against 
the  claim  of  England.  Our  government  based  her  title  to  Oregon  upon  the  acts 
and  records  of  these  pioneers,  both  on  land  and  water,  but  never  upon  any  act 
of  the  Government  or  Congress  in  the  first  place.  In  Spanish,  French  and 
American  history  we  find  our  title  to  Oregon.  The  French  and  Spanish  claims 
were  ceded  to  the  United  States,  leaving  England's  claim  open  for  settlement. 
The  very  title  the  pioneers  acquirred  as  Americans  was  at  a  latter  day  asserted 
boldly  by  our  Government,  and  finally  successfully  quieted  by  the  treaty  of  the 
I5th  of  June,  1846.  It  was  nearly  thirty  years  after  the  line  of  the  northwest 
boundary  was  established  by  our  pioneers,  as  firmly  as  it  is  to-day,  though  not 
agreed  upon  by  the  Governments  of  England  and  America  before  the  joint  occu 
pancy  of  the  territory  was  accepted,  for  the  time  being,  as  the  proper  way  of 
staving  off  the  final  determination  of  the  Oregon  question.  Oregon  is  not  an 
exception  in  not  receiving  aid  from  the  Government  duriug  her  early  struggle 
for  existence.  Other  discoveries  by  pioneers,  and  even  their  expeditions,  have 
not  only  been  n;  glected,  but  have  actually  been  discouraged  by  ihe  authority 
that  should  have  encouraged  them.  Notwithstanding  the  pioneer  is  by  many 
looked  upon  as  one  whose  work  ends  with  his  exploit,  history  never  deserts  him, 
but  boldly  shews  the  fact,  in  every  case  of  discovery,  that  the  unappreciated 
pioneer  is  far  in  advance  of  the  Government  under  which  he  lived.  The  policy 
and  the  power  of  governments  have  been  to  restrain  men,  to  limit  their  sphere 
of  action  to  certain  bounds.  Bui  the  Pioneer  has  no  respect  for  such  a  doctrine; 
he  would  break  the  chain  forged  for  him  and  give  to  man  the  privilege  to  roam 
over  the  world  co-extensive  with  his  spirit  of  adventure. 

The  first  charter  granted  by  King  James  in  1706  to  Virginia,  limited  the  set 
tlements  to  onif  hundred  miles  in  the  interior,  and,  although  it  was  afterwards 
modified,  steps  were  taken  to  prevent  settlement  west  of  the  Alleghany  moun 
tains.  In  1773,  Daniel  Boon  ami  his  associates  settled  in  Kentucky,  in  viola 
tion  of  the  proclamation  of  George  III.,  issued  ten  years  before,  and  defended 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  21 

it  with  their  own  blood  and  treasure  for  sixteen  years  thereafter.  Tennessee 
was  settled,  at  a  subsequent  period,  contrary  to  the  express  orders  of  this  Gov 
ernment  and  that  of  North  Carolina.  Several  of  the  now  "Western  States" 
were  settled  in  privation  and  hardship,  unaided  by  the  Government.  The  early 
settlers  of  Iowa  were  commanded  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  to  withdraw 
from  the  country  in  which  they  had  settled,  under  the  penalties  of  the  law. 
Three  hundred  adventurous  men  were  expelled  from  where  now  stands  the  city 
of  Dubuque,  by  the  Government,  after  they  had  successfully  defended  them 
selves  against  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  of  warriors  during  the  spring  and  sum 
mer  preceding.  The  first  settlers  of  Burlington  were  driven  off  and  their  prop 
erty  destroyed  by  officers  of  the  Government,  although  the  country  had  been 
purchased,  but  the  treaty  had  not  been  ratified. 

The  Pioneers  of  Oregon  were  looked  upon  as  men  possessing  bold  and  reck 
less  spirits,  though  they  and  their  accusers  generally  were  boys  together.  It 
was  openly  declared  in  1846,  in  order  to  justify  the  Government  in  withholding 
aid  from  you  that  "  the  Oregon  trouble  was  caused  by  the  restless  spirit  of 
Western  men,"  and  they  were  condemned  for  "seeking  homes  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains."  The  following  language  of  Mr.  Pendleton,  of  Virginia,  in  Con 
gress,  in  1846,  found  favor  among  several  statesmen.  In  speaking  of  the  pio 
neers  of  Oregon  he  said:  "Why  is  it  with  instinctive  aversion,  they  retire  before 
the  advance  of  civilization,  preferring  the  wild  excitement  and  rugged  discom 
forts  of  the  wilderness  to  the  repose,  the  security  and  refinement  of  social  and 
cultivated  life?  They  manifest  their  attachment  by  disregarding  the  influences 
that  bind  ordinary  men  to  the  places  of  their  nativity,  by  snapping  recklessly 
the  ties  of  blood  and  kindred.  It  is  not  the  policy  of  our 

Government  to  be  running  over  the  world  looking  after  citizens  whose  allegiance 
is  only  manifested  by  acts  of  expatriation."  Had  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  at  that  time  been  composed  of  men  as  far  behind  the  Oregon  pioneers  in 
the  scale  of  civilization  as  this  gentleman  was,  or  as  those  who  were  wedded  to 
the  unjust  "policy"  of  the  Government  so  dear  to  that  gentleman,  Oregon  would 
be  to-day  by  the  unfriendly  action  of  that  body,  cut  oft  from  the  Government 
that  does  not  run  over  "the  world  looking  after  citizens  whose  allegiance  is 
only  manifested  by  acts  of  expatriation."  But  thanks  to  the  influence  of  a 
higher  power,  that  which  made  you  the  architects  of  your  own  good  fortune, 
also  made  you  masters  of  the  situation,  in  taking  upon  yourselves  the  form  and 
responsibilities  of  government  to  such  an  extent  as  to  entitle  you  to  the  consid 
eration  and  the  respect  of  a  powerful  nation.  Your  political  position  and  pro 
visional  structure  not  only  commanded  the  admiration  of  twp  great  rival  pow 
ers,  but  caused  a  deeply-rooted  jealously  to  exist  between  them.  And  when 
your  claims  were  presented  to  the  National  Congress  of  your  own  people  it 
4 


22  ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.     F.    CHADWICK. 

might  well  be  said  for  a  season,  "Wisdom  crieth  without;  she  uttereth  her 
voice  in  the  streets."  That  voice  was  at  last  heard  in  the  halls  of  Congress,, 
and  the  civilization  which  was  your  boast,  opened  the  eyes  of  the  National  Gov 
ernment  to  the  ungenerous  policy  which  it  was  pursuing,  and  to  the  pernicious 
influence  of  those  who  would  offer  you  no  protection  and  would  not  even  shield 
you  from  reproach.  Your  example  was  not  only  the  cause  of  the  action  in  your 
behalf,  but  it  was  that  which  suggested  a  humane  policy  in  the  place  of  one 
which  was  inhuman.  Think  of  it  for  a  moment.  Pioneers  were  to  be  driven 
out  of  their  own  country,  expatriated,  not  by  their  own  act,  but  by  their  far-off 
law  makers,  because  they  were  in  advance  of  that  civilization  which  confines 
itself  to  the  atmosphere  of  "refined  and  cultivated  life" — words  in  themselves 
pleasing  to  the  ear,  but  in  their  application,  possessing  no  legitimate  significance. 
What  would  this  nation  be  if  the  Pioneers,  in  the  face  of  law,  of  all  conven 
tionalities  and  of  a  ruinous  policy  of  government,  had  not  gone  forth  and  brav 
ed  the  dangers  of  a  frontier  life?  Not  the  glorious  expanse  of  territory  we  now 
possess,  extending  from  the  ocean  on  the  east  to  the  ocean  on  the  west  of  the 
Continent,  and  from  the  British  Possessions  on  the  North  to  Mexico  on  the  south, 
but  the  strip  of  country  lying  along  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Maine  to  Florida, 
extending  west  as  far  as  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  would  be  the  United  States 
of  America.  One  breath  of  your  pure  mountain  air  is  worth  all  the  lavender 
water  that  ever  refined  governments  or  law  makers;  it  will  impart  more  life  and 
make  the  mind  clearer  and  the  heart  better  than  all  the  cosmetics  in  the  world. 
Your  work  was  no  parlor  game,  with  kid  gloves,  it  was  for  humanity  and  for 
Him  who  is  "rejoicing  in  the  habitable  parts  of  His  earth,  and  whose  delights 
are  with  the  sons  of  men."  This  feeling  of  indifference  towards  the  Pioneers 
on  the  part  of  governments  was  plainly  shown  by  our  own  even  after  the  treaty 
of  1846  had  been  promulgated,  and  you  were  not  insensible  of  it.  Your  es 
teemed  Governor  Abernethy  spoke  volumes  for  you  in  the  following  extract 
from  his  message  of  December  7,  1847,  a  year  and  a  half  aftei  the  event  of  June 
15,  1846.  He  says — "Fellow  citizens:  Contrary  to  the  expectations  of  all  who- 
reside  in  this  Territory,  you  are  again  convened  under  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment  of  Oregon.  *  *  *  We  have  been  sadly  disappointed,  and 
hope,which  was  so  fondly  cherished,  begins  to  sink  into  despair  in  the  hearts  of 
many.  *  *  Our  situation  is  not  a  pleasant  one,  on  account  of  the  un 
certainty  of  it.  We  may  be,  in  less  than  six  months,  under  the  laws  and  Gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States,  and  we  may,  on  the  other  hand,  exist  in  our  pres 
ent  State  several  years.  *  *  *  The  laws  should  be  published  in  a 
convenient  form;  a  fund  set  apart  for  treating  with  Indians,  and  many  other 
things  provided  for  that  we  have  thus  far  dispensed  with,  but  which  must  be  at 
tended  to,  in  order  that  we  may  carry  out  the  principles  under  which  we  have 


ADDRESS   OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  23 

associated."  From  which  we  infer  that  you  were  as  self-reliant  then  as  when 
first  you  found  your  wilderness  home,  and  that  you  relied  more  upon  the 
principles  under  which  you  had  associated  yourselves  together  than  upon  the 
ephemeral  promises  of  distant  law  makers.  Your  own  history,  your  sad  ex 
perience,  your  patience,  your  love  of  country,  all  go  to  prove  more  fully  that 
you  were  in  advance  of  your  Government  in  every  particular  that  affected  your 
welfare.  It  is  a  fault  in  a  republic  to  think  that  the  Government  can  do  the 
thinking  of  its  citizens.  It  can  no  more  do  the  brain  work  of  its  people  than  it 
can  do  their  fighting.  And  is  is  equally  an  error  for  a  Government  to  think  it  is 
in  advance  of  the  people,  especially  of  its  expatriated  pioneers,  You  did  not 
go  out  from  your  early  homes  because  you  were  behind  the  Government  in  its 
struggle  for  existence,  but  to  provide  yourselves  with  new  homes;  to  add  to 
your  country's  greatness,  and  to  secure  for  it  that  which  it  would  not  have  ob 
tained  had  it  not  been  for  your  spirit  of  enterprise  and  determination  to  become 
•a  self-supporting  and  a  self-governed  people. 

We  mention  these  facts  in  no  captious  spirit.  We  allude  to  them  because  the 
Pioneer,  in  settling  his  accounts,  has  a  large  balance,  through  his  patriotism, 
standing  to  his  credit.  His  bread  is  a  broken  loaf;  his  wants  are  supplied  by 
himself.  For  this  reason  never  while  he  lives  does  he  get  the  credit  that  is  due 
him.  No  one  having  contributed  to  make  the  Pioneer  what  he  has  made  of 
himself,  there  is  no  knowledge  of  him  except  what  is  found  in  his  work  in  after 
years.  When  his  life  has  been  spent  for  mankind,  there  may  be  some  apprecia 
tion  of  his  services.  Having  pursued  a  life  not  supported  by  Government,  but 
rather  against  its  policy,  he  has  no  reports  to  make  to  it  whereby  his  fame  may 
become  great  at  once  through  the  influence  of  his  nation.  Hence  he  is  looked 
upon  as  one  who  goes  into  a  new  country — and  that  is  the  last  of  him  ;  some 
body  else  must  settle  it  up .  Even  this  admission  shows  that  the  pioneer  has 
done  more  for  mankind  and  for  his  country  than  has  the  Government.  It  is  in 
the  defence  of  the  Pioneer  that  we  find  pleasure  in  these  remarks.  He  has  a 
record  above  that  of  almost  all  other  men,  and  should  receive  the  praise  that  is 
due  to  it.  It  is  more  valuable  and  interesting  than  that  of  those  who  avail 
themselves  of  the  line  of  trees  which  he  has  blazed  out  upon  his  trail,  or  of  the 
course  marked  upon  the  chart  of  the  trackless  sea.  He  may  be  the  last  person 
thought  of ;  but  if  reflection  is  permitted  to  do  its  work  for  the  un  ierstanding, 
he  soon  becomes  first  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  every  person  who  admires  the 
excellencies  of  true  manhood,  and  who  possesses  gratitude  enough  to  honor  its 
achievements  for  mankind.  The  benefactor  of  his  race  will  not  die,  but  his 
memory  will  be  preserved  in  grateful  remembrance  by  those  whom  he  has 
benefitted. 

If  we  picture  to  ourselves  men  of  strong  will,  fixed  principles,  full  of  resour- 


24  ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

ces  mentally  and  physically,  generous  and  humane,  self-made  and  Self-control 
led,  not  only  equal  but  superior  to  every  emergency;  able  to  master  every  trade 
or  profession,  we  have  the  Oregon  Pioneers.  These  men  are  a  credit  to  the 
sciences  of  agriculture  and  mechanics,  to  the  professions,  to  commerce  and  its 
financial  dependencies;  in  short,  to  every  honorable  calling.  They  are  the  men 
for  the  times  and  generation  in  which  they  live,  and  the  world  has  no  place  in 
which  she  can  hide  such  men.  They  are  leaders  in  all  ages  and  countries,  and 
in  every  condition  of  life.  Their  heroism  is  the  admiration  of  mankind.  Their 
reward  is  in  the  impulse  of  doing  good.  They  are  never  so  rich  as  when  strug 
gling  in  poverty  and  under  adverse  circumstances,  and  never  so  poor  as  when 
after  great  success,  they  find  nothing  more  to  achieve.  Their  condition  bespeaks 
their  character,  however  humble  or  exalted  their  origin— and  their  labors  a  glo 
rious  destiny.  As  against  Governments  the  pioineer  is  the  instrument  of  Provi 
dence  to  lead  adventurous  men  out  to  fouiid  new  States,  though  he  may  not  live 
to  behold  the  grandeur  of  his  deeds.  We  will  place  him  therefore  where  Prov 
idence  places  him;  where  mankind  honor  him,  and  where  his  name  shall  stand 
forever  ennobled  by  his  own  labors  and  by  the  perils  endured  for  his  race. 

Your  presence  in  this  Territory  had  much  to  do  in  hastening  the  adjustment 
of  the  title  to  Oregon.  You  built  your  fortunes  upon  this  title,  and  enlarged 
the  right  of  the  United  States  to  the  Territory.  How  much  there  was  that  was 
accidental  on  your  part  in  this  chain  of  title  is  for  your  contemplation.  It  is  no 
doubt  interesting.  We  often  wonder  at  the  apparently  insignificant  circum 
stances  which  bring  out  or  change  the  fortunes  of  men  and  nations.  One  word, 
one  indifferent  act  may  do  it.  Every  one  of  you  can  remember  the  first  thought 
of  Oregon,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  you  made  your  outfit.  They 
were  comparatively  slight  then,  but  now  we  regard  them  as  of  the  utmost  im 
portance  in  a  social,  political  and  national  point  of  view.  It  was  a  slight  thing 
in  itself  that  Columbus,  poor  and  discouraged,  took  the  Monastery  of  La  Rabida 
in  his  way  to  remove  his  son  Diego,  but  the  unexpected  interview  which 
took  place  with  Juan  Perez,  who  had  been  the  Queen's  Confessor,  led  to  a  train 
of  circumstances  which  caused  afterwards  ten  different  localities  to  contend  for 
the  honor  of  his  birth.  When  John  Kendrick,  with  his  fleet  of  vessels,  the 
Washington  and  Columbia,  sailed  from  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1787,  for  the 
almost  unknown  North  Pacific  ocean,  he  had  no  thought  of  Oregon,  and  yet  that 
act  in  its  results  had  its  effect  upon  the  destiny  of  this  Territory.  Had  Great 
Britain  pursued  a  liberal  course  towards  the  United  States,  after  the  war  with  the 
Colonies,  the  probabilities  are  that  the  Washington  and  Columbia  would  not 
have  made  their  appearance  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Canal  de  Haro,  and 
the  Columbia  river,  (events  which  established  the  American  title  to  Oregon  as 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  25 

against  Great  Britain),  Spain,  the  oldest  claimant  of  all,  asserted  her  title 
against  the  British  to  the  whole  extent  of  the  coast;  and  ,as  against  Russia  to 
latitude  515  degrees.  Spain  transferred  her  claim  to  the  United  States.  "  So 
soon,"  says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "as  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  was  ac 
knowledged  by  Great  Britain,  the  strict  enforcement  of  the  old  unrepealed  nav 
igation  laws  cut  them  off  from  their  former  haunts  of  commerce,  and  it  became 
a  question  from  w  hat  ports  American  ships  could  bring  home  coffee,  sugar, 
spices  and  tea;  all  British  Colonies  were  barred  against  them  as  much  as  were  those 
of  Spain.  So  American  ships  sailed  into  the  Eastern  ocean,  where  trade  with 
the  natives  was  free.  Americans  observing  the  fondness  of  the  Chinese  for  furs, 
sailed  fearlessly  from  the  Chinese  seas  or  round  Cape  Horn  to  the  northwest 
coast  of  America  in  quest  of  peltry  to  exchange  for  the  costly  fabrics  of  China. 
They  were  in  the  waters  of  Northwest  America  long  before  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company." 

•  Several  gentlemen  in  Boston  fitted  out  for  the  Pacific  Ocean  these  ships,  the 
Washington  and  Columbia,  namely,  J.  Barrell,  S.  Brown,  C.  Bulfinch,  J.  Darby, 
C.  Hatch  and  J.  M.  Pintard,  in  the  year  1787,  and  placed  them  under  the  com 
mand  of  John  Kendrick.  This  navigator  sailed  through  the  Straits  of  Fuca  in 
the  Washington  just  at  the  time  when  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
went  into  operation;  two  years  before  Vancouver,  the  English  navigator,  and 
before  Quimper  and  De  Haro.  It  was  the  information  received  by  the  British 
Admiralty  of  the  discovery  by  Capt.  Kendrick,  that  led  Vancouver  to  make  the 
voyage.  Capt.  Kendrick  had  entered  every  channel,  inlet  and  harbor  where 
there  was  a  chance  for  traffic.  The  Columbia,  under  the  command  of  Capt* 
Robert  Gray,  to  whom  it  had  been  transferred  in  1789,  in  Ma/,  1792,  entered 
the  Columbia  river  and  made  an  exploration  of  its  mouth.  In  1804-5,  Lewis 
and  Clark  traced  the  Columbia  from  its  source  to  the  ocean,  where  Capt.  Gray 
had  christened  it  after  the  name  of  his  ship.  That  the  land  and  water  pioneers 
might  leave  a  record  of  title  which  no  human  agency  could  efface,  it  was  left,  to 
complete  the  scene,  and  as  if  to  awaken  our  Government  to  a  sense  of  its  obli 
gation  to  you,  that  the  world  should  witness  the  shocking  and  heartrending 
tragedy,  on  the  banks  of  the  Upper  Columbia, — the  murder  of  the  martyred 
Whitman  and  family,  whose  blood  consecrated  the  land  of  the  heathen  to  all 
that  is  ennobling  in  civilization,  and  then  mingled  with  the  ceaseless  flow  of  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia.  And  it  is  but  a  few  months  past  since  England,  still 
contending  for  the  American  possessions  in  the  north,  submitted,  with  the  United 
States,  the  question  of  boundary  for  settlement  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  A 
final  decision  has  been  made,  taking  the  water  line  through  the  Canal  de  Haro, 
as  claimed  by  the  United  States,  as  the  northwest  boundary  of  the  Oregon  pos- 


26  ADDRESS   OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

sessions.     Thus  this  great  question  has  been  settled  upon  the  acts  and  discoveries 
of  Oregon  Pioneers. 

We  requested  Mr.  Minto,  one  of  the  early  pioneers  to  give  his  impressions  of 
the  state  of  public  feeling  among  the  settlers  of  Oregon  prior  to  the  treaty  of 
1846.  From  personal  experience  and  observation,  he  makes  the  following  reply: 
"  A  few  incidents  will  be  sufficient  to  indicate  to  you  what  it  was.  In  1844, 
when  I  arrived  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamette,  the  British  sloop-of-war  Modest* 
was  either  moving  on  the  coast  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  or  in  the 
river  itself,  often  as  far  up  the  river  as  Vancouver,  then  the  chief  post  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  company  that  sea 
son,  1844,  had  erected  a  bastion  on  the  northwest  angle  of  this  stockade.  Of 
course  the  Americans  perfectly  understood  this  as  a  preparation  for  def;  nee  in 
case  of  a  war  for  possession  of  the  country,  and  it  frequently  happened  that  in 
so  small  a  number  of  persons  as  would  man  a  Chinook  canoe,  a  count  would  be 
made  to  ascertain  who  would  fight  for  British  and  who  for  American  interests 
in  such  a  contingency.  In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1845,  tne  Modestz  lay  in  the 
Columbia,  and  her  officers  made  frequent  excursions  inland.  During  harvest  a 
party,  headed  by  Liuetenant  Peel  (now  Sir  Robert  Peel),  son  of  the  eminent 
statesman  of  that  name,  made  the  tour  of  the  Willamette  valley.  I  met  him  at 
the  farm  of  Daniel  Matheny  (now  the  site  of  the  town  of  Wheatland).  I  heard 
Mr.  Matheny  ask  him  how  he  liked  the  appearance  of  the  country.  His  answer 
was:  "Mr.  Matheny,  it  is  certainly  the  most  beautiful  country,  in  the  natural 
state  that  I  ever  saw,  and  I  only  fear  we  (the  British)  shall  fail  in  securing  the 
ownership  of  it."  Yet  the  young  Briton  did  what  he  could  to  keep  alive  the 
sentiment  of  ownership  among  those  who  had  a  leaning  towards  the  British  in 
terests.  Early  in  1846,  a  ball  was  given  on  the  floor  of  Dr.  McLaughlin's  mill, 
at  Oregon  City.  Lieut.  Peel  and  other  officers  of  the  Modeste  were  present,  and 
Lieut.  Peel  bet  the  wine  with  the  late  Dr.  Robert  Newell,  that  the  most  of  the 
men  then  present  would  take  the  British  side  in  case  of  a  contest.  Lieut.  Peel 
lost  the  bet,  and  showing  some  chagrin  in  his  manner,  offered  to  bet  another 
bottle  of  wine  that  a  man  he  indicated,  sitting  right  opposite  to  him  across  the 
mill  floor,  would  fight  under  the  British  flag.  Dr.  Newell  took  the  bet.  That 
man  was  asked  to  cross  the  floor,  when  this  question  was  put  to  him:  "Sir, 
which  flag  would  you  support  in  case  of  war  for  this  country  ?"  The  answer 
was  quick  and  clear:-  "  I  fight  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  myself."  The 
party  making  the  answer  was  Willard  H.  Rees,  present  Secretary  of  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association.  The  feeling  of  nationality  on  either  side,  though  often  ex 
hibited  in  spirited  answers  like  the  above,  and  in  some  cases  equally  spirited 
action,  was  in  the  main  not  very  demonstrative,  but  the  anxiety  was  very  deep 
and  general  among  the  Americans,  both  native  and  foreign  born,  before  we  got 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  27 

the  news  of  the  treaty  and  its  results.  To  very  many  of  us  it  involved  the  ques 
tion  of  retracing  our  journey  back  across  the  mountains  and  sage  plains,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  many  who  have  made  that  journey  without  much  thought  of  its 
magnitude  and  its  dangers,  were  very  desirous  not  to  be  forced  to  taste  again 
the  hard  endurances  and  sharp  privations  inseperable  from  a  repetition  of  it. 
The  news  of  the  treaty  came  at  last,  however,  and  deep  and  heartfelt  was  the 
joy  that  came  with  it,  for  it  brought  the  conviction  to  many  that  though  we  were 
far  removed,  we  were  not  forgotten  by  our  fellow  citizens  of  the  Atlantic  sea 
board." 

Mr.  Minto  not  being  able  to  be  present  on  this  occasion,  sends  you  his  greeting 
in  the  following  kindly  words:  "  I  hope  you  will  have  a  good  time  at  the  ap 
proaching  re-union  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  Oregon,  as  a  civilized  commu 
nity." 

The  news  of  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  1846  was  received  in  Oregon  with 
feelings  which  plainly  indicated  the  importance  of  the  measure.  Joint  occupancy, 
that  uncertain  tenure  by  which  power  was  held,  was  at  an  end.  To  say  that 
there  were  no  jealousies  lurking  in  the  minds  of  some  of  these  Pioneers  in  refer 
ence  to  the  country,  would  render  the  picture  stiff  and  unnatural.  But  these 
jealousies  were  light.  No  contention  resulted  from  them.  The  American  Pio 
neer  was  educated  in  a  land  where  the  stranger  was  welcome  to  tarry,  where  the 
alien  was  invited  to  become  a  citizen  on  terms  of  equality.  Here  we  presented 
the  pleasing  spectacle  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  owing  allegiance  to  dif 
ferent  sovereignties  quietly  acquiescing  in  the  authority  of  one.  The  American 
and  foreigner  were  strangers  only  in  name.  The  former  said  to  the  latter,  under 
this  treaty  of  1846,  "  this  is  the  country  of  the  alien,  of  the  stranger,  come 
and  partake  ye  of  it.  It  is  your  country,  and  it  is  for  our  descendants  forever." 
The  announcement  of  this  news  and  the  subsequent  Congressional  action,  came 
as  a  promise  of  a  day  of  rest.  As  you  had  come  here  to  unite  your  fortunes  for 
weal  or  woe,  you  readily  received  this  proclamation  of  peace  and  good  will. 
Your  prayers  were  not  only  in  harmony  with  your  hope,  but  they  were  answered. 
These  Western  vallies,  possessing  a  fruitful  soil  and  temperate  climate  so  well 
adapted  to  the  trade  of  the  ocean,  now  presented  additional  inducements  to  the 
industrious.  They  looked  more  beautiful  to  the  hitherto  unsettled  husbandman 
than  ever;  they  had  a  value  which  it  seems  they  did  not  before  possess;  the  hills 
and  mountains  that  were  reference  points  for  the  huntsman  as  he  pursued  his 
game  over  them,  now  appeared  to  become  objects  of  grandeur,  something  for 
the  admiration  of  man.  The  whole  country  now  offered  tempting  rewards  to 
industry,  and  you  all  felt  rich  in  the  anticipation  of  the  abundance  that  was  in 
store  for  you.  Hope  and  contentment  took  the  place  of  doubt  and  disappoint- 


28  ADDRESS    OF    HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

ment.  The  gloom  and  despondency  that  surrounded  your  cabins  was  now  dis 
pelled.  Friendship,  tried  and  brightened  in  the  very  fire  of  adversity,  assured 
you  that  you  were  now  one  people  in  purpose  and  action;  that  your  life,  property 
and  country  were  protected.  Governments,  as  an  evidence  of  their  authority 
and  skill,  like  partisans,  may  transmit  to  posterity  the  schemes,  the  contrivances 
and  diplomacy  by  which  they  obtained  power  and  exercised  it.  But  they  are  of 
no  benefit  to  the  subject.  The  prize  you  have  handed  down  is  not  of  a  question 
able  character.  It  is  one  which  involves  the  question  of  peaceful  existence;  it  is 
for  man,  home  and  country,  purchased  by  sacrifices  which  none  of  your  descend 
ants  will  ever  realize  or  fully  appreciate.  They  may  applaud  and  reverence 
you,  as  they  will  do,  but  they  can  never  take  upon  themselves  your  character  or 
experience. 

Your  mission  did  not  end  with  your  arrival  in  the  Territory,  nor  did  you  wait 
for  the  second  influx  of  Pioneers  to  sow  that  you  might  reap.  The  improvements 
and  discoveries  in  science  and  art  which  have  been  made  in  the  world  in  your 
day  are  known  to  you.  You  have  kept  even  pace  with  them,  and  have 
given  your  children  the  benefit  of  them  so  far  as  your  means  and  opportunity 
would  permit.  You  built  steamboats  and  sail  vessels  for  your  river  and  coast 
trade.  Upon  every  navigable  stream  in  Oregon  we  find  evidences  of  your  skill 
and  perseverance.  You  have  done  as  much  as  you  could  for  railroad  communi 
cation,  and  to  complete  those  enterprises  in  this  behalf  begun  in  your  midst. 
You  have  opened  thoroughfares  all  over  the  Territory.  You  have  established 
commerce  by  land  and  sea.  You  had  teachers  among  your  number,  able  and 
efficient.  Over  thirty  years  ago  you  founded  an  institution  of  learning  that  has 
to-day  an  enduring  memory.  It  flourishes  in  all  its  departments.  It  is  the  pio 
neer  institution  of  Oregon,  and  stands  out  like  Mt.  Hood,  in  beautiful  relief  from 
like  bodies  that  surround  it.  The  fame  of  this  institution,  the  old  Willamette 
University,  will  grow  as  time  moves  on.  Every  city  and  every  town  of  size  suf 
ficient  to  be  called  such,  was  started  by  one  or  more  pioneers.  Your  principal 
mills  and  factories  have  the  same  honor  attached  to  them.  You  have  carved  this 
large  and  flourishing  State  out  of  the  Oregon  Territory,  and  divided  it  with 
your  associate  pioneers  and  brethren  of  Washington,  who  share  in  the  honors  due 
to  the  Oregon  fathers.  You  have  made  your  State  a  model  of  economy  and  sub 
stantial  prosperity;  the  pride  of  every  pioneer  within  the  limits  of  your  Territory. 
And  if  there  is  anything  wanting  to  complete  the  triumph  of  civilization  here, 
it  is  not  known,  unless  it  be  a  railroad  from  the  Atlantic  States  direct  to  Oregon. 
May  you  all  live  to  witness  the  consummation  of  this  essential  object. 

The  news  of  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  1846  was  not  received  by  telegraph 
or  by  railroad.  Both  of  these  great  aids  to  human  progress  were  then  unknown 


ADDRESS   OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  29 

on  this  coast.  It  came  here  by  water,  by  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where 
it  was  reprinted  in  the  Polynesian  from  the  New  York  Gazette  and  Times,  and 
in  December  of  the  same  year,  Governor  Abernethy  referred  to  this  information 
in  his  message  to  the  Oregon  Legislature.  You  had  everything  to  discourage 
you  for  a  long  time;  still  you  did  not  camp  upon  your  trail,  nor  leave  ruins  for 
others  to  build  upon.  That  you  should  look  for  a  resting  place  only,  and  there 
stop  and  become  mere  blanks,  was  an  absolute  impossibility.  You  were  in 
creasing  in  thought  and  usefulness.  The  assertion  that  "  He  who  learns  the 
trade  of  pin-making  wall  continue  to  make  pins  all  his  life,"  has  no  application 
to  the  general  affairs  of  men,  nor  even  to  trade  itself,  any  more  than  it  has  to  say 
that  Benjamin  Franklin  should  have  made  soap  and  cut  wicks  to  the  end  of  his 
days.  Man  in  his  philosophical  development  rises  often  from  the  simplest  and 
most  obscure  condition  to  opulence  in  the  treasures  of  the  mind.  The  humblest 
may  become  the  most  exalted.  And  that  which  is  hidden  by  poverty  and  ad 
verse  circumstances  may  be  opened  by  virtue  of  its  own  merit  and  experience  to 
the  richest  mental  reward. 

Those  who  do  the  most  for  mankind  are  not  found  among  those  who  stay  back 
and  censure  those  who  go  forward  in  the  world's  drama  at  a  sacrifice  of  life  and 
property.  Gold  is  the  same  when  lurking  in  its  mother  vein  or  in  the  bosom  of 
the  earth  as  when  it  becomes  the  setting  of  the  diamond.  By  toil  and  hardship 
it  is  brought  out,  and  by  its  association  with  the  beautiful  gem,  it  is  made  more 
valuable.  It  is  use  that  makes  gold  of  any  value  whatever.  So  it  is  with  the 
Pioneer.  He  must  circulate.  It  is  natural  for  man  to  run  to  everything  that  is 
beautiful  and  attractive  in  the  search  for  wealth.  The  lad  who  ran  to  yonder 
hill  to  secure  the  purse  of  gold  at  the  foot  of  the  rainbow,  had  his  confidence  in 
the  prize  changed  to  bitter  disappointment  when  he  found  the  rainbow  still  far 
ther  off— beyond  the  valley  below  him.  You  did  not  come  here  in  search  of 
gold.  Travelers  by  land,  and  voyagers  by  sea,  like  Columbus,  are  ever  looking 
as  Pioneers  for  homes  and  possessions,  and  for  the  pride  of  posterity.  The  ban 
ner  of  the  Pioneer  bearing  the  motto,  "We  shall  live  and  die  together,"  has 
been  a  power  in  the  march  of  civilization.  You  had  a  common  inheritance  in 
the  fate  that  should  overtake  you;  the  same  hope  in  a  life-work.  The  treasures 
which  you  were  in  search  of,  gold  could  not  buy.  They  were  Nature's  offer 
ings  to  industry,  to  heroism,  to  manhood.  Man  delights  in  these  offerings,  and 
will  stake  family,  friends,  property  and  his  life  upon  them.  Your  experience 
has  taught  you  this  truth.  But  there  is  another  important  fact  in  this  connec 
tion.  The  social  relations  should  receive  a  passing  notice.  Neither  the  love  of 
gold  nor  social  relations  brought  you  together,  and  impelled  you  on  your  journey. 
You  met  as  strangers,  with  nothing  before  you  but  liberty  and  equality — ele 
ments  found  in  the  condition  of  every  tribe  of  Indians  with  whom  you  came  in 


3°  ADDRESS   OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

contact.  Something  more  was  needed.  Liberty  and  equality  are  not  evidences 
of  a  civilized  condition,  though  they  should  be  a  part  of  it.  The  social  element  is 
the  key-stone  in  this  structure,  and  you  soon  realized  this  fact.  Burke,  one  of 
the  greatest  statesmen,  living  or  dead,  says  "  our  manners,  our  civilization,  and 
all  good  things  connected  with  manners  and  with  civilization,  have  depended  for 
ages  upon  two  principles:  I  mean  the  spirit  of  a  gentleman  and  the  spirit  of  re 
ligion."  It  is  to  these  principles  manifested  in  your  lives  that  we  are  indebted 
for  this  noble  work  for  Oregon — your  social  ties  were  rendered  strong  and  in 
dissoluble  by  circumstances  both  pleasing  and  painful. 

For  years  you  dwelt  within  yourselves,  and  a  freedom  of  thought  and  action 
followed,  that  made  you,  as  it  were,  one  family  rather  than  mere  strangers 
thrown  together  by  the  vicisitudes  of  adventure.  At  the  time  of  your  advent 
into  this  country  you  were  made  up  of  nearly  all  nationalities.  So  are  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  generally.  In  older  settled  communities,  where  interests 
are  so  diversified  and  capital  so  antagonistic,  the  development  of  the  social 
principle  is  necessarily  slow.  It  does  its  work,  not  by  the  force  of  circumstances 
but  through  their  accidents.  Success  intellectually,  mechanically,  commercially, 
and  in  every  department  of  life,  develops  the  idea  of  social  dependence.  When 
this  principle  really  prevails,  not  only  kind  and  benevolent  purposes  are  made  to 
answer  the  wants  of  society,  but  the  citizen  is  assured  of  the  safety  of  his  own  life 
and  property,  because  he  knows  that  he  is  pledged  to  the  protection  of  the  life 
and  property  of  his  neighbor.  Civilization  boasts  of  strides  independent  of  this 
refining  element,  but  her  boastings  are  not  evidences  of  true  greatness.  France, 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  was  behind  several  of  the  neighbor 
ing  powers  in  social  activity,  yet  history  informs  us  that  during  that  period  France 
was  the  most  civilized  country  of  Europe.  But  the  true  greatness  of  a  nation 
consists  in  a  union  of  these  elements.  Rome  at  the  height  of  her  glory  was  more 
social  than  when  in  her  decline.  At  this  period  she  exhibited  the  highest  type 
of  civilization.  The  glory  of  the  ancient  city  rested  upon  her  social  foundation,  and 
when  that  gave  away,  her  decline  followed.  The  American  proper,  as  a  general 
thing,  does  not  exert  himself  as  he  should  for  social  conquest.  He  makes  no  sacrifi 
ces  for  it.  Is  it  true  that  this  American  is  the  dyspeptic  in  mind,  so  to  speak,  that 
he  has  the  reputation  of  being  in  body?  In  this  particular  you  are  in  advance 
of  the  average  American  citizen.  Cultivate  your  friendships.  And  may  you 
never  forget  that  the  social  qualities,  in  their  proper  exercise,  are  essential  ele 
ments  in  that  condition  of  human  economy  which  secures  a  life  of  positive  hap 
piness  and  exalted  purposes. 

Accepting  you  in  the  light  here  presented,  you  were  instrumentalities  in  the 
hand  of  that  mysterious  but  unerring  power  which  moves  mankind  onward  in 


ADDRESS    OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK.  31 

social,  moral  and  intellectual  progression.  When  you  survey  the  field  before 
you,  and  the  extent  of  your  operations,  with  what  satisfaction  you  can  rejoice  in 
your  day  and  generation.  Permit  us  here  to  comprehend  all  pioneers  by  land 
and  sea  in  everything  for  the  development  of  the  resources  of  Oregon,  and  the 
promotion  of  her  interests,  taking  the  fact  as  the  test  rather  than  dates,  and 
offer  to  all  our  congratulations,  and  to  ask,  who  among  you  would  give  up  his 
pioneer  experience,  however  severe  ?  Is  the  bauble  of  political  distinction  or 
possession  of  treacherous  wealth  any  consideration  for  such  a  surrender  ?  In 
quire  of  one  and  all,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  even  those  worn  down  by  disap 
pointment,  or  of  the  miner  always  hoping,  yet  always  failing — whose  life-long 
toil  has  been  totally  unrewarded,  and  whose  last  words  on  earth  will  be,  "I 
know  I  shall  strike  it  yet," — ask  these,  and  all  others,  if  there  is  anything  in 
in  this  world  they  would  exchange  for  this  pioneer  experience  ?  We  feel 
that  we  hear  the  answer  from  a  united  voice,  "  Though  these  experiences 
w'ere  dearly  and  tearfully  bought,  yet  we  made  the  sacrifices  for  them,  even  to 
privations  of  shelter,  food  and  clothing,  and  to  the  exposure  of  self  and  little 
ones  to  the  scalping  knife  and  war  club  of  the  savage.  These  experiences  are 
dear  to  us.  The  world  possesses  nothing  that  we  would  exchange  for  them. 
The  whole  of  our  suffering  under  these  terrible  auspices  is  almost  forgotten  and 
lost  in  the  charm  that  accompanies  the  full  and  ample  reward  of  those  who  obey 
in  these  things,  on  behalf  of  their  race,  the  command  of  the  most  potent  of  all 
powers." 

The  scenes  through  which  you  have  passed  and  those  attending  the  discovery 
of  gold  on  this  coast,  will  never  be  witnessed  again.  In  the  history  of  the  mines 
we  have  but  one  '49,  we  shall  never  experience  another.  Those  who  figured  in 
that  world-astounding  period  like  the  pioneers  of  Oregon,  are  passing  away. 
You  are  all  the  marks  of  a  peculiar  age.  Your  life,  so  meritorious,  so  bold  and 
heroic  here,  will  form  a  brilliant  page  in  history  hereafter.  Contribute  as  long 
as  you  can  to  make  that  record  worthy  of  the  pride  and  reverence  of  your  fellow 
man.  The  importance  of  uniting  upon  a  day  for  your  annual  re-union,  a  feast 
day,  is  no  doubt  admitted  by  all  of  you.  The  I5th  of  June,  1846 — commemo 
rative  of  the  consummation  of  your  work  for  your  country,  of  the  establishment 
of  permanent  peace  and  tranquility  within  your  borders — is  a  proper  occasion 
for  that  feast.  When  was  Oregon  more  beautiful  and  endearing  to  you  than 
upon  that  day  ?  When,  before  the  treaty  of  1846,  did  you  feel  that  you  were  in 
full  possession  and  enjoyment  of  your  home,  beautified  and  made  valuable  by 
your  own  handiwork  ?  When  before  had  you  felt  that  your  individual  freedom 
had  merged  into  that  condition  of  universal  liberty  upon  which  republics  thrive 
and  depend  for  power,  and  which  promised  to  you  security  and  protection  ? 


32  ADDRESS    OF   HON.    S.    F.    CHADWICK. 

Feast  days  are  as  old  as  the  world,  and  yet  as  young  as  the  present  genera 
tion.  The  day  of  rest,  commemorative  of  creation,  goes  back  to  the  earliest 
record.  The  day  of  the  Passover,  the  day  of  Pentacost  and  other  feast  days  of 
the  ancient  Jews,  the  Greeks  and  Romans  are  familiar  to  you.  In  more  recent 
periods  we  have,  among  others,  Christmas,  St.  Patrick's  Day,  New  Year's  Day, 
May  Day,  Thanksgiving  Day  and  the  Fourth  of  July.  These  festivals  are  all 
important  institutions.  They  mark  grand  events  in  the  world's  history,  and 
perpetuate  their  memory.  Not  only  are  they  indispensable,  but  they  are  the 
faithful  chroniclers  of  the  transactions  of  a  people,  civil  and  religious.  Let  there 
be  added  to  this  list  of  feast  days  the  I5th  of  June  for  Oregon.  Make  it  a  day 
of  thanksgiving  and  of  joy;  of  glad  tidings  to  the  once  disheartened  and  dis 
couraged  pioneer.  Spend  the  dayln  exercises,  instructive,  innocent  and  pleasur 
able.  Share  liberally  the  good  things  for  the  inner  man.  May  the  return  of 
this  day  be  vouchsafed  to  you  and  your  children  for  years  and  years  to  come, 
increasing  in  interest  and  importance  with  your  advancing  age.  And  when  these 
joyous  scenes  and  excellent  opportunities  so  dear  to  you  shall  be  yours  no  longer, 
when  you  shall  one  after  another  fold  your  tents  and  take  your  departure  from 
this  temporary  camp-ground,  which  has  been  to  you  a  faithful  home,  may  those 
who  shall  survive  remember  in  praise  and  gratitude  those  who  have  taken  the 
lead  in  the  discovery  of  that  pleasant  land  where  the  innocent  spirit  of  a  little 
child  is  made  the  test  of  heirship;  and  remember  also  that  those  who  are  gone 
are  only  a  short  time  in  advance  of  the  remaining  members  of  this  emigrant 
train,  which,  with  slow  but  regular  pace,  is  moving  on  and  on,  towards  that 
country  where  there  is  no  cloud  of  title,  no  question  of  the  right  of  occupancy. 


OREGON    QUESTION 


KEMAKKS   BY   GOV.   L.   F.    QEOVEB. 


The  controversy  concerning  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  Oregon  was  main 
tained  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  for  nearly  a  half  a  century 
before  the  treaty  of  Washington  of  June  15,  1846.  Great  Britain  never,  at  any 
time,  definitely  asserted  the  right  of  exclusive  sovereignty  over  the  whole,  or 
any  part  of  Oregon.  The  basis  of  her  claim  to  jurisdiction,  when  examined 
with  reference  to  any  particular  right  to  any  portion  of  the  country,  must  yield 
to  the  superior  right  of  one  of  three  other  nations — Spain,  France  and  the  Uni 
ted  States.  At  the  very  early  period  of  1494,  on  June  I4th  of  that  year,  the 
celebrated  Treaty  of  Partition  of  the  Ocean  was  concluded  between  Spain  and 
Portugal,  then  the  chief  maratime  powers  of  the  world.  This  treaty  provided 
that  Portugal  should  enjoy  and  possess  the  exclusive  rights  of  discovery,  trade, 
conquest  and  dominion  in  all  the  seas  and  territories,  not  previously  belonging 
to  a  Christain  prince  or  people,  east  of  a  meridian  line  passing  three  hundred 
and  seventy  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands;  and  that  Spain  should  pos 
sess  the  same  rights  in  all  seas,  and  all  pagan  lands,  west  of  that  line. 

This  assertion  of  the  right  of  discovery  and  conquest  in  Spain  to  all  the 
American  continent,  was  followed  by  voyages  of  Spanish  ships,  from  time  to 
time,  along  the  entire  Oregon  coast,  by  the  discovery  and  navigation,  in  1592, 
of  the  Puget  Sound  waters,  by  the  Greek  pilot  De  Fuca,  sailing  under  Spanish 
orders,  and  by  explorations  under  Admiral  Fonte,  in  1640,  extending  to  the 
55th  degree  of  north  latitude.  History,  carefully  examined,  will  show  that  up 
to  the  time  of  the  Nootka  Convention,  concluded  in  1790,  between  Spain  and 
Great  Britain,  although  the  regions  had  been  visited  by  vessels  of  the  latter,  the 
former  held  the  indisputable  right  of  dominion  over  the  entire  Oregon  coast. 
The  Nootka  Treaty  was  a  measure  yielded  to  by  Spain,  under  menace  of  war, 
by  which  Great  Britain  gained  a  limited  right  of  fishing  and  trading  in  the 


34     REMARKS  OF  GOV.  GROVER  ON  OREGON  QUESTION. 

Northwest,  but  by  its  terms  no  right  of  sovereignty  was  abandoned  to  the  Brit 
ish  Crown. 

In  the  meantime,  France  had  discovered  the  Mississippi,  and  had  explored 
and  settled  the  country  drained  by  this  river  and  its  tributaries.  She  claimed 
exclusive  jurisdiction  over  that  region  and,  by  right  of  continuity ',  extended  her 
claim  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  French  ships  had  followed  the  tract  of  the  Spanish 
to  the  northwest  coast,  and  visited  the  west  shore  line  of  what  was  asserted  to 
be  French  territory.  As  against  Great  Britain,  the  pretentions  of  France  to 
right  of  sovereignty  over  Oregon  were  as  good  as  those  of  the  English  crown  to 
extend  its  jurisdiction  to  the  Mississippi  by  virtue  of  holding  the  Atlantic  sea 
board  to  the  eastward.  Both  claims  rested  upon  the  same  ground,  as  recognized 
by  the  law  of  nations — the  right  of  continuity. 

Great  Britain  having  obtained  a  foothold  for  fishing  and  trade  in  the  North 
Pacific,  immediately  set  on  foot  movements  calculated  to  secure  rights  of  sover 
eignty  to  portions  of  the  American  continent  bordering  on  the  same.  Chief 
among  these  was  the  exploring  expedition  ordered  under  Captain  Vancouver, 
which  sailed  from  England  in  January,  1791.  But  this  expedition  was  too  late 
to  be  of  capital  importance  as  establishing  jurisdictional  right  based  on  explora 
tion.  For  at  the  time  when  Vancouver  reached  the  coast  of  the  North  Pacific 
in  1792,  Spain  hod  reoccupied  Nootka  and  had  sent  thence  exploring  and  trad 
ing  vessels  in  various  directions,  and  the  United  States,  then  having  lately  as 
sumed  nationality,  had  seven  vessels  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  of  the  northwest 
coast. 

Vancouver  examined  the  shore  of  the  continent  from  California  to  the  en 
trance  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  with  the  following  conclusion  as  stated  by  him 
self: 

"I  was  thoroughly  convinced,  as  were  also  most  persons  of  observation  on 
board,  that  we  could  not  possibly  have  passed  any  safe  navigable  opening,  har 
bor,  or  place  of  security  for  shipping,  on  this  coast,  from  Cape  Mendocino  to 
the  promontory  of  Classet  [Cape  Flattery,  at  the  entrance  of  Fuca's  Strait,]  nor 
had  we  any  reason  to  alter  our  opinions,  notwithstanding  that  theoretical  geog 
raphers  have  thought  proper  to  assert  in  that  space  the  existence  of  arms  of  the 
ocean  communicating  with  a  Mediterranean  sea,  and  extensive  rivers  with  safe 
and  convenient  ports." 

Nearing  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca  on  the  29th  of  April,  1792,  Van 
couver  discovered  "a  sail  westward,  standing  in  shore."  This  was  the  Ameri 
can  ship  Columbia,  Captain  Robert  Gray,  belonging  to  Boston,  whence  she  had 
been  absent  about  nineteen  months.  Gray  informed  the  British  Captain  of  his 


REMARKS    OF    GOV.    GROVER   ON   OREGON   QUESTION.  35 

sailing  into  the  Straits  of  Fuca  in  the  American  sloop  Washington,  three  years 
before,  and  furnishing  him  with  sailing  directions  for  entering  these  waters.  He 
also  informed  Vancouver  of  the  existence  of  "the  mouth  of  a  river  in  latitude 
of  46  degrees  10  minutes,  w-here  the  outset  or  reflux  was  so  strong  as  to  prevent 
his  entering  for  nine  days."  The  two  Captains  parted — the  Englishman  to 
explore  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  by  an  American  sailing  chart,  and  the  American  to 
enter  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  on  the  nth  day  of  May,  1792,  where,  "in  a 
large  river  of  fresh  water,  he  anchored  ten  miles  above  its  mouth." 

Thus  was  discovered  and  actually  entered  the  great  river  of  the  west,  whose 
waters  drain  the  western  shed  of  the  American  continent  from  the  41  st  to  the 
53d  degree  of  north  latitude,  which,  after  the  name  of  the  ship  he  commanded, 
he  called  the  Columbia.  By  right  of  discovery  the  United  States  then  laid 
claim  to  all  those  regions  bordering  on  the  Columbia  and  its  tributaries,  accord 
ing  to  a  well  settled  principle  of  the  law  of  nations. 

Vancouver  minutely  surveyed  the  Straits  of  Fuca  and  adjacent  islands  and 
waters,  and  took  possession  of  them  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign.  He  after 
wards  entered  the  Columbia  river,  surveyed  a  portion  of  its  course,  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country  drained  by  its  waters  for  the  British  Crown 
by  right  of  discovery  and  exploration} 

In  the  treaty  with  France  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  in  1803,  the  United 
States  acquired  the  French  claim  to  all  the  territory  between  the  Mississippi 
river — the  former  western  boundary  of  the  Republic — and  the  Pacific  ocean,  ex 
tending  north  to  the  dividing  line  between  the  Hudson  Bay  territory  and  the 
French  provinces  in  Canada,  as  established  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  conclud 
ed  in  1713.  The  American  Government  further  strengthened  its  right  of  juris 
diction  to  Oregon  by  explorations  of  the  Columbia  river  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth,  in  1804-5,  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  acting  under  public  authority.  And, 
after  effecting  the  first  settlement  on  the  banks  of  this  greatest  tributary  {o  the 
Pacific,  the  United  States  held,  in  their  own  right,  the  three  strongest  muni 
ments  of  title  known  to  international  law,  to  all  the  territory  drained  by  its  wa 
ters — discovery,  exploration  and  settlement.  To  make  this  right,  if  need  be, 
complete  and  irrefragible,  by  a  treaty  of  limits  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  concluded  Feb.  22,  1819,  the  former  acquired  all  then  existing  rights  of 
Spain  lying  north  of  the  42d  degree  of  latitude  from  the  sources  of  the  Arkan 
sas  river  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Spain  being  the  undisputed  discoverer  of  the 
Pacific  sea  coast  subtending  the  branches  of  the  Columbia  river  in  the  interior, 
it  can  hardly  be  admitted  that  after  the  Spanish  Treaty  any  adverse  claims  of 
title  could  be  pressed  unless  based  on  assertion  merely. 

But  by  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  of  1818,  it  was  claimed  by  British  diplo- 


36     REMARKS  OF  GOV.  GROVER  ON  OREGON  QUESTION. 

matists  that  a  joint  occupancy  was  established,  which  was  conclusive  upon  the 
United  States  that  some  right  to  the  territory  was  vested  in  the  British  crown. 
Asserting  this  construction  and  closing  her  eyes  upon  all  points  of  eliminary 
title  presented  and  urged  by  the  American  Government,  Great  Britain  insisted 
upon  a  division  of  the  territory  as  a  compromise.  The  United  States  regarded 
the  treaty  of  1818  "  as  a  Convention  of  non-occupation,  a  promise  on  the  part  of 
both  parties  that  neither  of  the  parties  will  occupy  the  territory  for  an  indefinite 
space;  first  for  ten  years;  then  until  the  notice  shall  be  given  from  one  party  to 
the  other  that  the  convention  shall  be  terminated—  that  is  to  say,  that  the  restric 
tion,  the  fetter  upon  our  hands,  shall  be  thrown  off  which  prevents  occupation." 
"  In  1827,  when  the  convention  came  to  be  renewed,  an  in 
definite  time  was  assigned  instead  of  ten  years;  and  then  again  the  reservation 
of  rights  of  any  third  power  was  omitted,  clearly  because  we  had  acquired  all 
the  rights  of  the  third  power  (Spain),  whose  rights  were  reserved  before,  and 
the  word  '  settlement'  continued  to  be  omitted,  Great  Britain  having  no  right 
under  the  convention  to  make  any  settlement  whatever."  (John  Quincy  Adams 
in  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives,  Session  1845-6.) 

But  whatever  rendering  the  treaty  would  justly  bear,  it  became  to  be  known  to 
the  world  as  the  Convention  of  Joint  Occupation  of  Oregon,  and  the  British  Gov 
ernment  gained,  by  the  skill  of  its  diplomatists,  what  it  had  failed  to  reach  by  the 
skill  of  its  navigators  and  explorers — a  tangible  foot-hold  in  the  disputed  terri 
tory. 

Through  the  agency  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  actual  occupation  was  taken 
by  Great  Britain  of  prominent  portions  of  the  whole  country  for  the  purpose  of 
hunting  and  trading;  and  through  the  operations  of  the  Puget  Sound  Agricul 
tural  Company,  a  British  corporation,  organized  out  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Comp 
any's  employes,  agricultural  colonies  were  settled  in  various  portions  of  the 
country  before  the  United  States  became  fully  awake  as  to  the  purposes  of  her 
rival  in  the  Northwest. 

The  American  fur-traders  had  established  and  maintained  a  post  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  which  was  taken  by  the  English  during  the  war 
of  1812,  and  afterwards  returned  to  the  jurisdiction  of  .the  United  States;  and 
hunting,  trapping,  and  dealing  with  the  Indians  had  been  pursued  by  Americans 
in  the  interior.  But  it  was  not  until  1837  that  anything  vital  was  done  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  accepting  the  British  construction  of  the  treaty  of 
1818,  and  its  supplement,  that  of  1827.  American  missionaries  now  began  to 
look  to  Oregon  as  a  field  of  religious  labor  among  the  Indians;  and,  in  this  year, 
1834,  arrived  in  Oregon  the  missionary  colony  under  the  lead  of  Dr.  Marcus 
Whitman.  In  1838  the  first  wagons  crossed  the  plains  to  this  country.  Others 


REMARKS  OF  GOV.  GROVER  ON  OREGON  QUESTION.     37 

shortly  followed,  and  in  1842  a  tide  of  agricultural  settlers,  with  families,  ox- 
wagons,  herds,  implements  of  husbandry,  and  household  goods,  began  to  pour 
over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  down  into  the  valleys  of  Oregon  with  such  a 
determined  flow  that  the  familiar  British  theory  of  "joint  occupation,"  at  first 
advanced  to  protect  the  actual  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  now  looked  like  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  final  security  of  English 
interests  in  Oregon. 

The  Americans  came  and  settled  everywhere  in  the  most  favorable  localities. 
In  1843  they  formed  a  government,  American  in  character,  and  declared  that 
they  adopted  the  same  "  until  such  time  as  the  United  States  of  America  extend 
their  jurisdiction  over  us." 

At  this  time  the  interest  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  Oregon 
question  had  become  general,  and  the  leading  points  of  the  controversy  were 
freely  discussed.  A  sentiment,  based  upon  facts  of  history,  that  all  of  Oregon 
belonged  of  right  to  the  United  States,  settled  upon  the  public  mind  in  America. 
This  sentiment  soon  had  its  influence  in  Congress,  where,  in  1846,  a  resolution 
giving  notice  to  terminate  the  "joint  occupation"  was  passed  by  both  Houses, 
and  was  transmitted  to  London,  where  it  was  received  by  the  American  Minister 
May  I5th  of  that  year,  for  delivery  to  the  British  Government. 

The  English  diplomatists,  ever,  after  the  Treaty  of  1818,  basing  their  claims 
more  upon  the  fact  of  "joint  occupation"  than  upon  any  elements  of  just 
title,  had  offered  to  divide  the  territory  in  dispute  and  to  make  the  Columbia 
river  the  boundary  line,  with  free  navigation  to  both  nations.  The  United  States, 
without  admitting  any  basis  of  claim,  had  offered  the  49th  parallel  of  north  lat 
itude,  extending  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  as  a  boundary. 
These  propositions  had  been  mutually  rejected.  But  now  the  British  Ministry 
observing  that  the  American  people  were  in  earnest,  and  were  entering  upon 
ground  from  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  persuade  them  to  retire,  determined 
themselves  to  offer  the  49th  parallel  as  a  boundary  to  the  sea.  On  the  igth  of 
May,  before  the  notice  was  delivered,  instructions  were  sent  to  the  British  Min 
ister  at  Washington  to  make  the  offer.  It  was  made;  and  a  protocol  was  signed 
embodying  this  proposition.  The  advice  of  the  Senate  was  taken  upon  it;  and 
on  the  I5th  of  June,  the  Senate  having  advised  its  acceptance,  it  took  the  form 
of  a  treaty.  There  were  incidents  of  American  history  at  the  period  of  the 
Treaty  of  1846,  unnecessary  to  be  noted  now,  not  touching  the  merits  of  the 
Oregon  controversy,  which  account  for  the  yielding  up  of  a  part  of  this  territory 
by  the  United  States,  while  fully  convinced  that  their  title  to  the  whole  was 
certain  and  indisputable. 

In  adjusting  the  western  terminus  of  the  compromise  boundary  it  was  found 

6 


38     REMARKS  OF  GOV.  GROVER  ON  OREGON  QUESTION. 

that  the  49th  parallel,  if  extended  directly  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  would  bisect 
Vancouver  Island,  the  greater  portion  of  which  lay  north  of  said  line.  For  an 
amicable  arrangement  of  national  interests  between  the  two  parties,  and  to  se 
cure  a  natural  water  boundary  after  the  land  line  first  reached  the  deep  sea,  the 
following  was  definite!}7  concluded  upon  as  the  entire  boundary  in  dispute: 

"From  the  point  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  where  the 
boundary  laid  down  in  existing  treaties  and  conventions  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  terminates,  the  line  of  boundary  between  the  territories 
of  the  United  States  and  those  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  shall  be  continued  west 
ward  along  the  said  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the  middle  of  the 
Channel  which  separates  the  continent  from  Vancover's  Island,  and  thence 
southerly  through  the  middle  of  the  said  channel  and  of  Fnca's  Straits  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.'1'' 

It  has  been  said  that  ever  since  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from  the  mother 
country,  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  have  been  making  treaties,  and 
then  quarreling  about  their  meaning.  The  treaty  of  1846  did  not  disapprove 
this  assertion.  "  The  middle  of  the  channel  which  separates  the  continent  from 
Vancouver's  Island"  was  filled  with  a  cluster  of  small  islands,  the  chief  of  which 
is  San  Juan,  having  a  good  ship-channel  on  both  sides,  and  the  two  nations 
nearly  got  to  war  to  determine  which  side  of  San  Juan  the  line  should  run. 
After  years  of  fruitless  discussion  upon  the  question,  between  the  two  Govern 
ments,  by  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington  of  the  8th  of  May,  1871,  the 
point  ih  dispute  was  referred  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  and  by  him  decided, 
after  due  deliberation,  that  the  line  as  claimed  by  the  United  States  most  nearly 
complied  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  1846. 

Thus  was  terminated  a  controversy*concerning  the  claims  of  British  dominion 
in  Oregon  which  had  lasted  more  than  three-quarters  of  century. 

In  this  controversy,  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  bore  a  most  important  and  decisive 
part.  The  British  diplomatists  felt  that  their  pretense  to  jurisdiction  on  account 
of  discovery  and  exploration  was  not  well  founded.  The  Convention  of  1818, 
which  they  proclaimed  to  be  a  treaty  of  joint  occupation,  was  intended,  evidently 
f;om  the  first,  to  cover  the  actual  British  settlements  which  followed.  But  upon 
sight  of  the  first  American  wagon  which  had  borne  a  family  across  the  great  in 
terior  plains,  the  agents  of  the  British  Government  in  Oregon  became  conscious 
that  the  argument  for  jurisdiction,  bas^d  upon  subduing  the  country  to  agricul 
tural  occupancy,  was  ended.  The  country  was  to  become  American,  and  did 
become  American  long  before  the  Treaty  of  1846,  acknowledging  that  fact. 
This  was  the  work  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers, 


REMARKS  OF  GOV.  GROVER  ON  OREGON  QUESTION.     39 

As  great  events  generally  follow  in  clusters,  the  acquisition  of  California  fol 
lowed  in  1848,  by  military  occupancy.  It  is  fair  to  claim  that  our  Government 
never  would  have  ventured,  with  the  small  force  it  had  at  command,  to  push  its 
arms  to  the  Pacific,  in  Mexican  territory,  during  the  war  with  Mexico,  if  we  did 
not  already  possess  a  domain  in  that  quarter,  and  a  reliable  American  popula 
tion  in  Oregon.  So  that  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  were  really  the  fathers  of  Amer 
ican  jurisdiction  over  all  that  magnificent  domain  of  the  United  States,  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains— an  Empire  of  itself. 


THE   PIONEER  ASSOCIATION. 


SALEM,  JANUARY  2d,  1875. 

Much  honor  is  due  to  the  gentlemen  who  first  suggested  the  design  to  form  a 
Pioneer  Association, — every  emigrant  of  early  times  approves  its  object,  and 
desires  a  faithful  fulfillment  of  its  purposes. 

History  may  be  properly  defined  to  be  that  science  which  treats  of  man  and 
the  events  connected  with  man,  both  of  the  past  and  the  present,  in  all  his  so 
cial  relations.  Its  object  is  to  record  each  old  stirring  legend  and  .traditionary 
story,  as  well  as  every  important  event  connected  with  human  society.  With 
truth  and  clearness  we  should  take  care  to  present  traditions  and  events,  as  near 
as  may  be,  in  their  naked  truth,  divested  of  the  mists  and  clouds  in  which  they 
are  too  often  enveloped. 

The  Association  has  been  formed  with  a  view  to  gather  material  for  the  ar 
chives  from  living  witnesses  before  these  sources  shall  be  closed,  and  those  living 
witnesses  shall  be  speechless  forever, — and  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  those 
early  pioneers  now  resting  from  their  labors,  as  well  as  those  now  living,  whose 
sacrifices  and  sufferings  and  toil  have  con ve- ted  the  untaimed  wilds  of  their 
adopted  land  into  a  paradise  for  their  children  ;  to  mingle  in  sweet  commun 
ion  and  recount  past  scenes  which  they  participated  in,  whether  of  joy  or  sorrow, 
of  plenty  or  want,  of  sickness  or  health,  of  prosperity  or  adversity — during  their 
long  pilgrimage  crossing  the  desert  plains  or  coming  by  sea,  and  founding  a  new 
settlement  to  be  enjoyed  by  their  descendants.  Such  annual  reunions  must  re 
sult  in  the  promotion  of  their  happiness,  and  tend  to  unite  hearts  in  friendship 
and  respect.  Let  all  come  to  the  annual  feast,  and  take  each  one  present  by 
the  hand  and  go  back  along  the  stream  of  years  to  the  hallowed  fountains  of 
olden  time,  and  recall  ancient  memories  and  live  over  again  the  trials  and  events 
of  "the  days  of  other  years,"  and  pay  the  homage  of  your  hearts  to  the  memory 
of  those  of  your  number  who  have  gone  before  you.  Like  your  ancestors  of 
Plymouth  Rock,  who  preceded  you  in  the  conquest  of  the  sea  coast  wilderness 
of  the  continent,  they  felt  that  they  had  reached  the  theater  upon  which  duty 
as  well  as  interest  commanded  them  to  devote  their  labor  and  lives,  to  occupy 
and  subdue  such  a  land.  You,  like  them,  had  exchanged  the  happy  fireside  of 


THE    PIONEER   ASSOCIATION.  41 

your  youth  for  the  discomforts  and  perils  of  the  wilderness.  You  left  your 
homes,  and  cherished  associations  of  your  childhood;  you  were  quite  as  com 
pletely  exiled,  as  were  the  cavaliers  who  landed  upon  the  wild  shores  of  Vir 
ginia,  or  the  Puritans,  who  sought  the  snow  clad  coast  of  Massachusetts,  far 
from  the  villages  of  your  birth  and  childhood;  before  you  the  trackless  desert  of 
sage  and  sand,  thousands  of  miles  of  weary  journeys  through  hostile  tribes  of 
savages,  and  over  unexplored  mountains;  yet  you  did  not  shrink  from  the  peril 
ous  execution  of  your  high  resolves  to  open  here  a  new  theater  for  civilization, 
and  to  found  and  secure  a  goodly  home  for  your  children.  Blessed,  forever 
blessed,  be  the  soil  thus  consecrated  by  your  toils.  It  is  a  goodly  land,  a  land 
of  rivers  and  brooks  of  pure  water,  of  fountains,  a  land  of  wheat  and  barley, 
"Where  thou  shall  .eat  bread  wjihout  scarceness."  Your  descendants  will  not 
fail  to  recognize  the  solemn  obligation  they  are  under  to  the  pioneers,  who  led  the 
van  in  a  work  so  glorious.  They  will  recall  to  mind  the  memory  of  their  fathers 
and  early  friends,  with  whom  more  than  thirty  years  ago  they  were  accustomed 
to  meet  and  mingle  in  sweet  communion,  who  have  crossed  the  dark  river  and, 
are  realizing  the  reward  of  their  labors  in  the  bright  land  to  which  we  are  all 
hastening;  and,  although  no  history  has  recorded  their  names  to  the  world,  or 
colossal  statues  erected  to  record  their  virtues,  the  green  hillock  that  covers  their 
dust,  the  simple  turf  that  marks  the  place  of  their  rest,  will  be  viewed  with  a 
depth  of  affection  and  veneration  by  their  descendants,  which  the  sculptured 
monuments  of  mere  warriors  or  heroes,  however  renowned  can  never  hope  to  com 
mand.  To  suppose  that  they  did  not  sometimes  look  back  with  tearful  eyes  and 
yearning  hearts,  to  the  familiar  scenes  and  youthful  haunts  they  had  abandoned, 
would  be  to  ignore  the  common  sympathies  of  their  nature.  Who,  hailing  from 
a  distant  nativity,  does  not  feel  his  bosom  beat  and  glow  with  affection  for  the 
spot  that  gave  him  birth,  for  the  sacred  home  beneath  whose  roof — a  mother's 
hand  first  rocked  his  infant  cradle — and  a  parents  voice,  who  first  taught  his  in 
fant  tongue  to  lisp  the  name  of  father?  Ah,  who  shall  blind  the  memory  of  the 
emigrant  from  the  bright  scenes  of  his  youth,  the  gurgling  spring  at  which  he 
drank,  the  streamlet  in  which  he  angled?  Yea,  the  very  trees  and  rocks  among 
which  he  has  grown  up,  are  objects  dear  to  his  affections,  and  he  finds  music  in 
the  remembered  echoes  of  his  native  hills. 

Thus  it  was  with  the  pioneers  who  came  here  at  that  early  day  to  build  the 
cabin,  to  fence  the  land^  to  open  the  roads,  to  lay  out  the  towns  and  cities,  to 
establish  schools  for  the  education  of  the  young — and  to  found  churches  for  the 
worship  of  God.  Nobly  have  they  performed  those  duties.  If  we  close  our 
eyes  and  memories  for  a  moment  to  the  intermediate  period  of  thirty  years,  how 
we  should  be  startled  with  the  mighty  change,  physical  and  intellectual,  which 
have  occurred  since  we  first  saw  these  lands  in  their  native  wildness  and  their. 


42  THE   PIONEER   ASSOCIATION. 

infant  settlement  in  their  rustic  simplicity,  this  beautiful  city  and  many  others 
that  every  where  adorn  the  land  and  bespeak  the  taste,  the  wealth,  and  the  pros 
perity  of  our  people  which  have  emerged  from  the  forest  that  covered  their  sites. 
Everything  around  us  has  changed.  The  vastness  of  the  contrast  between  the 
past  and  the  present  in  the  means  of  commercial  intercourse  and  the  transmission 
of  intelligence,  the  educational  progress  of  the  country,  the,  proud  architectural 
monuments,  whose  broad  foundations  are  laid  for  future  generations,  crowning 
it  with  schools,  and  universities,  and  churches,  and  works  of  polished  art,  will 
secure  to  the  pioneers  of  Oregon,  an  enduring  fame  for  all  time  to  come. 

I  do  not  propose  to  detail  the  stages  of  this  rapid  progress.  The  material 
must  yet  be  collected  by  the  Association.  Its  history  must  be  gleaned  from 
those  who  shared  in  those  early  scenes,  and  transferred  to  the  record  of  the 
Association.  The  name  and  lineage  of  every  man  and  woman  who  bore  a  part 
in  the  early  settlement  of  Oregon,  should  have  a  place  in  this  record.  And  no 
doubt,  some  future  historian  will  weave  these  materials  into  a  connected  and  in- 
esting  narrative  worthy  of  the  theme.  Scarcely  a  month  passes,  that  does  not 
consign  to  the  tomb  some  member  of  the  veteran  band.  Shall  we  make  no  effort 
to  gather  from  their  lips  and  garner  into  the  store  house  of  history,  the  facts  and 
incidents  that  must  perish  with  them  ?  What  is  known  by  them  must  be  re 
corded  quickly.  The  pioneers  can  not  feel  too  deeply  the  solemn  weight  of  their 
responsibility. 

Standing  in  the  great  hall  of  time  which  links  ages  past,  with  unnumbered 
generations  yet  to  come,  it  is  our  solemn  duty  to  inscribe  upon  its  walls  the 
events  of  our  day,  whilst  they  remain  unshrouded  in  the  oblivion  to  which  our 
neglect  will  consign  them. 

Let  us,  then,  apply  ourselves  faithfully  to  the  high  duty  we  have  assumed 
whilst  the  day  lasts.  Let  us  labor  to  gather  up  the  incidents,  the  tradition  and 
events  of  those  now  distant  days,  ere  they  perish  unrecorded  and  unrecoverable. 

E.  N.  COOKE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT 

OF    OREGON. 


BY   HON.   J.   QTTINN  THORNTON. 


CORRESPONDING  MEMBER  OF    THE  AMERICAN    INSTITUTE,   AND  FORMERLY  JUDGE   OF  THE 
SUPREME   COURT   OF  THE   PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 


The  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  having,  by  its  committee,  requested  me  to 
write  a  very  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon, 
for  publication  as  a  part  of  the  Society's  transactions,  I  now  address  myself  to 
this  task  because  I  could  not  have  been  indifferent  under  any  circumstances,  to 
the  manifestation  of  such  a  wish.  And  although  I  may  regret  that  the  narrow 
space  within  which  I  am  required  to  confine  my  observations  will  make  it  nec 
essary  for  me  to  do  little  more  than  bring  before  the  reader  the  naked  facts  of 
the  history  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon  without  the  reflections  and 
comments  they  would  naturally  suggest,  yet  the  performance,  however  imper 
fect,  in  other  respects,  will,  I  trust,  be  found  to  be  characterized  by  a  fidelity  to 
truth,  without  which,  that  claimed  to  be  history,  would  be  valueless  for  any  of 
the  purposes  of  instructing  mankind. 

The  history  of  Oregon  naturally  divides  itself  into  several  distinctly  marked 
periods,  as 

1.  That  of  the    commercial    and   other   voyages   and    explorations,    along 
the  Northwest  Coast,   commencing  with  the  voyages  of  Hurbado,   Mendoza, 
Grigalva,  and  Becerra,  in  the  North  Pacific,  in   1532,  by  order  of  Cortes,  and 
ending  with  the  voyage  of  Kousensteon  and  Lisiansky,  from  St.  Petersburgh,  to 
the  North  Pacific  in  1803,  and  the  destruction  of  the  ship  Boston,  of  Boston,  by 
the  savages  at  Nootka  Sound  in  the  same  year. 

2.  The  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  in  the  year  1804,  1806. 

3.  Oregon  during  its  occupancy  by  British  and  American   Fur  Companies, 
commencing  in   1806,  with  Frazer  and  others  in  the  employ  of  the  Northwest 


44  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Trading  Company,  crosssing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  forming  the  first  British 
establishment  in  that  part  of  America  on  Frazer's  Lake,  and  ending  with  Capt. 
Wyeth's  attempt  in  1834,  to  form  American  trading  establishments  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

4.  Commencing  with  the  advent  of  the  Methodist  Missionaries  in  1834,  and 
terminating  with'  the  first  attempt  to  establish  a  Provisional  Government  in  1841. 

5.  The  history  of  the  Provisional  Government. 

6.  The  history  of  Oregon  during  the  existence  of  that  government  down  to 
March  4th,  1849,  when  General  Lane  inaugurated  the  Territorial  Government, 
authorized  by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  4th,  1848. 

7.  Oregon  during  the  Territorial  Government,  terminating  on  February  I4th, 
1859,  when  Congress  passed  an  Act  admitting  Oregon  into  the  Union  with  the 
Constitution  adopted  by  the  people  November  9th,  of  the  same  year. 

8.  Oregon  since  the  last  named  date. 

The  general  subject  being  thus  seen  in  its  several  parts:  The  history  of  the 
Provisional  Government  considered  in  this  paper  as  an  integral  portion  of  that 
history  will  be  more  easily  comprehended  and  understood  in  its  relations  to  the 
other  branches  with  which  it  stands  associated. 

Immediately  preceding  the  time  when  American  citizens  as  distinguished 
from  American  Missionaries  came  into  Oregon  to  become  permanent  inhabitants, 
there  were  about  fifty  Canadian-Frenchmen  in  the  Wallamet  Valley,  who  having 
consorted  with  native  women  and  spent  the  prime  of  their  lives  in  the  employ 
ment  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  had  retired  with  their  wives  and  half-breed 
children  to  spend  their  remaining  days  as  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Wallamet.  These  were,  nevertheless,  dependent  upon  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  for  the  supplies  necessary  to  enable  them  to  enter  upon  ther  new 
mode  of  life  and  even  to  continue  in  it,  since  only  that  Company  furnished  or 
could  furnish  them  with  a  market  for  the  products  of  their  labor.  Through 
these  retired  employees  and  others  equally  dependant,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  believed  that  it  could  exert  a  controlling  influence  in  the  settlement 
of  the  country  and  fill  it  with  a  population  dependant  upon  the  Company  for 
supplies.  Moreover,  this  mixed-blood  population  was  relied  upon  to  rally  the  In 
dian  warriors  of  the  country  whenever  this  should  become  plainly  necessary  to 
retain  the  possession  of  the  country,  the  title  to  which  was  then  claimed  by  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

This  policy  was  very  clearly  indicated  by  Mr.  F.  Ermatinger,  an  officer  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the  autumn  of  1838,  when  he  said  that  if  any 
effort  should  be  made  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  remove  them 


HISTORY    OF    THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  45 

from  the  country,  they  would  at  once  arm  the  eight  hundred  mixed-bloods  the 
Company  controlled  in  different  parts  of  Oregon,  and  by  means  of  these  and  their 
knowledge  of  the  natural  fastnesses  in  the  mountains,  the  Company  would  hold 
Oregon  against  any  force  it  was  possible  for  the  United  States  to  bring  into  the 
field.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  well  understood  and  fully  appreciated  the 
magnitude  of  tie  power  and  influence  it  had  over  the  aboriginal  tribes  through 
the  mixed-bloods  even  more  than  through  a  well  digested  system  of  trade  and 
barter  which,  while  it  yielded  immense  returns  of  profit,  kept  the  Indians  in 
a  state  of  dependence,  and  at  the  same  time  made  them  willing  instruments  for 
working  out  any  results  desired  by  their  employers.  To  Americans  not  in  the 
employment  of  the  Company  (and  few  ever  were)  every  facility  was  afforded  for 
getting  out  of  the  country,  but  none  for  remaining  permanently  in  it.  The  pop 
ulation,  nevertheless,  continued  gradually  to  increase  to  an  extent  that  greatly 
disturbed  its  Chief  Factory  the  late  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  who,  while  the  be 
nevolence  of  his  heart  would  not  permit  him  to  witness  actual  suffering  without 
relieving  it,  yet  whose  views  of  financial  policy  prompted  him  to  desire  that  the 
country  might  be  left  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  subjects  of  the  British 
sovereign. 

These  Americans  thus  gradually  increasing  the  population  of  Oregon,  were, 
for  the  most  part,  sailors  from  vessels  and  hunters  from  the  mountains  who  nat 
urally  settled  in  around  the  Methodist  Missionaries  where  such  of  them  as  had 
not  already  native  women  for  wives,  were  encouraged  to  form  matrimonial  con 
nections  in  preference  to  casual  associations. 

In  the  autumn  of  1840,  there  were  in  Oregon  thirty-six  American  male  settlers, 
twenty-five  of  whom  had  taken  native  women  for  their  wives.  There  were  also 
thirty-three  American  women,  thirty-two  children,  thirteen  lay  members  of  the 
Protestant  Missions,  thirteen  Methodist  ministers,  six  Congregational  ministers, 
three  Jesuit  priests,  and  sixty  Canadian-French,  making  an  aggregate  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty -seven  Americans,  and  sixty-three  Canadian-French  (including 
the  priests  in  the  latter  class)  having  no  connection  as  employees  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company. 

I  have  said  that  the  population  outside  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  increased 
slowly.  How  much  so,  will  be  seen  by  the  fact  that  up  to  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1842,  there  were  in  Oregon  no  more  than  twenty-one  Protestant  ministers, 
three  Jesuit  priests,  fifteen  lay  members  of  Protestant  churches,  thirty-four  white 
women,  thirty-two  white  children,  thirty-four  American  settlers,  twenty-five  of 
whom  had  native  wives.  The  total  American  population  will  thus  be  seen  to 
have  been  no  more  than  one  hundred^and  thirty-seven. 

As  descriptive  of  this  period  in  the  history  of  Oregon  so  far  as  that  relates  to 

7 


46  HISTORY    OF  THE    PROVISIONS    GOVERN'MfiNT. 

the  American  inhabitants,  we  may  appropriately  quote  the  language  of  the  sacred 
volume  and  say  "  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel  and  every  man  did 
whatsoever  was  right  in  his  own  eyes."  The  same  remark  would  not,  however, 
be  applicable  to  the  subjects  of  the  British  sovereign  who  were  living  in  Oregon 
with  Americans  under  the  treaty  providing  for  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  coun 
try,  the  title  to  which  was  then  in  dispute  between  the  two  governments.  The 
English  Parliament  had  extended  the  colonial  jurisdiction  and  civil  laws  of 
Canada  over  all  British  subjects  on  this  coast.  Under  this  Act,  Sir  James  Doug 
las,  Angus  McDonald,  and  a  Mr.  Wark,  were  commissioned  as  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  and  they  exercised  jurisdiction  in  civil  cases  not  exceeding  two  hundred 
pounds  sterling.  In  criminal  cases,  if  the  magistrate,  on  a  preliminary  exami 
nation,  believed  from  the  testimony  that  there  was  probable  cause  to  believe 
that  an  offense  had  been  committed  by  the  accused,  he  was  sent  to  Canada  for 
final  trial.  In  all  matters  of  mere  police  and  trade  regulation,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  exercised  an  authority  as  absolute  as  that  of  the  Czar  of  Russia, 
and  flogging  was  a  common  punishment  which  any  officer  from  the  Governor  of 
the  Company  down  to  the  petty  clerk  of  a  trading  postj  might  inflict  upon  any 
one  of  the  rank  and  file  of  employees.  And  that  personal  chastisement  was  not 
always  confined  to  the  mere  servants  of  the  Company,  nor  always  inflicted  by  the 
lower  grade  of  officers  in  power  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  late  Dr.  McLaughlin, 
on  one  occasion  being  stung  by  a  reproof  which  Rev.  Mr.  Beaver  the  chap-- 
lain,  believed  it  his  ministerial  duty  to  adminiser,  because  of  some  of  the  Dr's. 
alleged  sinful  practices,  was  at  once  kicked  out  of  the  office  by  the  offended 
representative  of  British  law  and  Hudson's  Bay  Company  justice,  at  Fort  Van 
couver. 

The  Ahierican  emigrants  flattered  themselves  that  in  forming  settlements  in 
Oregon,  they  would  not  only  improve  their  own  condition  but  that  they  would 
thereby  build  up  for  the  United  States  a  solid  foundation  on  which  to  establish 
the  American  claim  to  the  country.  They  hoped  to  be  made  the  honored  instru 
ments  for  establishing  the  institutions  of  Christianity,  civilization  and  republican 

government 

"  In  the  continuous  woods 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sounds, 
Save  its  own  dashiugs," 

Without  intending  to  expatriate  themselves  from  the  country  of  their  nativity 
or  to  renounce  their  citizenship,  they  exposed  themselves  in  small  parties  to  the 
danger  of  being  cut  off  by  savages  as  well  as  to  other  perils  of  a  long  and  ex 
haustive  journey  of  many  months  over  arid  deserts  and  trackless  mountains. 
Having  arrived  at  the  end  of  their  journey,  with  their  little  fortune,  wrecked  by 
the  difficulties  of  the  way,  and  with  their  bodies  broken  down  by  the  fatigues 
of  their  long  continued  travel,  they  were  at  once  exposed  to  the  hardships  and 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  47 

privations  incident  to  the  settlement  of  all  new  countries,  as  also  to  those  which 
were  peculiar  to  their  isolated  condition,  cut  off  as  they  were  from  the  society 
and  sympathies  of  civilized  life,  far  from  the  inhabited  borders  of  their  native 
land,  between  which  and  them,  there  was  a  vast  region  traversed  by  roving 
tribes  of  Indian7;,  whose  hands  were  against  .every  man,  and  whose  predatory 
habits  were  the  source  of  continued  annoyance  and  danger. 

In  their  immediate  vicinity  too,  and  indeed,  in  their  midst,  were  the  subjects 
of  a  princess,  claiming  the  right  to  exercise  a  sovereign  jurisdiction  over  the  coun 
try,  and  possessing  the  power  to  crush  the  rising  colony  in  its  infancy,  either  by 
the  force  of  arms,  or  by  refusing  to  sell  to  them  the  supplies  necessary  to  the 
maintenance  of  their  existence.  And  if  political  considerations  prevented  the 
former,  the  American  emigrants  nevertheless  painfully  felt  that  they  were  in  the 
power  of  a  people  whose  interests  were  inimical  to  theirs. 

In  addition  to  these  embarrassing  and  untoward  circumstances,  while  the  sub 
jects  of  the  British  empire,  as  we  have  seen,  were  covered  by  the  protecting 
aegis  of  its  laws — the  American  emigrants,  although  from  year  to  year  they 
hoped  to  see  the  paternal  care  of  their  government  extended  over  them, 
were  from  time  to  time  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment,  and  to  realize  that 
they  were  without  just  and  equitable  laws  to  govern  them,  and  to  feel  that  they 
occuped  the  extraordinary,  and  in  every  way  anomalous  position  of  a  people 
who  without  having  either  renounced  their  country,  or  been  actually  renounced 
by  it,  were,  nevertheless,  without  one. 

Distant  from  the  land  of  their  birth,  surrounded  by  restless  tribes  of  Indians, 
who  clamorously  and  insolently  demanded  of  the  immigrants  pay  for  lands  which 
the  immigrants  had  neither  the  means  nor  the  right  to  purchase;  still  ardently 
desiring  to  have  their  names  and  their  destiny  connected  with  that  of  the  repub 
lic,  and  yet,  often  pierced  to  the  heart  by  the  thought,  which  would  sometimes, 
unbidden,  obtrude  itself  upon  the  mind,  that  they  were  the  victims  of  their 
country's  neglect  and  injustice,  and  suffering  all  the  inconveniences  and  embar 
rassments  which  are  necessarily  felt  by  a  resident  and  civilized  community, 
without  a  system  of  laws  for  the  conservation  of  peace  and  order,  they  were 
at  length  compelled  to  organize  a  provisional  government. 

But  before  the  American  settlers  addressed  themselves  seriously  to  a  work  of 
the  magnitude  this  was  seen  to  possess,  they  sent  to  Congress  a  petition  in  1840 
in  which  among  many  other  things,  they  said  : 

"  Your  petitioners  represent  that  they  are  residents  in  Oregon  Territory,  and 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  persons"  desirous  of  becoming  such. 

They  further  represent  that  they  have  settled  themselves  in  said  Territory,  un- 


48  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

der  the  belief  that  it  was  a  portion  of  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  they  might  rely  upon  the  government  thereof  for  the  blessings  of  free 
institutions,  and  the  protection  of  its  arms. 

But  your  petitioners  further  represent,  that  they  are  uninformed  of  any  acts 
of  said  government  by  which  its  institutions  and  protection  are  extended  to  them; 
in  consequence  whereof,  themselves  and  families  are  exposed  to  be  destroyed 
by  the  savages  and  others  that  -would  do  them  harm* 

And  your  petitioners  would  further  represent,  that  they  have  no  means  of  pro 
tecting  their  own  and  the  lives  of  their  families,  other  than  self  constituted  tri 
bunals,  organized  and  sustained  by  the  power  of  an  ill  instructed  public  opin 
ion,  and  the  resort  to  force  and  arms. 

And  your  petitioners  represent  these  means  of  safety  to  be  an  insufficient  safe 
guard  of  life  and  property.  * 

Your  petitioners  wherefore  pray  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
to  establish,  as  soon  as  may  be,  a  Territorial  government  in  the  Oregon  Terri 
tory." 

The  reader's  attention  has  probably  been  drawn  in  an  especial  manner  to  that 
portion  of  the  petition,  in  which  the  settlers  declared  that  "  themselves  and 
families  are  exposed  to  be  destroyed  by  the  savages  around  them,  and  others  that 
would  do  them  harm."  The  inquiry  which  is  at  once  suggested  by  this  lan 
guage  is,  what  reasons  did  the  petitioners  believe  they  had  for  thinking  that 
they  were  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  by  savages;  and  who  were  those  "  others 
that  would  do  them  harm?  "  Some  remarks  will  be  made  having  for  their  ob 
ject  an  answer  to  these  questions. 

The  title  to  Oregon  was  at  the  time  in  dispute  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.  Under  the  treaty  for  joint  occupancy,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany  controlling  an  immense  amount  of  capital,  had  their  trading  posts  estab 
lished  at  all  points  most  eligible  for  trading  with  the  Indians  and  for  collecting 
furs.  All  thus  employed,  felt  that  they  were  no  longer  under  the  mil  1  and  hu 
manizing  influences  of  civilization  and  law,  and  they  found  themselves  in  a  vast 
.wilderness  inhabited  only  by  savages,  and  where  every  man  was  a  law  to  him 
self.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  great  mass  of  the  hunters  and  trappers  come 
to  have  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  which  would  not  be  recognized  by  a  Christian 
community.  They  had  come  into  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  making  money 
by  hunting  and  trapping  and  trading  with  the  Indians.  They  had  a  right  to  do 
this,  and  from  these  premises  they  inferred  the  right  to  do  whatever  was  necessary 


*The  words  italicised  were  intended  to  refer  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. — THE  Au~ 
XB*B. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  49 

to  enable  them  to  retain  the  exclusive  occupancy  of  the  country,  and  to  keep 
out  all  American  citizens  who  would  come  into  it  for  the  purposes  of  either 
trade  or  settlement.  This  spirit  of  exclusiveness  and  a  determination  that  oth 
ers  should  not  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  Indian  trade,  had  devel 
oped  itself  long  before  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  had  made  any  permanent 
trading  establishments  on  the  northwest  coast.  This  fact  is  familiar  to  every 
reader  who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Northwest  Company  and  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  both  of  which  were  British,  whose  mu 
tual  hostility  springing  out  of  a  fierce  spirit  of  commercial  rivalry  led  finally  to  a 
state  of  actual  war  in  which  each  sought  to  destroy  their  competitors  by  actually 
killing  them,  and  by  inciting  the  Indians  to  do  so.  But  this  state,  of  things 
could  not  last  forever,  and  it  was  after  much  bloodshed  and  loss  of  capital 
brought  to  an  end  by  the  two  Companies  merging  their  interests  in  one.  This 
restored  quiet  and  prosperity  until  the  Americans,  led  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  be 
gan  to  enter  upon  this  new  field  of  enterprise.  Then  the  old  spirit  of  evil  be 
gan  to  raise  its  snakey  folds  again  above  the  surface  of  affairs,  disturbed  by  the 
introduction  of  this  new  element.  And  although  the  treaty  of  joint  occupancy 
and  the  difference  in  nationality  imposed  upon  the  Chief  Factor  and  principal 
traders  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  the  necessity  for  considerable  caution  lest 
they  involve  the  two  governments  in  war,  yet  nevertheless  their  feelings  against  the 
American  traders  were  intensely  hostile,  and  carried  them  as  far  as  they  dared 
to  go  without  being  confronted  by  a  war  between  two  great  nations. 

Therefore  no  war  was  made  upon  the  American  traders  and  trappers,  but 
facts  which  the  limits  of  this  historical  sketch  will  not  permit  me  to  bring  to 
the  reader's  attention,  warrant  something  more  than  an  opinion  only,  that 
the  subordinate  employees  of  the  Company,  and  also  the  Indians  come  to  un 
derstand  that  the  Bostons  by  which  name  the  Americans  were  known,  were 
extremely  offensive.  It  was  probably  from  the  license  this  was  supposed  to  give 
•that  Smith's  party  perished  at  the  Umpqua  river  by  the  Indians,  who  rushed 
upon  them  with  bows  and  arrows  made  by  themselves,  and  with  tomahawks, 
scalping  knives  and  muskets  furnished  them  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

If  this  seem  almost  incredible  to  the  reader,  let  me  remind  him  that  this  is 
not  as  improbable  as  the  well  recognized  facts  which  make  up  the  history  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  of  the  Northwest  Company  prior  to  their  union. 

The  same  spirit  of  commercial  monopoly  prompted  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany  to  do  all  in  its  power  to  discourage  American  traders  and  to  cripple  them 
in  their  enterprises.  By  such  methods  Capt.  Wyeth  was  driven  out  of  the 
country  as  others  had  been  before  him. 

The  petition  of  the  settlers  to  Congress,  to  which  reference  has  been  made, 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

and  from  which  a  brief  quotation  has  been  given,  clearly  indicates  a  sense  of  the 
necessity  for  establishing  civil  government,  and  it  at  the  same  time  shows  a  de 
termination  to  address  themselves  to  the  task  as  soon  as  their  circumstances 
would  permit.  But  in  performing  this  arduous  and  difficult  labor,  so  necessary 
to  the  removal  of  a  suspense  that  rendered  the  people  dissatisfied  and  unhappy, 
and  of  an  uncertainty  that  discouraged  their  efforts  and  depressed  their  ener 
gies,  they  had  to  meet  and  remove  obstacles  to  the  administration  of  a  tempo 
rary  system  of  government,  which  are  unknown  in  establishing  one  intended  to  be 
permanent;  yet  fully  impressed  with  the  solemn  conviction  that  it  was  better  to 
unite  the  sinews  of  government  in  the  hands  of  even  a  single  despot,  than  to 
encounter  the  anarchy  and  confusion  of  a  multitude  without  law,  they  addressed 
themselves  to  their  work,  difficult  as  it  was,  feeling  that  they  merited  the  re 
spectful  consideration  of  the  government  at  Washington,  and  that  they  at  least 
would  no  longer  be  wanting  in  duty  to  themselves. 

The  first  effort  which  was  made  with  a  view  to  the  organization  of  a  civil 
government  was  made  at  Champoeg,  which  at  that  time  was  the  seat  ot  the 
principal  settlement  in  the  Wallamet  valley.  This  was  on  the  yth  of  Febru 
ary,  1841,  when  "  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  was  held,"  "  for  the 
purpose  of  consulting  upon  the  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  for  the  formation  of 
laws,  and  the  election  of  officers  to  execute  them."  The  meeting  was  some 
what  informal,  and  designed  mainly  for  a  preliminary  consultation  by  a  few 
persons  connected  with  the  Methodist  Mission  station,  in  the  Wallamet  valley. 
The  late  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  at  that  time  the  Superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Mis 
sion  among  the  Oregon  Indians,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  he  was  requested 
to  express  his  opinions  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done  in  the  premises.  In  a  short 
speech  in  which  his  remarks  seemed  to  be  carefully  considered,  and  in  a  man 
ner  which  indicated  that  he  felt  oppressed  by  the  grave  responsibilities  of  the 
hour,  he  advised  the  selection  of  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  a 
constitution  and  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the  settlements  south  of  the 
Columbia.  Beyond  this,  little  or  nothing  was  done,  except  to  recommend  the 
people  to  consider  whether  it  would  not  be  well  to  fill  the  office  of  Governor  and 
other  necessary  offices  by  persons  named  for  the  purpose. 

At  this  time  the  people  of  Oregon  were  divided  into  two  great  divisions  con 
sidered  with  reference  to  their  allegiance — citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
subjects  of  the  British  sovereign.  The  allegiance  of  the  one  class  were  in  this  re 
spect  in  direct  conflict  with  those  of  the  other.  This  itself  presented  very  grave 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  establishing  a  government  of  any  kind.  But  there  were 
others  even  yet  more  formidable.  Among  the  people,  there  were  three  classes, 
the  gentleman  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  was  essentially  an  aristp- 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  5 1 

cratic  class  that  would  not  hesitate  to  beat  an  employee  in  the  lower  grade  of 
the  Company's  service,  and  who  of  course  were  not  aristocratic  at  all.  Second, 
the  Missionaries,  who  were  in  like  manner  regarded  as  the  American  aristocrats; 
and  third,  the  common  people  of  both  nationalities,  who,  while  steadily  refusing 
to  accept  the  social  position  assigned  them  by  those  who  had  the  command  of 
more  money,  yet  nevertheless,  were  constrained  to  tacitly  accept  the  posi 
tion  into  which  they  were  forced  by  the  power  which  is  always  associated  with 
the  control  of  that,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  is  customarily  employed  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  the  exchange  of  commodities. 

At  the  time  of  this  informal  meeting,  the  late  Dr.  John  McLaughlin  resided  at 
Fort  Vancouver,  and  he  was  chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  was  a  great  man,  upon  whom  God  had  stamped  a 
grandeur  of  character  which  few  men  possesses,  and  a  nobility  which  the  patent 
of  no  earthly  sovereign  can  confer.  His  standard  of  commercial  integrity  would 
compare  well  with  that  of  the  best  of  men.  As  a  Christian,  he  was  devout 
Roman  Catholic,  yet,  nevertheless,  catholic  in  the  largest  sense  of  that  word. 
While  he  was  sometimes  betrayed  by  his  warm  and  impulsive  nature,  and 
great  force  of  character,  into  doing  or  saying  something  of  questionable  propri 
ety,  he  was  notwithstanding  a  man  of  great  goodness  of  heart,  too  wise  to  do  a 
really  foolish  thing,  too  noble  and  magnanimous  to  condescend  to  meanness, 
and  too  forgiving  to  cherish  resentments.  The  writer,  during  the  last  years  of 
Dr.  McLaughlin's  life,  being  his  professional  adviser,  had  an  opportunity  such 
as  no  other  man  had,  save  his  confessor,  of  learning  and  studying  him;  and  as  a 
result  of  the  impressions  which  daily  intercourse  of  either  a  social  or  business 
nature  made  upon  the  writer's  mind,  he  hesitates  not  to  say,  that  old  whited- 
headed  John  McLaughlin,  when  compared  with  other  persons  who  have  figured 
in  the  early  history  of  Oregon,  is  in  sublimity  of  character,  a  Mount  Hood  tow 
ering  above  the  foot  hills  into  the  regions  of  eternal  snow  and  sunshine. 

It  will  at  once  be  seen  that  Dr.  McLaughlin's  position  during  all  the  years  of 
the  pendency  of  the  boundary  question,  and  especially  at  the  time  of  the  first 
attempt  to  organize  a  Provisional  government,  was  one  beset  with  very  great 
difficulties.  And  it  is  quite  certain  that  a  man  of  less  force  of  character  and  less 
real  benevolence,  and  that  strength  of  principle  which  does  not  pause  in  the 
path  of  duty  to  look  back  over  the  shoulder  to  count  how  many  are  following 
after,  would  have  failed  to  preserve  peace  in  Oregon  among  the  people  of  the 
two  nationalities.  In  short,  he  kept  in  check  one  class  of  the  population  which 
might  well  oppose  the  organization  of  the  proposed  government. 

The  mountain  men  were  from  long  habits,  hostile  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  inculcated  and  strengthened  in  the  mountains  by  the  American  Fur 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Company,  during  the  long  years  of  the  rivalry  of  these  Companies.  This  feeling 
also  was  a  serious  embarrassment  in  the  efforts  made  to  induce  a  majority  of  the 
people  in  Oregon  to  organizing  a  Provisional  Government.  Nor  less  formidable 
were  the  difficulties  in  securing  such  a  result,  were  those  which  sprung  out  of  the 
different  grades  in  society,  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  notice. 

Dr.  McLaughlin's  personal  interests  and  the  interests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  he  represented,  would  at  once  suggest  opposition  to  the  organization  of 
the  Provisional  Government.  And  the  Methodist  Mission  as  such  was  regarded  by 
the  American  agricultural  population,  as  not  being  certainly  on. the  side  of  those 
who  insisted  upon  the  contemplated  measure  as  one  essential  to  the  security  of  the 
lives  and  property  of  all  the  various  classes,  including  those  noticed  as  being  likely 
to  arrange  themselves  in  formidable  opposition. 

An  event,  however,  occurred  on  the  I5th  of  February,  1841,  which  in  a  very 
marked  manner  once  more  called  the  attention  of  the  American  inhabitants  of 
the  Wallamet  valley  to  the  importance  and  even  necessity  for  establishing 
some  regular  form  of  civil  government.  On  that  day,  Ewing  Young,  an  Amer 
ican  citizen  of  considerable  wealth,  having  died  without  heirs,  became  an  his 
torical  character.  Mr.  Young  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Hall  J.  Kelly,  A. 
M.,  of  Three  Rivers,  Massachusetts,  who  having  as  far  back  as  1817,  been  im 
pressed  with  the  importance  of  forming  American  settlements  in  Oregon,  had 
through  long  weary  years,  given  to  the  subject  the  energies  of  a  cultivated  mind, 
and  the  resources  of  a  fortune  by  no  means  small  at  the  first.  Mr.  Kelly  was  at 
the  time  of  becoming  acquainted  with  Mr.  Young,  on  his  way  to  Oregon  with  a 
view  to  exploration;  and  he  had  little  difficulty  in  persuading  his  new  found  ac 
quaintance,  as  also  several  others,  to  accompany  him.  The  party  arrived  at 
Vancouver,  October  I5th,  1834.  Mr.  Kelly's  health  having  failed,  he  left  Ore 
gon  in  March,  1835.  But  Mr.  Young  and  others,  whom  Mr.  Kelly  induced  to 
accompany  him  to  Oregon,  permanently  settled  in  the  country. 

Mr.  Young  having  died  on  the  I5th  of  February,  1841,  was  buried  on  the 
1 7th,  on  which  occasion,  most  of  the  settlers  were  present.  After  the  appropri 
ate  ceremonies  of  the  funeral  had  been  observed,  the  adult  male  inhabitants 
present,  were  organized  as  a  meeting  of  the  people,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
the  general  subject  of  civil  government,  a  new  reason  for  which  was  seen  by  all 
in  the  condition  in  which  the  estate  of  the  decease  had  been  left.  The  settlers 
were  united  in  opinion  that  some  laws  should  be  adopted  for  the  settlement  of 
estates.  And  notwithstanding  the  doubt  in  the  minds  of  some  with  respect  to 
the  side  of  the  question  upon  which  the  Missionaries  would  array  themselves  on 
a  trial  of  strength,  we  find  that  Rev.  Jason  Lee  was  chosen  Chairman,  and  Rev. 
Gustavus  Hines,  was  chosen  Secretary  "  At  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  inhabitants 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  53 

of  the  Wallamet  valley,  for  consultation  concerning  the  steps  necessary  to  be 
taken  for  the  formation  of  laws,  and  the  election  of  officers  to  execute  the  same, 
and  for  the  better  preservation  of  peace  and  good  order."  At  this  meeting,  Geo. 
W.  Le  Breton  was  added  to  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  chosen  at  a  previous 
meeting  of  the  same  month.  A  committee  of  seven  was  likewise  recommended  to 
be  chosen  to  draft  a  Conntitution  and  Code  of  Laws  for  the  government  of  the  set 
tlements  south  of  the  Columbia  river;  and  a  resolution  was  passed,  that  all  set 
tlers  north  of  that  river  not  in  any  manner  connected  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  be  admitted  to  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  the  proposed  government, 
on  making  application. 

The  meeting  then  proceeded  to  advise  the  committee  to  propose  the  creation 
of  the  following  officers  :  A  Governor;  a  Supreme  Judge,  with  probate  powers; 
three  Justices  of  the  Peace;  three  Constables;  three  Road  Commissioners;  an 
Attorney-General;  a  Clerk  of  the  Courts;  a  Recorder;  a  Treasurer;  and  two  Over 
seers  of  the  Poor. 

After  the  transaction  of  some  other  business,  which  mainly  had  reference  to 
the  filling  of  the  offices,  the  meeting  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  Methodist  Mis 
sion,  the  next  day,  the  i8th. 

Short  as  was  the  notice,  nearly  all  the  settlers  were  present.  Rev.  David 
Leslie  was  called  upon  to  preside,  and  Sidney  Smith  and  Gustavus  Hines  were 
chosen  Secretaries.  The  proceedings  of  the  previous  day  were  read;  when  it 
was 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  chosen  to  form  a  Constitution  and  to  draft 
a  Code  of  Laws,  and  that  the  following  persons  compose  that  committee:  Rev. 
F.  N.  Blanchett,  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines,  Rev.  Josiah  L.  Parrish, 
Mr.  D.  Donpriere,  Mr.  M.  Charlevo,  Mr.  Robert  Moore,  Mr.  E.  Lucia  and  Wm. 
Johnson." 

For  some  reason  which  does  not  appear  among  any  of  the  written  documents, 
"the  committee  appointed  to  draft  a  Constitution  and  Code  of  Laws,  were  finally 
instructed  to  frame  a  constitution  without  making  any  provision  in  it  for  the 
election  of  a  Governor.  Tradition  indeed  affirms  that  the  reason  for  this  extra 
ordinary  instruction,  was  found  in  the  fact  that  it  was  even  then  ascertained  that 
no  man  could  get  a  majority  of  the  votes.  The  effect  of  this  proceeding  was 
practically  to  unite  in  one  man,  both  the  Executive  and  Judicial  functions  ;  and 
for  this  purpose,  Dr.  J.  L.  Babcock  seemed  to  unite  the  suffrages  of  the  people 
present.  He  was  a  man  of  honorable  ambition;  possessing  sound  practical  sense, 
good  principles,  and  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  Missionaries.  George  W. 
Le  Breton  was  elected  Recorder.  He  had  come  to  the  country  with  Capt.  Couch 

7 


54  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

on  the  brig  Maryland.  He  had  been  accustomed  to  good  society,  was  agree 
able  in  manners,  intelligent  in  conversation,  and  in  religious  profession,  a  Roman 
Catholic.  This  last  named  fact  caused  him  to  be  elected  to  conciliate  our 
Catholic  brethren.  With  a  view  to  a  like  effect  upon  our  English  cousins,  Wm. 
Johnson  was  elected  High  Sheriff.  The  kind  reader  I  hope  will  pardon  me  for 
adding  that  no  where  among  the  documents,  either  printed  or  in  manuscript, 
nor  yet  from  tradition,  have  I  been  able  to  learn  who  was  elected  Low  Sheriff. 

The  Constables  elected  were,  Gervais,  Zania  Ladaroot,  Pierre  Bellique  and 
William  McCarty. 

Messrs.  Gervais,  Cannon,  Robert  Moore  and  Rev.  L.  H.  Judson,  were  chosen 
Justices  of  the  Peace.  It  was  then 

Resolved,  That  until  a  code  of  laws  be  adopted  by  this  community,  Dr. 
Babcock  be  instructed  to  act,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  June,  at  the  new 
building  near  the  Catholic  Church. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  people  were  striving  for  the  attainment  of  something 
better  than  they  possessed;  and  that  they  were  in  some  sense  feeling  their  way 
in  the  dark,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  hold  of  the  means  with  which  to  protee  t 
themselves  from  dangers  that  menaced  them. 

Rev.  Gustavus  Hines  says  in  his  work  on  Oregon,  "  the  origin  of  the  attempt 
to  form  a  kind  of  Provisional  Government,  was  the  removal,  by  death,  of  the  late 
Ewing  Young,  leaving  as  he  did,  a  large  and  unsettled  estate,  with  no  one  to 
administer  upon  it,  and  no  law  to  control  its  administration.  The  exigency  of 
this  case  having  been  met  by  the  appointment  of  a  Judge  with  probate  powers, 
who  entered  immediately  upon  his  duties,  and  disposed  of  the  estate  of  Ewing 
Young,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  community,  and  the  fact  that  some  of 
the  most  influential  citizens  of  the  country,  and  especially  some  of  the  Legisla 
tive  Committee,  were  adverse  to  the  establishing  of  a  permanent  organization  so 
long  as  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  community  could  be  preserved  without  it, 
the  subject  was  permitted  to  die  away,  and  the  Committee  for  drafting  a  Con 
stitution  and  Code  of  Laws,  did  not  meet  according  to  their  instructions,  nor  did 
the  meeting  at  which  they  were  expected  to  report  ever  take  place."  And  yet 
the  Archives  of  the  Provisional  Government,  shows  that  on  Tuesday,  June  1st, 
1841,  the  people  did  meet  at  the  place  to  which  the  formermeeting  had  adjourned. 
Rev.  David  Leslie  presided  at  the  meeting,  and  Sidney  Smith  and  Gustavus 
Hines,  were  Secretaries. 

The  proceedings  of  the  meeting  of  Feb.  i8th,  being  read,  the  report  of  the 
Committee  for  drafting  a  Constitution  and  Code  of  Laws,  was  called  for,  when 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT.  $5 

its  Chairman  responded  by  saying  that  he  had  not  called  the  committee  together. 

Rev.  ¥.  N.  Blanchett  having  at  his  own  request,  been  excused  from  serving 
on  that  committee,  Dr.  Baily  was  appointed  in  his  place,  and  at  the  same  time, 
instructions  were  given  to  the  committee  to  meet  on  the  first  Monday  in  August, 
and  to  have  their  report  ready  by  the  first  Tuesday  in  October.  The  committee 
was  also  instructed  to  confer  with  Commodore  Wilkes  of  the  American  exploring 
expedition,  and  with  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  upon  the  subject  of  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  Constitution  and 
Code  of  Laws.  The  Committee  to  draft  a  Constitution  and  Code  of  Laws  was 
then  instructed  to  report  atf  the  next  meeting.  The  meeting  then  adjourned  to 
meet  at  the  American  Mission  house  at  n  o'clock,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
October. 

I  have  explored  all  the  known  and  even  suspected  sources  of  authorities  for  in 
formation  for  the  purpose  of  learning  whether  this  meeting  proposed  for  October 
was  held.  Even  tradition  furnishes  no  evidence  of  its  having  been  held,  and  the 
inference  therefore  is,  that  it  was  not.  And  this  is  rendered  nearly  certain 
by  the  fact  that  the  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  Commodore 
Wilkes  and  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  abandoned  all  further  ideas  of  organizing 
a  civil  government  for  the  time  being,  because  in  a  conference  with  these  gen 
tlemen,  they  were  found  to  be  decidedly  opposed  to  the  scheme,  and  they  recom 
mended  that  the  subject  be  allowed  to  rest,  it  being  inexpedient  at  that  time,  in 
their  judgment,  to  proceed  with  the  contemplated  organization,  believing  as  they 
did,  that  the  moral  sense  of  right  and  wrong  by  which  the  people  had  hitherto 
been  held  together  as  a  community,  was  sufficient  for  all  the  legitimate  ends  of 
government  among  a  people,  who  were  so  few  in  number  and  so  simple  in 
manners. 

The  real  cause,  however,  for  arriving  at  such  an  opinion  so  different  from  that 
entertained  by  a  large  majority  of  such  of  the  citizens  as  were  not  connected  to 
the  Methodist  Mission,  nor  yet  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  did  not  per 
haps,  arise  so  much  from  the  conviction  that  a  civil  government  was  quite  un 
necessary,  as  from  a  sense  of  an  inability  on  the  part  of  the  governed,  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  even  the  most  simple  government.  The  people  were  few  in 
number,  greatly  reduced  in  their  pecuniary  circumstances,  occupying  portions 
of  the  country  remote  from  each  other;  they  were  engaged  in  felling  forests,  cul 
tivating  fields,  and  in  other  ways  giving  their  utmost  attention  to  supplying  their 
most  pressing  wants.  They  were,  also,  without  law  books,  excepting  one  copy 
of  the  Iowa  Statutes,  to  which  to  refer  for  assistance  in  framing  laws,  and  they 
had  not  a  press  on  which  to  print  them  when  enacted. 

But  the  American  agricultural   settlers  were  greatly  disappointed,  because  of 


56  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

the  result  thus  reached;  and  they  were  even  sufficiently  ill  nature  d  to  attribute 
the  decision  of  Commodore  Wilkes  to  the  fact  that  the  taste  of  Dr.  MeLaughlin's 
wine,  and  his  very  courteous  treatment  of  the  officers  of  the  American  squadron, 
controlled  the  decision.  It  was  not  difficult  to  see  what  moulded  Dr. 
MeLaughlin's  opinions  as  the  representative  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany,  which  then  had  the  absolute  control  of  the  country,  and  it  was  desir 
able  to  continue  to  keep  and  control  it  to  the  end,  which  they  were  sharp  sighted 
enough  to  see  would  very  soon  be  arrived  at  through  the  natural  results  of  events, 
which  would  certainly  follow  the  organization  of  civil  government. 

When  the  Pilgrim  fathers  of  the  Mayflower  landed  on  the  bleak  and  inhospi 
table  coast  of  New  England,  and  established  "  a  State  without  a  king,  and  a 
church  without  a  bishop,"  they  were  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  of  the 
great  importance  of  laying  deep  and  broad  foundations  upon  which  to  build 
up  the  educational  institutions  of  the  country.  And  while  they  were  moulding- 
government  into  the  form  best  adapted  to  secure  the  civil  and  political  liberty 
of  the  citizens,  they  with  a  wise  forecast  to  the  interests  of  the  generations  of  the 
future,  laid  the  foundation  of  an  institution  of  learning,  possessing  the  power  of 
so  expanding  as  to  meet  the  ever  growing  wants  of  the  people.  And  the  re 
sult,  is  now  seen  in  the  fact  that  Harvard  University  is  amon^j  the  best  in  either 
Europe  or  America;  and  it  has  a  law  school,  which  has  no  rival  in  either  hem 
isphere. 

So  with  like  intent,  and  with  no  less  wisdom  and  forecast,  did  the  early 
Methodist  Missionaries,  even  while  seeking  to  establish  the  institutions  of  Chris 
tianity  and  civil  government,  labor  to  lay  the  foundation  of  an  educational  in 
stitution,  so  organized  that  it  would  expand  as  the  wants  of  the  people  increased. 
Accordingly  it  will  be  seen  that  on  the  lyth  January,  1842,  the  people  assem 
bled  at  Chemeketa,  now  North  Salem,  under  a  call  of  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  for  the 
purpose  of  consultation  upon  the  subject  of  English  education  in  Oregon,  and 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  speedy  establishment  of  a  literary  institution  capable 
of  meeting  the  wants  of  a  growing  community. 

Little  was  done  at  this  meeting  save  the  appointing  of  a  committee  to  prepare 
business  for  a  meeting,  whifh  was  afterwards  called  to  assemble  at  the  Old 
Mission  on  the  1st  of  February,  1842,  in  a  house  erected  by  Jason  Lee  in  1834, 
at  a  place  about  half  a  mile  above  the  present  little  town  of  Wheatland,  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Wallamet  river  near  a  place  known  in  past  year  as 
Garrison's  landing.  The  decayed  remnants  of  the  building  itself,  as  also  the 
ground  upon  which  it  stood,  have  all  been  carried  away  to  the  deep  blue  sea 
by  the  ceaseless  action  of  the  waters  of  the  Wallamet. 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  57 

The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  to  constitute  the  first  Board  of  Trus 
tees  of  the  Oregon  Institute  : 

Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Rev.  David  Leslie,  Rev.  G.  Hines,  Rev.  J.  L.  Parrish,  Rey. 
L.  H.  Judson,  Hon,  George  Abernethy,  Mr.  Alanson  Beers,  Mr.  H.  Campbell 
and  Dr.  I.  L.  Babcock. 

A  committee  on  location  was  appointed,  who  reported  in  favor  of  a  place  in 
the  upper  end  of  the  French  prairie.  But  the  locality  named  being  deficient  in 
pure  water,  the  Institute  was  finally  located  on  what  was  then  known  as  the 
Wallace  prairie,  two  and  a  half  miles  below  the  present  city  of  Salem,  on  a 
tract  of  land  now  owned  by  Asahel  Bush,  Esq. 

The  constitution  adopted  by  the  Board  on  the  I5th  March,  1842,  provided 
that  the  school  should  always  be  under  the  supervision  of  some  Christian  church 
that  should  first  pledge  itself  to  patronise  and  sustain  the  institution.  The 
people  generally  looked  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  foster  and  con 
trol  it.  With  that  in  view,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Rev.  G.  Hines, 
known  as  the  Old  Parsonage,  situated  where  the  oil  mill  of  the  Messrs.  Holman 
now  stands,  in  Salem,  in  which  Rev.  Jason  Lee  was  instructed  to  call  a  meeting 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Oregon,  both  ministers  and  laymen,  to 
take  into  consideration  the  subject. 

On  the  26th  Oct.  1842,  at  a  meeting  held  at  the  Old  Parsonage,  it  was  resolved 
by  the  ministers  and  laymen  present,  as  a  branch  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  the 
United  States,  to  take  the  Oregon  Institute  under  their  care,  and  they  pledged 
themselves  to  make  every  resonable  effort  to  sustain  it.  How  well  they  kept 
their  word,  their  subsequent  actions  and  self-denying  sacrifices  of  money  and 
and  property  afford  abundant  proof. 

The  efforts  hitherto  made  to  organize  such  a  Provisional  Government  as  would 
be  such  in  fact,  to  the  extent  of  providing  for  all  existing  exigencies  of  the  coun 
try  were  regarded  as  a  failure,  the  responsibility  for  which  some  were  disposed 
to  cast  upon  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  while  others  attributed  it  to  the  com 
bined  influence  of  this  Company,  and  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Methodist 
Mission.  But  the  fact  was  far  otherwise,  and  whatever  failure  there  was,  re 
sulted  from  a  variety  of  concurring  causes,  a  further  notice  of  which  is  not  com 
patible  with  the  necessary  brevity  of  this  sketch. 

The  wild  beasts  of  prey  had  become  a  very  serious  evil,  because  of  their  great 
destruction  of  domestic  animals.  A  number  of  persons  who  had  held  a  consulta 
tion  at  the  house  of  Wm.  H.  Gray,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  organizing  a 
Provisional  Government,  and  who  had,  or  at  least  supposed  they  had  carefully 
reflected  upon  the  various  retarding  influences,  thought  they  saw  in  the  fact 


58  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

mentioned  in  the  beginning  of  this  paragraph,  an  object  of  sufficient  interest  to 
all,  to  collect  a  large  number  of  settlers  who  would  probably  adopt  some  line  of 
harmonious  action.  With  this  in  view,  a  meeting  was  held  in  accordance  with  a 
previous  notice,  at  the  Oregon  Institute,  February  2d,  1843,  at  which  Dr.  J.  L. 
Babcock,  presided,  in  order  to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  adopting 
some  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  herds.  A  committee  of  six  was  appointed 
to  notify  a  general  meeting,  and  report  business.  And  finally  it  was  deter 
mined  that  the  proposed  meeting  should  be  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Joseph  Ger- 
vias,  on  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1843,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M. 

But  before  passing  from  the  subject  of  the  "  Wolf  Meeting"  as  the  meeting  of 
February  2d,  1843,  came  to  be  designated,  the  reader  ought  to  be  reminded  that 
Dr.  Babcock,  while  discarding  the  idea  of  any  efforts,  having  for  their  object  the 
organizing  of  something  better  as  a  government  than  anything  previously  at 
tempted,  because  he  believed  that  the  people  had  all  the  protection  necessary 
in  the  arrangements  already  entered  into,  believed  that  the  object  of  the 
"  Wolf  Meeting,"  was  a  good  one;  all  being  interested  in  it,  because  all  had  lost 
more  or  less  from  the  ravages  of  wild  beasts,  which  made  it  necessary  to  make  a 
united  effort  to  destroy  them. 

On  the  committee  of  six  appointed  at  the  "  Wolf  Meeting"  of  February  2d 
was  a  French  Rocky  Mountain  hunter,  as  also  two  Canadian  French  settlers,  a 
Mr.  Gervais  and  a  Mr.  Lucia,  both  of  whom  had  come  to  this  country  with  Wil 
son  G.  Hunt's  party.  These  three  men  were  capable  of  wielding  a  large  influ 
ence  over  that  class  of  population  with  which  they  naturally  stood  in  close  rela 
tionship,  and  that  influence  it  was  known  they  would  exert  on  the  side  of  Amer 
ican  enterprise  and  a  Provisional  Government,  and  upon  these  three,  was  devolved 
the  duty  of  giving  the  notices  for  a  second  "  Wolf  Meeting,"  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Gervais  on  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1843.  A  Mr.  Le  Breton  and  a  Mr. 
Smith,  took  upon  themselves  the  duty  of  quietly  learning  in  advance  of  the  second 
meeting,  who  could  be  relied  upon  as  supporters  of  the  real  object,  which  was  a 
Provisional  Government,  that  should  be  such  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  In  short, 
the  purpose  named  in  the  notices,  was  but  a  feint  skilfully  designed  to  cover  up 
the  real  purpose.  The  design  indicated  on  the  face  of  the  notices,  was  certainly  a 
very  laudable  one,  which  was  sure  to  be  approved  by  the  principal  stock  owners 
then  known  to  be  the  Missionaries  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  These  were 
believed  not  to  approve  of  the  organization  of  a  Provisional  Government,  but 
the  extirpation  of  wild  animals  was  an  object  to  which  they  gave  an  encourag 
ing  word  and  to  which  they  promised  to  contribute  their  money. 

In  the  meantime  the  question  of  a  Provisional  Government  was  discussed  be 
fore  a  lyceum  at  the  Wallamet  Falls,  (now  Oregon  City,)  with  great  animation 


HISTORY    OF    THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  59 

on  both  sides,  and  it  was  finally  decided  to  be  inexpedient  in  the  existing  condi 
tion  of  the  country,  to  organize  such  a  government.  Dr.  McLaughlin  advocated 
the  establisbment  of  a  government  quite  independant  of  the  two  great  nations 
claiming  the  country,  and  some  of  his  reasons  were  specious. 

Lansford  W.  Hastings,  Dr.  McLaughlin's  lawyer,  offered  a  resolution  "  That 
it  is  expedient  for  the  settlers  on  the  coast,  to  establish  an  Independent  Govern 
ment."  The  subject  was  discussed  with  considerable  animation  and  the  reso 
lution  was  warmly  opposed  by  Mr.  Abernethy  and  other  patriotic  Americans  ; 
but  was  finally  adopted.  To  neutralize  the  effect  of  this,  Mr.  Abernethy  then 
offered  the  following  resolution,  as  the  subject  for  the  next  week's  discussion: 

"  Resolved,  That  if  the  United  States  extends  its  jurisdiction  over  this  coun 
try  within  the  next  four  years,  it  will  not  be  expedient  to  form  an  Independent 
Government." 

This  was  discussed  with  great  zeal  at  the  next  meeting,  and  being  finally 
adopted,  quite  neutralized  the  pernicious  influence  of  the  first  resolution. 

Dr.  White  would  very  fully  and  cordially  support  any  measure  or  system  of 
measures  looking  towards  the  establishment  of  an  Independent  Government, 
provided  the  people  would  elect  him  Governor,  and  this  he  thought  they  ought 
to  do — and  in  fact,  did  not  doubt  that  they  would  do  it,  because,  being  already 
Sub-Indian  Agent  by  the  appointment  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  he 
could  officiate  as  Governor,  and  it  would  impose  no  additional  expense  upon  the 
settlers.  The  Dr.  waxed  both  warm  and  eloquent  as  he  presented  this  view 
of  the  subject.  But  the  unsophistocated  reader  may  be  disposed  to  enquire  how 
he  could  act  as  Sub-Indian  Agent  of  the  United  States  and  at  the  same  time  be 
the  Executive  head  of  an  Independent  Government.  A  clear  case  of  quien  sabie . 

The  difficulties  and  inconveniencies  incident  to  the  peculiar  condition  of  the 
colonists  being  about  this  time  more  sensibly  felt,  and  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  realizing  that  something  more  efficient  than  a  moral  sense  was  requisite  to 
the  suppression  of  wrong  and  the  maintenance  of  right,  were  at  length  persuaded 
that  those  who  were  active  in  getting  up  the  proposed  "  Wolf  Meeting"  for  the 
first  Monday  in  March,  1843,  acted  wisely  in  thus  presenting  before  the  people 
an  object  upon  which  all  could  unite,  with  the  intention  of  advancing  to  self 
preservation  in  its  most  general  sense,  as  the  real  object  proposed  to  be  reached 
by  the  contemplated  meeting. 

The  public  mind  being  in  some  sense  prepared  for  a  movement  in  advance  of 
the  single  object  of  protecting  herds  fiom  the  depredations  of  wild  beasts,  the 
meeting  of  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1^43,  at  Mr.  Gervais's,  was  one  character 
ized  by  great  personal  kindness  and  harmonious  action.  James  A.  O'Neil,  who 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

had  come  to  Oregon  with  Capt.  Wyeth  in  1834,  was  privately  informed  of  what 
was  the  real  object  sought  to  be  accomplished  by  the  meeting,  and  it  was  inti 
mated  to  him  that  he  would  be  called  to  the  chair,  in  which  he  was  desired  to 
hasten  as  rapidly,  as  possible  over  the  wild  beasts  and  domestic  herds,  to  the 
real  object  which  in  due  time  would  be  brought  forward  in  a  resolution.  Ac 
cordingly  Mr.  O'Niel  (yet  living  in  Polk  county  I  believe),  was  called  to  preside. 

Everything  proceeded  satisfactorily;  ample  provision  was  made  for  the  pro 
tection  of  domestic  herds,  and,  to  the  uninitiated,  the  object  of  the  meeting  was 
attained,  and  the  people  ready  to  disperse  and  retire  to  their  several  homes. 
But  at  this  juncture,  William  H.  Gray,  of  Astoria,  arose  and  after  alluding  to 
what  had  been  done,  said  "  No  one  would  question  for  a  moment,  that  this  was 
right.  This  was  just  and  natural  protection  for  our  property,  in  animals  liable 
to  be  destroyed  by  wolves,  bears  and  panthers.  How  is  it,  fellow-citizens,  with 
you  and  me,  and  our  wives  and  children  ?  Have  we  any  organization  on  which 
we  can  rely  for  mutual  protection?  Is  there  any  power  or  influence  in  the  coun- 
tiy  sufficient  to  protect  us  and  all  we  hold  dear  from  the  worse  than 
wild  beasts  that  threaten  and  occasionally  destroy  our  cattle  ?  Who  in  our 
midst  is  authorized  to  call  us  together  to  protect  our  own  and  the  lives  of  our 
families?  True,  the  alarm  may  be  given,  as  in  a  recent  case,  and  we  may  run 
who  feel  alarmed,  and  shoot  off  our  guns,  while  our  enemy  may  be  robbing  our 
property,  ravishing  our  wives,  and  burning  the  houses  over  our  defenseless  fam 
ilies.  Common  sense,  prudence  and  justice  to  ourselves  demand  that  we  act 
consistent  with  the  principles  that  we  have  commenced.  We  have  mutually 
and  unitedly  agreed  to  defend  and  protect  our  cattle  and  domestic  animals;  now 
fellow-citizens,  I  submit  and  move  the  adoption  of  the  two  following  resolu 
tions,  that  we  may  have  protection  for  our  person  and  lives,  as  well  as  our  cat 
tle  and  herds  : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  pro 
priety  of  taking  measures  for  the  civil  and  military  protection  of  this  colony. 

Resolved,  That  said  committee  consist  of  twelve  persons. 

These  resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote  ;  and  the  persons  ap 
pointed  upon  the  committee  were  Drs.  Babcock  and  W7hite,  and  Messrs.  O'Niel, 
Shortess,  Newell,  Lucie,  Gray,  Gervais,  Hubbard,  M'Roy,  Smith  and  Gay. 
The  meeting  then  adjourned.  Sometime  near  the  middle  of  March,  the  commit 
tee  of  twelve  met  at  the  Wallamet  Falls,  Dr.  E.  White  being  chosen  as  tempo 
rary  Chairman,  and  G.  W.  LeBreton  was  chosen  Secretary;  nearly  all  the  princi 
pal  men  at  the  Falls,  including  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Rev.  A.  F.  Waller  and  Messrs. 
George  Abernethy  and  Robert  Mooore,  were  present  by  invitation,  and  they 
participated  in  the  deliberations;  most  of  them,  especially  Rev.  Jason  Lee  and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  6l 

Hon.  George  Abernethy,  going  so  far  as  to  speak  of  th;>  contemplated  measure 
as  both  unnecessary  in  itself  and  unwise  in  the  manner  proposed.  Much  diver 
sity  of  opinion  was  expressed  on  the  general  subject,  also  on  that  of  an  execu 
tive  head;  and  not  being  able  to  harmonize  their  opinions  on  these  subjects,  it 
•-  as  unanimously  resolved  by  the  committee  to  call  a  meeting  at  Champoeg, 
on  the  2cl  of  May,  1843,  f°r  tne  purpose  of  perfecting  the  proposed  organization. 
Some  one  who  contrived  to  keep  his  name  covered,  but  evidently  an  enemy 
to  American  interests,  circulated,  soon  after  the  second  wolf  meeting,  a  paper  for 
the  signatures  of  the  Canadian  French  population  designed  to  unite  them  in 
hostility  to  any  movement  having  the  organization  of  a  Provisional  Government 
for  its  object.  A  little  attention  to  the  literary  style  of  this  document,  discloses 
the  fact  that  the  writer  had  a  far  more  accurate  knowledge  of  both  the  French 
and  German  languages,  than  he  had  of  strong  and  terse  old  English.  It  is  dated 
March  4th,  1843,  and  purports  to  be  an  "Address  of  the  Canadian  citizens  of 
Oregon  to  the  meeting  at  Champoeg."  But  at  that  date  no  meeting  had  been 
called  for  Champoeg.  This  was  not  done  until  the  Committee  of  Twelve  ap 
pointed  at  the  meeting  held  at  Mr.  Gervais',  met  at  the  Wallamet  Falls,  about 
the  loth  March. 

It  is  enough  to  say  that  prior  to  the  proposed  meeting  of  May  2d,  at  Cham 
poeg,  those  opposed  to  organizing  a  civil  government,  held  one  meeting  at 
Vancouver,  one  ^.t  the  Wallamet  Falls,  and  two  at  the  Catholic  Church,  on  the 
French  Prairie,  in  which  the  general  subject  was  fully  discussed,  and  a  system 
of  hostile  measures  agreed  upon.  In  fact  Le  Breton,  who  had  some  unusual 
means  of  knowing  how  persons  were  being  trained  in  the  four  meetings  last 
named,  informed  the  Committee  of  Twelve  that  the  mass  controlled  by  the  au 
thor  of  the  address  of  March  4th,  would  vote  "No,  "on  every  measure  which  might 
be  proposed  by  Americans.  And  he  suggested  that  to  expose  this,  and  to  de 
moralize  and  confuse  the  hostile  forces,  some  measures  must  be  proposed  on 
which  the  enerrt  es  of  organization  ought  to  vote  "Yes,"  if  they  would  vote  in 
telligently  and  consistently. 

On  the  2d  May,  1843,  both  the  friends  and  enemies  of  the  proposed  govern 
ment  met  at  Champoeg.  The  voters  drilled  and  trained  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany,  were  promptly  on  the  ground  in  the  open  field  near  a  small  house,  and 
without  any  hesitancy  voted  "  No,"  where  they  should  have  voted  "Yes"  under 
the  tactics  suggested  by  Le  Breton,  who  after  there  had  been  considerable  skir 
mishing  in  force,  as  if  to  feel  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  exclaimed — "  We  can 
risk  it,  let  us  divide  and  count!  "  As  quick  as  tongue  could  utter  the  words, 
William  H.  Gray  emphasized  the  proposition  by  saying  with  great  animation, 
"  I  second  the  motion."  Jo  Meek  thundered  out  with  an  earnestness  not  less 


62  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

than  that  he  would  manifest  in  an  attack  upon  a  grizzly  bear — "  Whose  for  a 
divide?  "  and  as  he  stepped  quickly  and  nerveously  in  front  of  the  settlers,  he 
added  in  a  voice  that  rang  clear  out  as  though  it  was  the  death  knell  to  anarchy, 
"All  for  the  report  of  the  committee  and  organization,  will  follow  me."  This 
move  was  sudden  and  quite  unexpected  at  that  stage  of  the  proceedings,  and  it 
was  electrical  in  its  effect.  Americans  followed  the  patriotic  and  large  hearted 
trapper  and  his  Rocky  Mountain  companions  and  their  allies,  and  they  counted 
Hfty-two,  while  their  adversaries  numbered  but  fifty.  Then  in  the  "  Three 
cheers  for  our  side,"  proposed  by  Meek,  there  went  up  such  a  shout  as  Cham- 
poeg  never  before  heard  and  never  wilf  again.  The  enemies  of  the  proposed 
measure,  evinced  by  their  downcast  looks,  that  they  keenly  felt  their  defeat  J 
and  they  soon  separated  from  their  jubilant  adversaries,  retiring  first  into  the 
fence  corners,  and  after  while  to  their  horses,  which  they  despondently  mounted 
and  finally  retreated  in  a  demoralized  condition  from  the  scene  of  their  late  defeat 
to  ponder  on  the  character  of  these  strange  Americans,  as  they  threaded  their 
several  ways  along  the  dim  and  narrow  paths  that  led  to  their  respective  little 
cabins. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  contemplated  in  the  formation  of  the  proposed 
civil  government,  was  to'  preserve  the  peace  and  to  promote  the  prosperity  and 
happiness  of  the  people,  and  to  maintain  the  friendly  relations  which  it  was  felt 
ought  to  exist  between  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  the  subjects  of  the 
British  Queen. 

After  those  who  did  not  concur  in  opinion  with  the  majority  had  withdrawn, 
the  Committee  of  Twelve,  reported.  Persons  deemed  suitable  were  then  chosen 
to  the  various  offices  necessary  to  keep  the  machinery  of  government  in  a  work 
ing  condition.  The  Legislative  Committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Hill,  Shortess, 
Newell,  Beers,  Hubbard,  Gray,  O'Niel,  Moore  and  Daugherty;  and  they  were 
instructed  to  make  their  report  at  Champoeg  on  the  5th  July,  (1843).  The  per 
diem  of  the  members  was  fixed  at  $1,25,  and  the  session  was  limited  to  six  days. 
Each  member  at  once  subscribed  the  amount  of  his  pay.  Alanson  Beers,  Rev. 
J.  L.  Parrish  and  Dr.  Babcock  at  once  voluntarily  engaged  to  provide  at  their 
own  expense  for  the  boarding  of  the  Legislative  Committee  ;  and  the  Methodist 
Mission  made  a  gratuitous  tender  of  their  old  granary  for  a  Council  Chamber. 

There  is  no  evidence  derived  from  any  historical  document  that  the  settlers- 
gave  the  Legislative  Committee  any  instructions  when  or  where  to  meet  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  the  matter  to  be  reported  on  the  5th  of  July.  But  the  rec 
ords  show  that  they  met  at  the  Wallamet  Falls,  May  loth,  in  the  building  which 
as  we  have  seen,  was  offered  by  the  Methodist  Mission  for  this  purpose.  It  was 
of  course  a  very  modest,  unpretending  structure.  It  was  a  frame  building,  six- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  63 

teen  feet  wide  and  thirty  feet  long;  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  the  upper  portion 
being  used  as  a  storage  and  sleeping  apartment,  while  the  lower  part  was  so  di 
vided  as  to  make  one  square  room  for  a  school  house  and  church,  and  the  other 
was  used  for  storing  wheat. 

I  might  courteously  conduct  the  reader  into  this  Legislatiue  Hall  and 
intioduce  him  to  each  of  the  nine  members  by  making  him  acquainted  with 
whatever  is  peculiar  or  proper  in  the  person  and  history  of  each  member.  But 
this  would  not  quadrate  with  the  plan  of  this  article,  although  it  would  be  both 
interesting  and  instructive.  I  will  therefore  only  say  that  Robert  Moore  was 
chosen  Chairman,  and  G.  W.  LeBreton,  Secretary. 

The  first  grave  question  with  which  the  Legislative  Committee  had  to  deal, 
was  that  relating  to  an  executive  head  to  any  plan  of  government  which  might 
be  agreed  upon.  The  absurdity  of  a  government  without  a  Governor  was  ap 
parent  enough  to  common  sense  one  would  think  ;  independent  of  the  experience 
which  the  people  had  already  had  in  their  hitherto  imperfect  organization, 
this  had  always  been  a  difficult  subject  as  had  been  fully  shown  in  $11  the  pre 
vious  discussions  and  voting.  It  was  finally  agreed,  however,  to  make  provis 
ions  for  an  Executive  Committee  consisting  of  three  persons,  who  would  consti 
tute  a  Council,  capable  of  acting  in  an  emergency,  and  this  would  at  the  same 
time  afford  an  oppertunity  for  giving  the  Methodist  Mission  a  representative  in 
the  Executive  Council.  This  was  believed  to  be  necessary  in  order  to  securing 
the  cordial  co-operation  and  sympathy  of  the  Mission. 

The  Legislative  Committee  continued  its  sittings  until  the  1 2th  of  May,  com 
mencing  each  days  proceedings  with  prayer.  On  the  last  day  of  its  difficult 
labors,  a  resolution  was  passed,  that  when  the  committee  adjourn,  it  do  so 
to  meet  on  the  last  Thursday  in  June.  It  was  then  "moved  and  carried  that 
the  house  adjourn  by  uniting  in  prayer." 

On  the  fifth  of  July,  1843,  the  inhabitants  met  pursuant  to  adjournment  to 
hear  the  report  of  the  Legislative  Committee,  and  to  do  such  other  business  as 
might  come  properly  before  them.  Dr.  Babcock,  chairman  of  the  meeting  of 
May  2nd,  being  absent,  the  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  G.  W.  LeBreton, 
one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  convention  held  in  May.  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines 
was  elected  president  of  the  convention. 

The  Canadian  address  of  March  4th,  1843,  was  evidently  prepared  by  one 
unfriendly  to  American  interests  and  to  the  organization  of  civil  government. 
All  the  signers  of  it  were  present  at  the  meeting  of  May  2d,  and  voted  against 
organization.  It  was  never,  however,  before  any  public  meeting  of  the  settlers. 
But  it  was  finally  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Committee  of  Three  which  the 


64  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Legislative  Committee  appointed  to  revise  and  arrange  the  laws  for  the  meeting 
of  July  5th,  1843.  G.  W.  LeBreton,  clerk  of  the  Legislative  Committee, 
handed  it  to  the  committee,  who  examined  it  and  then  returned  it  to  their  clerk 
with  instructions  to  file  it  with  the  public  papers,  as  it  would  show  the  in 
fluences  operating,  and  who  were  opposed  to  our  organization,  and  the  reasons 
they  had  for  their  opposition. 

But  on  the  occasion  of  the  meeting  of  July  5th,  the  bolder  and  more  inde 
pendent  portion  of  the  French  settlers  participated  in  the  deliberations  and  ex 
pressed  themselves  as  pleased  in  prospect  of  the  proposed  organization.  The 
greater  number,  however,  not  only  stood  aloof,  but  declared  in  advance  that 
they  would  not  submit  to  the  authority  of  any  government  that  might  be  estab 
lished.  This  they  did  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
others.  Indeed,  the  Company  had  gone  so  far  as  to  formally  state  in  a  commui- 
cation  addressed  to  the  leaders  in  the  new  movement,  that  they  felt  themselves 
abundantly  able  to  defend  themselves  and  theirlpolitical  rights. 

R.  Moore,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Legislative  Committee,  presented  his  report 
which  was  read  by  the  Secretary,  G.  W.  LeBreton,  and  accepted. 

We  have  seen  that  the  question  of  an  executive  head  had  been  one  of  great 
difficulty  and  interest.  On  the  debate  which  was  had  on  this  subject,  Mr.  Hines 
was  very  marked  in  his  hostility  characterizing  the  triple  executive  as  a 
hydra  headed  monster  in  the  shape  of  an  Executive  Committee  which  was  but  a 
repetition  of  the  Roman  Triumvirate — the  Caesars  upon  the  throne. 

Rev.  Jason  Lee  could  not  see  the  proposed  executive  head  in  the  light  Mr. 
Hines  did.  If  it  was  thought  necessary  to  have  a  government  at  all,  it  was 
necessary  to  have  a  head  as  an  executive,  or  the  laws  were  of  no  effect. 

Dr.  Babcock's  hostility  was  very  decided,  not  only  because  the  Legislative 
Committee  had  exceeded  its  authority,  but  because  the  proposed  executive  was 
not  required  by  existing  necessities,  and  moreover  it  looked  too  much  like  a  perma 
nent  and  independent  government,  whereas  we^.wished  to  establish  one  only 
temporary.  O'Neil  and  Shortess  both  spoke  in' favor  of  it;  and  W.  H.  Gray 
closed  the  debate  by  saying,  among  other  things  : 

"  Mr.  President  and  fellow  citizens: — The  speech  which  we  have  just  listened 
to,  from  our  presiding  officer  (G.  H.  Hines)  is  in  the  main  correct.  It  is  true 
that  the  Legislative  Committee  were  not  instructed  to  bring  before  you  an  exec 
utive  department  in  the  laws  and  government  you  proposed  to  form,  when  you 
appointed  your  committee  to  prepare  these  laws.  It  is  also  true  that  when  that 
committee  met  they  found  that  they  could  not  advance  one  step  in  accomplish 
ing  the  work  you  instructed  fhem  to  perform,  without  some  supervising  influence 


HISTORY    OF    THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  65 

some  where;  in  short,  without  ahead.  Their  instructions  being  against  a  governor, 
they  have  provided  an  Executive  Committee  in  place  of  a  single  man  for  gov 
ernor.  The  executive  head  is  to  act  in  place  of  a  Senate  Council  and  Governor. 
This  provision  is  before  you  for  your  approval  or  rejection.  With  the  Executive 
Committee  our  organization  is  complete;  without  it  we  have  no  head;  no  one  to 
see  that  our  laws  are  executed,  and  no  one  to  grant  a  reprieve  or  pardon  in  case 
a  law  should  be  enforced  against  the  life  or  property  of  any  one  for  the  violation 
of  any  law,  no  matter  what  the  circumstances  connected  with  that  real  or  sup 
posed  violation  might  be. 

#*##*•#*#* 

Now,  fellow  citizens,  let  us  look  camly  at  our  true  situation.  We  are  two 
thousand  five  hundred  miles  from  any  point  from  which  we  can  receive  the  least 
assistance  by  land,  and  seventeen  thousand  miles  by  water.  A  portion  of  our 
community  are  organized  and  ready  to  protect  themselves,  and  to  defend  all 
their  rights  and  interests.  Another  organization  of  a  religious  character  is  in 
our  midst — I  should  say  two.  They  each  have  a  head  or  executive.  How  is  it 
with  us  ?  Who  is  our  head  in  all  that  pertains  to  our  civil  liberty,  rights  and 
property  ?  It  is  possible  the  gentleman  may  wish  us  to  remain  as  unprotected,  as 
helpless  and  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  that  surround  us  on  every  hand  as  we 
have  heretofore  been .  If  he  does,  you,  fellow  citizens,  I  am  sure  do  not  wish  to 
add  to  his  feebleness  by  destroying  the  organization  you  have  commenced,  be 
cause  he  is  afraid  of  what  some  Caesar  did  in  Rome.  We  are  acting  for  our 
selves  and  those  immediately  dependent  upon  us  for  protection.  In  union  there 
is  strength.  I  believe  you  are  fully  satisfied  your  committee  acted  honorably, 
and,  as  they  thought,  for  the  good  of  all  they  represented.  If  such  is  the  case, 
you  will  approve  of  their  acts,  and  our  organization  will  be  complete  as  they 
have  prepared  it  for  this  meeting." 

On  the  vote  being  taken  there  were  but  two  or  three  nays  ;  and  this  being  the 
only  question  of  real  difficulty,  all  o'thers  were  readily  disposed  of. 

Messrs  Beers,  Hill  and  Gale  were  chosen  by  ballot  as  the  first  Executive 
Committee.  Other  officers  were  elected  ;  the  report  of  the  Legislative  Com 
mittee  was  adopted  as  a  whole  and  thus  the  first  American  State  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  was  ushered  into  being  at  Champoeg  on  the  5th  of  July,  in  the  year  of 
grace  1843,  not  with  the  sound  of  martial  music,  the  measured  tread  of  armed 
troops,  the  roar  of  cannon  or  the  blaze  of  bonfires  on  every  hill  top,  but  with 
the  exultant  jubilations  of  hearts  as  patriotic  as  ever  warmed  the  bosom  of  a 
lover  of  his  country. 

Historical  justice  requires  the  fact  to  be  noted,  that  Wm.  H.  Gray,  by  his  un 
tiring  labors,  ceaseless  vigilance  and  ready  tact,  which  seemed  to  render  him 


66  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

equal  to  any  emergency,  contributed  more  than  any  other  man  to  the  result  of 
the  measures  of  July  5th.  He  was  indeed  seconded  in  his  efforts  looking  to  the 
organization  of  a  civil  government.  But  he  was  the  leading  spirit,  whose  fer 
tility  of  resources  were  relied  upon  to  combat  the  open  hostility  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  and  of  the  Catholics;  and  to  win  over,  if  possible,  to  the  support 
of  the  contemplated  measures,  the  Methodist  Missionaries  who  seemed  in  no 
wise  inclined  to  sympathize  in  what  they  regarded  as  extreme  views.  A  very 
large  majority  of  the  Canadian  French  were  opposed  to  the  objects  proposed 
by  Mr.  Gray  and  his  friends.  But  in  Mr.  Matthieu,  an  intelligent  Canadian 
gentleman  of  French  descent,  Mr.  Gray  always  found  an  efficient  co-laborer. 

The  limits  prescribed  for  this  article  will  not  permit  me  to  notice  in  detail 
the  various  provisions  of  the  organic  and  other  laws  reported  by  the  Legislative 
committee  to  the  people  at  Champoeg  on  the  5th  of  July,  and  by  the  people 
then  confirmed.  It  is  very  noticeable,  however,  that  the  preamble  declares 
that  "We,  the  people  of  Oregon  Territory,  for  the  purposes  of  mutual  protec 
tion,  and  to  secure  peace  and  prosperity  among  ourselves,  agree  to  adopt  the 
following  laws  and  regulations,  until  such  times  as  the  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA  extend  their  jurisdiction  over  us."  The  reader  will  thus  see  that  this 
was  a  move  of  Americans  in  the  interest  of  American  institutions. 

The  first  section  of  the  organic  law  is  a  sort  of  magna  charta  of  the  people, 
and  it  was  taken  from  the  ordinance  of  1787.  In  the  fifth  article  of  this  section, 
it  was  provided  that  there  should  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in 
Oregon,  otherwise  than  for  the  punishment  of  persons  duly  convicted  of  crimes. 

The  same  sentiment  was  expressed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  Provisional  Gov 
ernment  on  the  5th  of  July,  1845,  in  a  resolution  offered  by  Jesse  Applegate,  in 
which  it  was  declared: 

"That  this  government  can  recognize  the  right  of  any  person  to  the  services 
of  another,  only  upon  bona  fide  contract,  made  and  entered  into,  and  equally 
binding  on  both  parties." 

So,  also,  the  organic  law  of  July  5th  prohibits  slavery.  And  it  was  in  defer 
ence  to  the  will  of  the  people  thus  expressed,  as  well  as  because  of  my  own 
convictions  on  the  subject  of  human  rights,  that  when  in  Washington  City  in 
1848,  representing  the  people  and  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon,  I  incor 
porated  this  provision  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  August  1 4th,  1848,  when  I 
drafted  the  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  Territorial  Government  in  Oregon, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

Section  2  of  the  organic  law  of  July  5th,  1843,  provided  that  all  officers 
elected  on  the  2d  of  the  previous  May,  should  continue  to  perform  their  appro- 


HISTORY   OF   THE   PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT.  67 

priate  functions  until  the  2d  Tuesday  in  May,  1844,  and  until  the  election  and 
qualification  of  others,  to  be  elected  on  that  day.  An  Executive  Committee  of 
three  was  established,  a  Legislative  Committee  of  nine  was  provided  for,  and 
superior  and  inferior  courts  were  created. 

The  land  law  was  very  peculiar,  in  the  fact  that  it  permitted  any  person  to  hold 
640  acres  in  a  square  of  oblong  form,  according  to  the  natural  situation  of  the 
premises,  on  condition  that  within  six  months  from  the  time  of  recording  the 
claim,  permanent  improvements  were  made  upon  the  same,  by  building  or  en 
closing,  and  an  actual  occupancy  of  the  same  within  one  year  from  the  time  of 
designating  the  same  by  metes  and  bounds  in  the  recorded  description  and 
notice  of  claim. 

And  the  4th  article  enacted  that  "  No  person  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  such 
a  claim  upon  city  or  town  sites,  extensive  water  privileges,  or  other  situation 
necessary  for  the  transaction  of  mercantile  or  manufacturing  operations;  Pro 
vided,  that  nothing  in  these  laws  shall  be  construed  as  to  affect  any  claim  of 
any  mission  of  a  religious  character  made  prior  to  this  time,  of  extent  not  more 
than  six  miles  square." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  certificate  under  which  the  Executive  Com 
mittee  held  office,  exact  even  as  to  the  orthography  of  "Wallamet :" 

This  certifies  that  David  Hill,  Alanson  Beers,  and  Joseph  Gale,  were  chosen 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  by  the  people  of  said 
Territory,  and  have  taken  the  oath  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of 
their  offices  as  required  by  law. 

GEORGE  w.  LEBRETON, 

WALLAMET,  Oregon  Territory,  July  5th,  1843.  Recorder. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  observe  that  both  the  Pioneer  and  Histori 
cal  Society  of  Oregon,  and  the  Pioneer  Association,  adhere  to  the  orthography 
of  the  name  of  our  river  and  valley  as  here  indicated  in  the  spelling  of  "  Wal 
lamet."  The  charter  of  the  Wallamet  University,  framed  under  the  instructions 
of  the  early  missionaries,  follows  this  orthography. 

It  may  not  be  quite  uninteresting  to  say  that  the  State  House  in  which  all 
this  was  done  was  in  several  respects  different  from  that  in  which  laws  are  made 
at  Washington  City.  The  Oregon  State  House  was  built  with  posts  set  up 
right,  one  end  in  the  ground,  grooved  on  two  sides,  and  filled  in  with  poles  and 
split  timber,  such  as  would  be  suitable  for  fence  rails,  with  plates  and  poles 
across  the  top.  Rafters  and  horizontal  poles,  instead  of  iron  ribs,  held  the 
cedar  bark  which  was  used  instead  of  thick  copper  for  roofing.  It  was  twenty 
by  forty  feet,  and  did  not  therefore  cover  three  acres  and  a  half.  At  one  end 


68  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

some  puncheons  were  put  up  for  a  platform  for  the  President;  some  poles  and 
slabs  were  placed  around  for  seats;  three  planks  about  one  foot  wide  and 
twelve  feet  long,  placed  upon  a  sort  of  stake  platform  for  a  table,  were  all  that 
was  believed  to  be  necessary  for  the  use  of  the  Legislative  Committee  and  the 
clerks.  It  is  due  to  the  people  who  met  to  approve  or  disapprove  of  the  acts  of 
that  committee,  to  say  that  perfect  order  arid  decorum  characterized  all  the  pro 
ceedings  of  July  5th,  1843. 

The  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon  was  organized  and  put  in  operation 
in  ]\ily*  I^43)  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  large  emigration  conducted  across 
the  plains  in  the  same  year  by  Dr.  Whitman,  who  brought  most  of  the  wagons 
and  teams  of  the  emigrants  through  to  the  Columbia  river.  Most  of  the  fam 
ilies  thus  led  across  soon  found  locations,  and  with  the  assistance  they  were 
able  to  obtain  from  the  Methodist  Mission,  and  from  the  brig  Maryland,  com- 
manded  by  Capt.  Couch,  and  from  the  bark  Lausanne^  sent  by  Mr.  dishing  of 
Newburyport,  the  emigrants  soon  commenced  improvements  with  a  view  to 
permanent,  happy  homes. 

The  journey  of  Dr.  Whitman  to  Washington  in  the  winter  of  1842,  by  which 
he  certainly  saved  Oregon  to  the  United  States,  belongs  properly  to  the  history 
of  Oregon  during  the  Provisional  Government,  rather  than  to  the  history  of  that 
government;  and  it  is  now  only  necessary  to  say  in  this  connection  that  from 
the  time  it  was  known  Dr.  Whitman  had  safely  arrived  in  Washington,  and  that 
the  boundary  line  was  not  settled,  the  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
was  changed,  and  advances  of  outfits  were  made  to  such  Americans  as  could  be 
induced  to  leave  the  country. 

On  the  1 8th  of  June,  1844,  pursuant  to  the  organic  law,  the  members  of  the 
Legislative  Committee  met  at  the  Wallamet  Falls,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Hatha 
way.  Ihe  members  present  were  Peter  H.  Burnet,  David  Hill,  and  M.  M. 
McCarver,  from  Tualatin  district. 

Absent — Mr.  Gilmore. 

Daniel  Waldo,  Thomas  D.  Kaizer,  Robert  Newell,  from  Champoeg  district. 

Yamhill  district  not  represented. 

M.  M.  McCarver  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  Dr.  J.  E.  Long  was 
the  Secretary. 

The  message  of  the  Executive  Committee  being  received,  its  various  portions 
were  referred  to  appropriate  committees,  and  so  much  of  it  as  related  to  a  more 
thorough  organization,  to  vesting  the  executive  power  in  a  single  individual, 
and  to  the  appointment  of  several  Judges,  and  also  those  parts  of  the  message 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  69 

that  related  to  the  amendment  of  the  laws  of  chancery,  were  referred  to  the 
Judiciary  Committee. 

On  the  20th,  Mr.  Burnett  gave  notice  that  he  intended  to  introduce  a  bill  to 
prevent  the  introduction  of  ardent  spirits  into  Oregon.  On  the  next  day  he 
asked  leave  to  introduce  the  bill.  On  the  22d  it  was  read  a  second  time  and 
ordered  to  be  engrossed,  and  finally  passed  on  the  24th,  and  thus  became  the 
first  prohibitory  liquor  law  on  this  coast.  On  the  2yth  the  bill  to  prevent 
slavery  in  Oregon,  and  for  other  purposes,  was  read  a  third  time,  and  on  the 
question,  "Shall  the  bill  pass?"  the  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded,  when  the 
vote  stood  : 

Yeas — Messrs.  Burnett,  Gilmore,  Kaizer,  Waldo,  Newell  and  Mr.  Speaker — 6. 

Nays — Messrs.  Looney  and  Hill — 2. 

But  the  brief  journal  entries  and  the  final  vote  fail  to  show  the  real  character 
of  the  bill  as  it  finally  became  a  law.  The  leading  provisions  of  it,  however, 
were  intended  to  oblige  any  master  of  a  sea-going  vessel  bringing  a  negro  into 
the  country  to  give  bond  to  take  him  out  of  it.  And  it  was  made  the  duty  of 
the  sheriff  to  arrest  any  other  negro  who  might  be  found  in  the  country,  and  to 
inflict  upon  him  forty  lashes,  repeating  the  whipping  at  proper  intervals  until 
the  unfortunate  descendant  of  Ham  should  leave  the  country.  In  short,  the 
principle  of  the  bill  made  it  a  crime  for  a  white  man  to  bring  a  negro  into  the 
country,  so  that  in  any  case,  if  he  were  found  in  the  country,  he  was  thereby 
guilty  of  a  crime,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  slavery  and  so  much  of 
the  ordinance  of  1787  as  was  incorporated  into  the  organic  law  of  July  5th,  1843. 

It  is  due  to  the  early  settlers  of  Oregon  to  say  that  this  negro  whipping  law 
was  so  repugnant  to  all  their  better  feelings  and  instincts,  and  so  clearly  in 
violation  of  the  provision  "That  slavery,  except  for  the  punishment  of  crime, 
whereof  the  parties  shall  have  been  previously  convicted,  shall  never  be  tolera 
ted,"  that  no  officer  could  ever  be  induced  to  enforce  it.  On  the  27th  June  the 
House  adjourned  to  the  third  Monday  in  December,  1844. 

On  the  last  named  date,  the  Legislative  Committee  met  at  Oregon  City.  At 
the  evening  session  of  the  next  day  (December  I7th)  the  Executive  Committee, 
Osborn  Russell  and  Peter  H.  Stewart,  sent  in  their  message.  It  was  .a  docu 
ment  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  moderation  and  sound  practical  sense.  Among 
other  things  advised  was  that  provision  be  made  for  the  framing  and  adoption  of 
a  constitution  for  Oregon,  previous  to  the  next  annual  election,  which  might 
serve  as  a  more  thorough  guide  to  her  officers  and  a  more  firm  basis  of  her  laws. 
And  the  Executive  Committee  advised  that  such  changes  should  be  made  as 
would  best  suit  the  local  situation  of  the  country,  and  promote  the  general 

9 


70  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

interests  of  the  citizens,  without  in  any  manner  interfering  with  the  real  or  pre 
tended  rights  of  the  United  States  or  of  Great  Britain,  except  where  the  pro 
tection  of  life  and  property  actually  required  it.  And  in  conclusion  of  the  mes 
sage,  the  Executive  Committee  said  : 

"As  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  as  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  we  should 
honor  and  respect  the  countries  which  gave  us  birth;  and  as  citizens  of  Oregon, 
we  should,  by  a  uniform  observance  of  the  rules  of  justice,  equity  and  republi 
can  principles,  without  party  distinction,  use  our  best  endeavors  to  cultivate  the 
kind  feelings,  not  only  of  our  native  countries,  but  of  all  the  powers  or  States 
with  whom  we  may  have  intercourse." 

Among  other  business  transacted  at  this  session  was  the  passage  of  a  law  pro 
viding  for  holding  a  convention  with  a  view  to  some  fundamental  changes. 
Under  this  law,  public  meetings  were  held  and  delegates  were  elected  to  meet  at 
Champoeg  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  candidates  for  Governor,  Supreme 
Judge,  and  Recorder.  The  candidates  for  Governor  were  A.  L.  Lovejoy, 
George  Abernethy,  Osborne  Russell  and  Dr.  Bailey.  After  several  ballotings 
Mr.  Lovejoy  was  declared  the  nominee  of  the  convention  for  the  office  of  Gov 
ernor,  to  be  elected  under  an  organic  act  which  as  yet  had  no  actual  existence. 
Mr.  Russell's  friends  were  much  dissatisfied  and  even  chagrined;  and  at  the 
June  election  they  united  with  the  friends  of  Mr.  Abernethy,  then  at  the  Sand 
wich  Islands,  and  elected  him.  This  left  the  Executive  Committee  as  the  still 
recognized  head  of  the  government. 

On  the  24th  of  June,  1844,  the  Legislative  Committee  met  at  Oregon  City, 
the  members  elected  being  H.  A.  G.  Lee,  W.  H.  Gray  and  Hiram  Straight, 
from  Clackamas  district;  Robert  M.  Newell,  J.  M.  Garrison,  M.  G.  Foisy  and 
Barter  Lee,  form  Champoeg  (now  Marion);  Jesse  Applegate,  from  Yamhill;.  M. 
M.  McCarver,  J.  W.  Smith  and  David  Hill,  from  Tualitin  (now  Washington), 
and  John  McClure  from  Clatsop  district. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Applegate,  the  following  oath  was  administered  to  the 
membe-s:" 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  support  the  organic  laws  of  the  Provisional 
Government  of  Oregon,  so  far  as  the  said  organic  laws  are  consistent  with  my 
viuties  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  a  subject  of  Great  Britain,  and  faith 
fully  demean  myself  in  office,  so  help  me  God." 

The  form  of  this  oath  was  advocated  by  Applegate,  Newell,  Foisy,  McCar 
ver,  Garrison,  Smith  and  Hendricks,  and  clearly  enough  indicates  that  the 
American  element  was  a  conservative  one,  and  that  to  secure  peace  and  the  ends 
of  good  government,  the  Americans  were  really  willing  to  form  a  union  with  the 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  ;r 

English  element;  but  historical  justice  requires  that  the  fact  be  stated  that  many 
Americans  regarded  the  English,  while  willing  to  give  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment  a  seeming  support,  as  a  source  of  danger  the  more  menacing  because 
the  enemy  was  inside  the  citadel. 

The  first  and  most  important  business  of  the  Legislative  Committee  was  the 
revision  of  the  organic  laws,  to  be  submitted  for  the  approval  or  rejection  of  the 
legal  voters"of  Oregon,  then  (June  24th,  1845,)  numbering  about  eight  hun 
dred.  Messrs.  Lee,  Newell,  Smith.  Applegate  and  McClure,  were  appointed  a 
sub-committee,  charged  with  the  duty  of  preparing  such  an  organic  law  as  ex 
perience  and  the  changed  condition  of  affairs  might  suggest  as  being  most  cal 
culated  to  preserve  peace  and  good  order,  and  promote  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  the  people. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session  commencing  June  24th,  1845,  on  motion  of  W. 
H.  Gray,  a  Committee  of  Five  was  appointed  to  draft  a  memorial  and  petition 
to  be  forwarded  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  setting  forth  the  condi 
tion,  situation  and  wants  of  the  country.  W.  H.  Gray,  Jesse  Applegate,  H.  A. 
G.  Lee,  John  McClure  and  J.  Hill  were  appointed  said  committee. 

This  and  the  organic  law  occupied  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  of  the  ses 
sion.  On  the  subject  of  this  memorial,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  chairman  of 
the  Special  Committee  was  instructed  to  report  the  memorial  to  the  House  for 
its  adoption,  with  a  request  that  a  Committee  of  Three  be  appointed  to  wait 
upon  the  Executive  Committee  for  their  signatures,  together  with  that  of  the 
Circuit  Judge,  and  that  measures  be  taken  to  forward  one  copy  to  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Unite  1  States.  This  memorial  was,  on 
the  28th  June,  1845,  signed  by  Osborn  Russell  and  Peter  G.  Stewart,  the  Exec 
utive  Committee;  J.  W.  Nesmith,  Circuit  Judge;  Mr.  Speaker  and" all  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Legislative  Committee,  attested  by  the  clerk,  and  a  copy  delivered 
to  Dr.  E.  White  to  be  conveyed  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  2nd  July,  1845,  the  Legislative  Committee  adopted  the  report  of  the 
Special  Committee,  and  on  the  5th  of  the  same  month,  passed  an  act  submit 
ting  it  to  the  people,  to  be  voted  upon  by  them  at  the  polls  July  26th,  1845,  trie 
result  of  which  was  reported  to  the  Legislative  Committee,  which  met  at 
Oregon  City  (previously  known  as  the  Wallamet  Falls)  August  5th,  1845,  when 
it  was  ascertained  that  a  majority  of  203  votes  had  been  given  for  the  organic 
law,  now  found  in  the  General  Laws  of  Oregon,  page  46. 

On  the  5th  July,  1845,  t^6  Legislative  Committee  adjourned  to  meet  on  the 
5th  of  August  at  Oregon  City,  under  the  revised  and  amended  organic  law. 

The  Legislative  Committee  having  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  and  the  roll 


72  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

being  called,  members  present  were  Applegate,   Foisy,   Garrison,  H.   A.  G. 
Lee,  Barton  Lee,  Gray,  Newell,  Hill,  Smith,  McCarver,  McClure  and  Straight. 

Absent — Hendricks. 

The  clerk  being  called  upon  to  inform  the" House  of  the  result  of  the  vote  of 
the  people  on  the  organic  law,  it  appeared  that  a  majority  of  203  had  been  cast 
in  favor  of  the  law.  This  majority  was  not  nearly  so  large  as  it  would  have 
been  but  for  the  fact  that  many  voted  against  the  proposed  changes  because  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  foreign  born  followers  were  allowed  to  exercise  at  the 
polls  the  same  rights  which  American  citizens  enjoyed ;  and  because  the  pro 
posed  changes  contemplated  giving  to  the  Legislative  Committee  the  power  to 
regulate  the  introduction  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  instead  of  the  power 
\&  prohibit. 

M.  M.  McCarver,  after  considerable  discussion,  was  finally  declared  Speaker 
under  the  new  organic  law,  in  virtue  of  his  having  held  the  position  under  the 
former  organization. 

The  proceedings  of  a  part  of  the  day  for  August  nth  will  give  the  student  of 
our  early  history  some  idea  of  the  manner  and  matter  of  Legislative  proceed 
ing  in  those  somewhat  primitive  times  : 

The  rules  were  suspended  and  the  following  bills  were 

Read  a  second  time  by  title,  and  referred  to  Committee  of  the  Whole,  for 
this  day ;  to-wit : 

The  bill  on  education  and  schools j 
The  bill  to  establish  a  Recorder's  office; 
The  bill  to  establish  District  Courts;  and 
The  bill  to  establish  Probate  Courts. 

While  the  House  was  thus  proceeding  under  the  orders  of  the  day,  Mr.  Ap 
plegate  hastily  entered  the  Legislative  hall  in  a  manner  evincing  great  excite 
ment  and  perturbation,  and  asked  that  the  rules  be  suspended  and  that  he  be 
allowed  to  introduce  a  bill  to  prevent  duelling.  No  reason  was  assigned,  but 
the  earnest  and  nervous  manner  of  Mr.  Applegate  were  sufficient  to  make  the 
reason  plain  enough,  to  say  nothing  of  what  some  of  the  members  seemed  to 
know  of  what  was  transpiring  on  the  outside.  Under  a  suspension  of  the  rules 
the  bill  was  read  three  times  and  passed  in  less  than  half  an  hour.  On  a  fur 
ther  motion  of  the  excited  member,  Mr.  P.  G.  Stewart  was  appointed  special 
messenger  to  convey  the  act  to  the  Governor  for  his  approval  and  signature, 
which  were  at  once  given. 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  73 

AJ1  this  haste  in  passing  a  law  which  thenceforward  made  it  a  very  grave 
offense  to  either  give  or  accept  a  challenge,  was  caused  by  a  young  man  whose 
name  was  Holderness  having  challenged  Dr.  E.  White  to  fight  a  duel,  because 
of  some  either  real  or  imagined  insult  or  injury.  Holderness  was  a  man  not  to 
be  much  trifled  with,  and  one  who,  if  he  fought  at  all,  would  certainly  fight  for 
a  funeral.  Dr.  White  was  greatly  pleased  with  Mr.  Applegate's  management  of 
this  business,  and  expressed  himself  as  being  grateful  to  him  for  his  skill  in 
thus  helping  him  out  of  a  very  unpleasant  affair. 

The  subject  of  regulating  the  currency  was  then,  as  it  ever  .has  been,  one  of 
great  difficulty.  But  the  good,  sound  practical  common  sense  of  the  Repre 
sentatives  enabled  them  to  adopt  at  this  session  a  system  of  currency  suited  to 
the  existing  condition  of  the  country.  And  it  was  one  which  became  necessary 
from  the  known  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  enforce  the  payment 
of  debts  in  that  which  did  not  exist  in  quantities  sufficient  to  affect  the  ex 
changes  of  the  country,  so  long  as  the  commercial  power  continued  to  be  held 
by  that  Company.  The  law  provided  that  in  addition  to  gold  and  silver, 
treasury  drafts,  approved  orders  on  solvent  merchants,  and  good  merchantable 
wheat  at  the  market  price,  delivered  at  such  place  as  was  customary  for  the 
people  to  receive  wheat,  should  be  a  lawful  tender  in  payment  of  taxes  and 
judgments,  and  for  the  payment  of  all  debts,  where  no  special  contract  had  been 
made  to  the  contrary.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  1845  we  had  a  specific  con 
tract  law  in  Oregon,  but  under  circumstances  of  law  and  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  of  the  people,  which  in  no  wise  made  it  a  precedent  for  a  like  law 
in  1864,  respecting  which  the  least  that  is  said  is  best  said  for  the  credit  of  later 
Oregon  legislation. 

On  the  2Oth  August,  1845,  the  House  of  Representatives  adjourned  sine  die. 
There  not  having  been  any  provision  made  in  the  amended  organic  law  for  a 
new  election,  the  old  members  were  again  called  to  meet  at  the  residence  of  J. 
E.  Long  in  Oregon  City,  December  2nd,  1845,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of 
the  organic  law,  it  being  the  first  day  of  the  first  annual  session  under  that  law. 

On  calling  of  the  roll,  found  to  be  present  from  Champoeg  district  M.  G. 
Foisy,  J.  M.  Garrison,  Robert  Newell  and  Barton  Lee;  from  Clackamas  dis 
trict,  W.  H.  Gray  and  Hiram  Straight;  form  Tuality  district,  David  Hill  and 
M.  M.  McCarver;  and  from  Clatsop  district,  Mr.  McClure. 

There  were  absent  from  Yamhill  district,  Mr.  Hendricks  and  Jesse  Apple- 
gate;  from  Tuality,  J.  M.  Smith;  and  from  Clackamas  district,  H.  A.  G.  Lee. 

After  the  members  were  sworn  in,  Messrs.  Straight  and  McClure  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  procure  a  suitable  room. 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

At  2  o'clock,  the  House  organized  by  electing  Robert  Newell,  of  Champoeg 
district,  Speaker;  J.  E.  Long,  Chief  Clerk,  and  Theopilus  Magruder,  Sar- 
geant-at-Arms. 

The  committee  appointed  to  procure  a  room  suitable  for  the  sessions  reported 
that  the  use  of  a  room  had  been  procured  from  Theopilus  Magruder,  at  $2  per 
day,  including  fuel  and  lights. 

On  the  second  day,  all  the  members  were  present  except  Jesse  Applegate, 
who  had  resigned.  To  fill  this  vacancy,  a  writ  of  election  was  issued  by  the 
Governor,  but  no  one  appeared  to  take  Mr.  Applegate's  place. 

A  copy  of  Jefferson's  Manual  having  by  some  happy  accident  gotten  into  the 
Multnomah  Circulating  Library,  it  was,  on  motion  of  W.  H.  Gray, 

Resolved,  That  the  rules  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States,  as  contained  in  that  work,  be  adopted,  as  far  as  applicable  to  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  House. 

Tt  ought  perhaps  to  be  observed  that  in  the  earlier  legislation  of  Oregon,  un 
der  the  Provisional  Government,  the  country  was  divided  into  districts,  the 
legal  subdivisions  being  so  designated  instead  of  being  called  counties.  The 
earliest  legislation  upon  this  subject  being  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislative 
Committee  at  its  session  commenced  at  Wallamet  Falls  May  16,  and  ended 
June  28,  1843,  and  approved  by  the  inhabitants  in  a  public  meeting  assembled  at 
the  same  place  July  8th  of  the  same  year.  By  this  Legislative  Committee,  the 
whole  country  was  divided  into  four  districts,  to-wit :  Tuality,  Yamhill,  Clack- 
amas  and  Champoeg.  And  it  recommended  that  the  districts  thus  named  be 
designated  as  Oregon  Territory. 

On  the  24th  December,  1844,  an  act  was  passed  declaring  the  boundaries  of 
Oregon  as  being  the  Pacific  ocean  on  the  west,  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  mount 
ains  on  the  east,  the  42nd  parallel  of  latitude  on  the  south,  and  the  latitude  of 
54  degrees  and  40  minutes  on  the  north.  And  the  sentiment  of  the  American 
population  of  the  day.  as  expressing  their  opinions,  and  wishes  as  well,  on  the 
subject  of  the  disputed  boundary,  was  "Fifty-four  forty  or  fight" 

To  this  little  digression  I  have  been  led  by  what  my  favorite  author  on 
mental  philosophy  calls  the  principle  of  relative  suggestion.  In  referring  his 
torically  to  the  early  legislation  by  which  Oregon  was  divided  into  districts,  I 
was  necessarily  led  to  indicating  the  lines  by  which  these  districts  as  a  whole 
were  bounded;  and  then  all  the  rest  having  come  into  my  mind  on  the  principle 
I  have  alluded  to,  I  am  sure  the  kind  reader  will  pardon  the  indulgance  of  this 
little  bit  of  patriotic  vanity  and  complacancy. 


HISTORY    OF   THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  75 

Recurring,  then,  to  the  subject  of  districts,  I  have  now  only  to  add  that 
on  December  I9th,  1845,  tne  Legislature  of  the  Provisional  Government  passed 
an  act  providing  for  inserting  the  word  "  county  "  in  the  laws  of  Oregon,  in  the 
place  of  the  word  "district." 

At  this  session  (commencing  December  2nd,  1845,  and  adjourning  on  the  iQth 
of  the  same  month,)  the  subject  of  post  offices  and  post  roads  received  the 
attention  its  importance  demanded,  and  William  G.  T;Vault  was  elected  Post 
Master  General.  The  subject  of  Indian  affairs  in  like  manner  required  and  re 
ceived  wise  and  careful  consideration;  and  to  guard  the  interests  of  the  people 
and  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  in  their  relations  to  each  other,  the  Governor, 
George  Abernethy,  was  elected  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs. 

The  action  of  the  Provisional  Government  on  the  subject  of  the  application  of 
a  remedy  for  the  evils  arising  out  of  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicating  liquors, 
cannot  fail  to  be  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  the  Christian  student  of 
Oregon  history.  I  would  be  inexcusable,  therefore,  if  I  did  not  sketch  at  least 
the  outlines  of  this  important  subject,  hoping  that  at  some  other  time  the  Su 
preme  Being  may  permit  me  to  fill  up  these  in  a  manner  more  satisfactory  to 
myself,  and  I  hope  to  the  kind  reader,  than  this  imperfect  performance  can  be. 

Peter  H.  Burnett,  now  an  immensely  wealthy  banker  in  San  PVancisco, 
framed  a  law  in  the  summer  of  1845  which  was  lost  on  the  final  vote.  At  this 
session,  W.  H.  Gray  reported  a  bill  from  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 
the  2nd  section  of  which  provided  : 

"  That  if  any  person  shall  hereafter  sell,  barter,  give  or  trade  any  ardent 
spirits  of  any  kind  whatever,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  any  person  within  the 
Territory  of  Oregon,  he  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars  for  each 
and  every  such  sale,  trade,  barter  or  gift,  to  be  recovered  by  indictment  in  the 
County  Court,  or  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  without  the  form  of  pleading." 

The  3d  section  enacted  : 

"  That  if  any  person  shall  hereafter  establish  or  carry  on  any  manufactory  or 
distillery  of  ardent  spirits  in  Oregon,  he  shall  be  subject  to  indictment  before 
the  County  Court,  as  for  a  nuisance,  and  if  convicted,  he  shall  be  fined  in  the 
sum  of  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the  Court  shall  issue  an  order  to  the  sheriff 
directing  him  to  seize  and  destroy  the  distilling  apparatus." 

One  half  the  fines  collectible  under  the  law  were  to  go  to  the  witnesses 
and  the  party  giving  information  of  the  offense,  while  the  other  half  was  to  be 
paid  to  the  officer  making  the  arrest.  It  was  also  made  the  duty  of  any  officer, 
or  of  any  private  citizen  who  might  have  knowledge  of  a  violation  of  the  law, 
to  prosecute  at  once. 


76  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  1845,  Mr-  Gray's  bill  passed,  Messrs.  Gray,  H. 
Lee,  Garrison,  Hendricks,  B.  Lee,  McClure  and  McCarver  (7)  voting  in  the 
affirmative;  and  Messrs.  Foisy,  Hill,  Straight  and  Newell  (4)  voting  in  the 
negative. 

The  whisky  interest  at  once  became  alarmed,  and  were  not  long  at  a  loss  for 
the  means  and  appliances  necessary  to  winning  Hendricks  and  Barton  Lee  to 
their  policy.  On  the  8th,  Barton  Lee  moved  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote  by 
which  the  bill  had  passed.  The  yeas  and  nays  being  called,  the  vote  resulted 
as  follows  : 

Yeas — Hendricks,  Hill,  B.  Lee,  Smith,  Straight  and  Newell — 6. 
Nays — Foiiy,  Gray,  Garrison,  H.  Lee,  McCarver  and  McClure — 6. 

Thus  the  motion  to  reconsider  being  lost,  it  was  immediately  published,  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  law,  in  the  Oregon  Spectator  February 
5th,  1846,  in  Oregon  City,  which  was  the  first  newspaper  published  by  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  on  the  Pacific  coast.  This  law  remained  in  force 
until  December  iQth,  1846. 

The  organic  law  had  provided  that  the  Legislative  power  might  regulate  the 
introduction,  manufacture  or  sale  of  ardent  spirits.  On  this  the  advocates  of 
the  indiscriminate  use  of  ardent  spirits  built  up  their  most  effective  enginery  of 
attack;  and  they  insisted  that  the  power  to  regulate  did  not  extend  to  prohi. 
bition.  The  advocates  of  total  abstinence  appealed  with  pride  and  confidence 
to  our  experience  as  an  infant  colony  excluding  the  introduction  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  and  they  challenged  their  opponents  to  point  to  a  new  country  where 
as  much  harmony  and  peace  had  prevailed  as  in  this,  even  at  a  time  when  we 
had  absolutely  no  law,  and  when,  although  every  man  was  a  law  unto  himself, 
yet  all  things  moved  on  smoothly  and  without  any  friction,  and  when  the  people 
were  prosperous  and  happy,  as  they  would  certainly  continue  to  be  if  ardent 
spirits  could  be  kept  out  of  the  country.  Our  Qovernor,  George  Abernethy, 
was  in  both  principle  and  practice  a  thoroughly  consistent  temperance  man, 
always  refusing  to  touch,  taste  or  handle  anything  that  would  in  any  manner 
intoxicate.  He  even  manifested  an  aversion  to  being  brought  in  contact  with 
drinking  men.  Such  an  example  by  the  head  of  the  government  was  a  power 
of  strength  to  the  friends  of  temperance  in  a  community  that  had  taken  a  high 
stand  in  the  cause  of  temperance  by  its  early  efforts  to  exclude  intoxicating 
liquors  from  the  country,  and  by  which  that  community  had  secured  peace  and 
prosperity. 

Notwithstanding  the  organic  law  provided  for  regu/atinglhis,  at  least  two- 
thirds  of  the  people  had  voted  to  prohibit.  And  yet  the  whole  liquor  influence 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  77 

of  the  couniry  was  so  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Legislature  which  assembled  in 
December,  1846,  that  the  prohibitory  law  of  1845  was  repealed  and  a  license 
law  substituted.  On  the  iyth  December,  1846,  the  Governor  returned  this  bill 
with  his  veto  message.  Among  oilier  things,  he  said  : 

"Previous  to  our  organization  as  a  Provisional  Government,  public  sentiment 
kept  intoxicating  liquor  from  being  either  manufactured  or  sold  in  this  Terri 
tory.  Heretofore  every  act  of  the  Legislature  has  been,  as  far  as  ardent  spirits 
were  concerned,  prohibitory  in  character.  The  act  laying  before  me  is  the  first 
that  has  in  any  manner  attempted  to  legalize  the  manufacture  and  sale. of  ar- 
dent  spirits.  At  the  session  in  June,  1844,  an  act  was  passed  entitled  'An  act 
to prever.t  the  introduction,  sale  and  distillation  of  ardent  spirits  in  Oregon,' 
and  as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  the  passage  of  that  act  gave  satisfaction  to 
the  great  body  of  the  people.  It  is  said  that  the  Legislature  has  no  right  to 
prohibit  the  introduction  or  sale  of  liquor,  and  this  is  probably  the  stiougest 
argument  used  in  defense  of  your  bill.  But  do  you  not  as  effectually  prohibit 
any  person  who  has  not  the  sum  of  one,  two  or  three  hundred  dollars,  to  pay 
his  license,  as  does  the  law  now  on  the  statute  book  ?  Are  not  your  fines  and 
penalties  great  or  greater  than  those  of  the  old  law  ?  My  opinion  is  that  the 
people  are  opposed  to  legalizing  the  introduction  and  sale  of  liquor  in  this  land. 
1  may  be  mistaken,  and  therefore  should  be  in  favor  of  the  old  law,  or  if  some 
thing  similar  should  not  be  adopted,  of  referring  the  whole  matter  to  the  polls  at 
the  next  general  election.  It  is  with  regret  that  I  return  any  bill  unsigned,  but 
I  feel  that  we  both  have  duties  to  perform,  and  when  we  think  duty  points  out 
the  way,  I  trust  we  may  always  be  found  willing  to  follow  it." 

On  the  question  being  put  on  the  passage  of  the  bill  notwithstanding  the 
Governor's  veto,  the  vote  stood  : 

Yeas — Messrs.  Boon,  Hall,  Hembree,  Lownsdale,  Looney,  Meek,  Summers. 
Straight,  T' Vault,  Williams  and  Mr.  Speaker — 1 1. 

Nays — Messrs.  Chamberlain,  McDonald,  Newell,  Beers  and  Tolmie — 5. 

Thus  the  bill  having  received  a  two-thirds'  vote,  became  a  law  on  the  iSth 
day  of  December,  1846,  which  is  a  very  memorable  day  in  Oregon  history,  as 
being  the  first  on  which  one  man  could  lawfully  sell  liquor  to  another  to  make 
him  drunk. 

The  causes  which  operated  to  bring  about  the  repeal  of  the  prohibitory  law 
of  1845,  and  ^e  passage  of  that  of  December  i8th,  1846,  are  not  to  be  sought 
in  any  supposed  objectionable  feature  of  the  old  law,  but  in  the  peculiar  organ 
ization  of  the  Legislature  of  December,  1846,  a  reference  to  which  will  show 
that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  represented  by  Messrs.  W.  F.  Tolmie, 

10 


78  HISTORY   OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Chamberlain,  McDonald,  Newell  and  Peers.  While  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany  were  yielding  a  sort  of  assent  to  the  Provisional  Government,  and  had 
their  representatives  in  the  Legislative  branch  of  it,  they  were  using  whatever 
power  the  control  of  an  immense  amount  of  capital  could  give  them 'to  dwarf 
American  enterprises  and  to  control  American  privileges.  In  consistency  with 
this  policy,  they  were  bringing  intoxicating  liquors  in  their  ships  from  England, 
to  be  used  in  and  about  their  trade,  although  their  representatives  in  the  Legis 
lature  were  willing  enough  to  vote  against  the  manufacture  and  sale  here. 

The  composition  of  a  large  majority  of  the  House  was  peculiarly  American, 
and  peculiarly  antagonistic  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  To  say  then,  or 
even  during  years  afterward,  of  any  American  that  he  was  a  Hudson's  Bay 
man,  tended  to  ostracise  him  socially  and  to  kill  him  politically.  Hence  the 
friends  of  prohibition  felt  themselves  compelled  (whatever  the  facts  might  other 
wise  be)  to  yield  the  point,  on  the  ground  of  self  defense  for  national  rights, 
and  not  from  a  disposition  to  consider  the  law  of  1845  either  a  bad  or  unwise 
one.  In  other  words,  Messrs.  Boon,  Looney,  Hall,  Hembree,  Meek,  Summers, 
Straight,  T'Vault,  Williams  and  the  Speaker,  (A.  L.  Lovejoy,)  were  induced  to 
confer  the  privilege  of  doing  that  which  was  known  to  be  fraught  with  incal 
culable  evils,  because  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  a  monopoly  in  our  midst, 
were  bringing  liquor  from  England  and  disposing  of  it  in  Oregon. 

A  rapid  survey  of  the  facts  of  the  history  of  the  Provisional  Government, 
transpiring  in  the  year  1845,  will  show  that  the  fundamental  law  had  been  very 
materially  changed,  and  that  these  changes  being  ratified  by  the  people,  the 
government  become  more  permanent  and  dignified  in  its  character,  securing  at 
once  the  respect,  confidence  and  obedience  of  all  classes  and  conditions,  and  of 
nationalities,  English,  French  and  American.  The  boundaries  of  the  country 
had  been  extended  and  clearly  defined.  The  Executive  power  and  efficiency 
for  usefulness  had  "been  united  in  a  single  head.  The  Legislative  department 
had  been  enlarged  to  sixty-one  members,  who,  when  organized,  were  called  a 
House  of  Representatives,  instead  of  a  Legislative  Committee,  as  formerly. 
The  reader  may  say  that  there  is  not  much  in  a  name.  But  pardon  me  if  I  say 
that  there  is,  after  all,  very  much  in,  a  name,  since  no  man  could  respect  him 
self,  or  be  respected,  if  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  known  as  Ichabod  Snooks.  The 
organic  law  likewise  conferred  upon  the  Legislative  department  the  power  to 
create  superior  and  inferior  courts,  as  the  wants  of  the  people  might  require. 
The  land  law,  although  defective  in  some  particulars,  was  on  the  whole  a  good 
one  for  the  times.  The  official  oath  was  peculiar  in  its  form,  but  that  peculiar 
ity  was  a  necessity,  having  its  origin  in  the  fact  that  the  population  consisted  of 
Americans,  English,  Canadian  French  and  mixed  blood,  the  fruit  of  the  mar- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  79 

riage  of  hunters  and  trappers  with  native  women.  As  residents  of  Oregon  un 
der  the  treaty  for  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  country,  the  dangers  and  interests 
of  the  people  were,  in  a  qualified  sense,  mutual,  while  their  allegiance  was 
different.  Nevertheless,  however  varied  were  the  feelings  of  this  mixed  popu 
lation  in  their  attachments  to  the  form  of  the  government  established  in  their 
respective  native  countries,  their  acceptance  of  the  Provisional  Government  was 
so  near  being  absolutely  unanimous,  and  so  thoroughly  sustained  by  all  in  their 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  those  who  administered  it,  that  it  was  strong  with 
out  either  an  army  or  navy,  and  rich  without  a  treasury.  Life,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  were  guaranteed.  Property  was  safe,  schools  were  estab 
lished  and  supported;  contracts  were  enforced;  debts  were  collected,  and  the 
majesty  of  law  vindicated  in  'a  manner  that  proved  that  the  government  was 
able  and  efficient,  because  the  people  confided  in  the  patriotism  and  wisdom  of 
those  who  founded  it,  and  in  the  integrity  and  ability  of  those  who  administered 
it;  and  of  course  the  people  were  prosperous  and  happy;  yet  certainly  not  per 
fectly  so,  since  there  were  inconveniences  arising  out  of  their  isolation  and 
other  circumstances  with  which  they  stood  associated,  which  caused  them  to 
long  for  the  advent  of  a  government  not  liable  to  be  displaced  by  either  of  the 
two  great  nationalities. 

The  surprising  energy  and  power  which  this  government  was  capable  of  dis 
playing,  and  the  patriotism  of  the  Oregon  pioneers,  was  fully  evinced  at  a  much 
later  period,  when  the  massacre  of  Whitman  and  family,  and  others,  at  his 
Mission  station,  November  29th,  1847,  roused  both  government  and  people  to 
the  energetic  and  successful  prosecution  of  a  war  commenced  in  the  depth  of 
the  winter  of  1847-8.  Within  thirteen  days  from  the  time  of  the  information 
being  received  at  Oregon  City,  where  the  Legislature  of  the  Provisional  Gov 
ernment  was  at  the  time  in  session,  a  well  armed  force  of  fifty  men  were,  under 
the  advice  of  Col.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  stationed  at  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  it 
being  seen  by  him  to  be  a  stragetical  point  of  great  importance  to  the  successful 
issue  of  a  campaign  against  the  Cayuse  Indians,  who  had  perpetrated  the  mas 
sacre  of  the  memorable  2Qth  of  November,  1847.  It  required,  indeed,  a  mili 
tary  mind  to  see  by  a  glance  at  the  geographical  configuration  of  the  country, 
that  the  seizure  and  holding  of  this  point  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  since 
it  would  essentially  contribute  to  the  success  of  an  invasion  of  the  Indian  coun 
try.  And  it  is  perhaps  no  more  than  what  is  historically  due  to  the  author  of 
the  suggestion  of  this  masterly  military  movement,  to  say  that  the  people  of 
Oregon  have  probably  never  fully  appreciated  the  services  thus  rendered  by 
this,  among  the  earliest  of  the  Oregon  pioneers,  and  afterwards  by  rr^n,  while 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  in  the  United  States  Senate  during 


8o  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

the  war  for  the  maintenance  of  the  integrity  of  tv.c  Union,  where  he  proved  him 
self  to  be  one  of  the  most  patriotic  of  those  pioneers. 

A  further  evidence  of  the  surprising  energy  of  the  Provisional  Government, 
and  of  its  fertility  in  resources  upon  the  sudden  arising  of  an  emergency,  will 
be  seen  when  the  render  is  informed  that  the  troops  sent  to  the  Dalles  were 
raised,  armed,  and  equipped  within  thirteen  days  from  the  time  of  the  massacre 
at  Wa-il-iit-pu  becoming  known  to  the  Governor  and  Legislature  of  the  Provis 
ional  Government;  and  that  they  were  within  the  time  named,  moved  also  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  point  to  be  occupied,  without  the  facilities  which 
would  now  be  afforded  by  railroads  and  steamboats.  Kut  in  addition  to  the 
raising  of  this  company,  the  Governor  was  authorized  to  organize  a  force  of  five 
hundred  mounted  volunteers.  As  fast  as  the  men  who  came  forward  to  be  en 
rolled  could  be  armed  and  equipped,  they  were  moved  to  the  front. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1848,  the  pioneer  troops  met  the  enemy  at  the  can 
yon  of  the  De  Schutes,  where  the  first  battle  was  fought,  and  the  enemy  driven 
with  considerable  loss.  On  the  next  da}',  the  Indians  were  again  encountered 
and  defeated.  On  the  2d  of  March,  the  enemy  were  once  more  met  and  severely 
punished  at  the  Umatilla.  On  the  4th  of  the  same  month,  the  advance  column 
occupied  \Va-il-at-pu  three  hundred  miles  distant  from  the  cabins  which  these 
hardy,  honest,  and  j  atriotic  pioneers  had  left  behind  them,  to  chastise  the  sav 
ages  by  a  steady  advance  into  their  country  and  by  sharp  and  decisive  fighting, 
for  their  brutal  massacre  of  .Christian  missionaries. 

It  will  thus  at  once  be  seen  that  the  Provisional  Government  had  both  energy 
and  power;  and  that  the  Oregon  pioneers  were  fully  equal  to  the  occasion;  and 
that  they  were  brave  and  patriotic  men  exercising  the  superior  virtues  of  a  superior 
and  noble  manhood.  In  short,  when  the  story  of  this  war  and  of  its  results, 
ending  finally  in  the  capture  of  the  principal  savages  engaged  in  the  massacre, 
and  their  trial  and  execution  at  Oregon  City,  shall  hereafter  be  written  by  the 
Muse  of  history  it  will  make  a  chapter  of  which  no  descendant  of  an  Oregon 
pioneer  will  be  ashamed. 

But  the  train  of  causes  which  led  to  the  terrible  slaughter  of  Dr.  Whitman 
and  wife,  together  with  others  at  the  \Va-il-at-pu  Mission  Station  on  the  2gth 
day  of  November,  1847,  and  the  incidents  of  the  war  of  which  the  massacre  was 
the  cause,  belong  rather  to  the  general  history  of  Oregon  during  the  Provisional 
Government  than  to  the  history  of  the  Provisional  Government  itself,  which  is 
the  subject  of  this  paper.  And  although  few  things  could  give  me  more  pure 
pleasure  than  to  be  the  chronicler  of  the  thrilling  incidents  and  the  soul-stirring 
stories  of  which  those  brave  and  unselfish  pioneers  were  the  heroes  who  estab 
lished  an  American  State  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  giving  abundant  evidence  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  8 1 

wisdom  displayed  in  its  civil  organization  and  now  exhibited  no  less  proof  of  its 
ability  for  military  purposes,  yet  at  this  time  I  must  deny  myself  the  happiness 
this  would  give  to  me,  and  I  will  console  myself  with  the  ahope  that  a  benign 
Providence  will,  with  prolonged  life  and  suitable  opportunities,  yet  permit  me  to 
engage  in  a  labor  that  would  be  so  grateful  to  my  feelings. 

The  remainder  of  this  paper  will  therefore  be  devoted  to  a  notice  of  only  such 
historical  events  as  more  or  less  nearly  relate  to  a  change  from  a  Provisional  to 
a  Territorial  Government;  and  if  I  shall  use  the  personal  pronoun  in  the  first 
person  more  frequently  than  may  seem  to  be  quite  consistent  with  good  taste 
and  becoming  modesty,  I  trust  that  the  indulgent  reader  will  not  attribute  it  to 
any  foolish  vanity  or  mere  spirit  of  egotism,  but  rather  to  the  fact  that  the  re 
maining  events  appropriate  to  this  paper,  are  of  such  a  character  that  I  can  in 
no  wise  separate  my  name  from  them  without  making  the  story  incomplete  and 
even  unintelligible. 

In  the  spring  of  1847,  ^r-  Whitman  being  at  my  residence  in  Oregon  City, 
spoke  to  me  very  freely  on  the  subject  of  his  Mission  station,  and  of  the  perils 
to  which  he  feared  all  connected  with  it  were  exposed.  And  he  said  that  he 
believed  that  nothing  short  of  the  speedy,  establishment  of  a  Territorial  Govern 
ment  to  supercede  the  Provisional  Government  would  save  him  and  his  Mission 
from  falling  under  the  murderous  hands  of  the  savages.  And  he  urged  me  to 
yield  to  the  solicitations  I  had  received  to  go  at  once  to  Washington  City  on  be 
half  of  the  people  and  Provisional  Government  for  this  and  for  other  purposes. 
I  had  sought  to  induce  Peter  H.  Burnet  to  go,  being  myself  averse  to  doing  so. 
But  this  interview  decided  me;  and  when  Dr.  Whitman  was  about  to  depart  for 
his  field  of  mission  labor  I  promised  that  I  would  do  as  he  desired,  if  Governor 
Abernethy  would  furnish  me  with  the  necessary  letter  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

I  have  said  that  my  object  in  going  to  Washington  was  to  procure  the  passage 
of  a  law  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government  and  for  other  purposes. 
Among  these  other  purposes  I  may  mention: 

1.  A   line  of  stockade  posts  between  Independence,  Missouri,  and  Western 
Oregon,  for   the   protection  of  emigrants,  for  facilitating  the    transportation  of 
mails,  and  for  the  establishment  of  new  settlements. 

2.  Engineers  to  survey  and  establish  the  best  wagon  route  into  Oregon. 

3.  Appropriations   for   opening   and  grading   a  road  a  cross   the   Cascade 
Mountains. 

4.  A  line  of  steam  packets  from  Panama,  Monterey,  San  Francisco,  and  the 
Columbia  river. 


82  HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

5.  Appropriations  for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  for  a  fixed  light  on 
Cape  Hancock,  a  revolving  light  on  Point  Adams,  buoys,  a  steam  tow  boat. 

6.  Fortification  of  Cape  Hancock,  Point  Adams  and  a  battery  at  Tongue 
Point. 

7.  Light  at  New  Dungeriess. 

8.  Grants  of  land  to  immigrants. 

9.  Grants  of  land  for  educational  purposes. 

10.  A  geological  survey  of  the  country. 

11.  Purchase  of  Indian  title. 

12.  Survey  of  a  road  to  California  for  stockade  posts  on  it. 

13.  Indian   agencies   or  sub-agencies   at   Soda   Springs,  Walla  Walla,  the 
Dalles,  the  Wallamet  Valley,  Puget  Sound  a.nd  Rogue  River. 

14.  A  military  and  naval  depot  in  Oregon. 

15.  A  recognition  of  all  our  legislative  and  judical  acts. 

1 6.  A  recognition  of  our  land  titles  valid  under  the  Oregon  law  of  July  5th, 
1845. 

17.  Should  this  be  found  to  be  impracticable,  then  the  next  best  grant  em 
bodied  in  a  new  Donation  Law. 

18.  An  appropriation  for  the  payment  of  the  public  debt  of  the  Provisional 
Government  of  Orego'n. 

19.  Mail  facilities. 

20.  Troops  for  protection. 

21.  A  revenue  cutter. 

22.  A  law  for  a  Territorial  Government. 

23.  A  Territorial  Library. 

On  Monday,  Oct.  i8th,  1847,  I  proceeded  to  Green  Point,  the  residence  of 
His  Excellency  George  Abernethy,  the  Governor  of  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment,  and  after  resigning  my  office  of  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  I  received 
his  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  I  then  embarked  with  Capt. 
Roland  Gelston,  in  his  gig,  and  in  a  short  time  my  very  humble  but  pleasant 
home  was  lost  to  my  sight,  and  nothing  of  it  was  kft  to  me  but  the  memories 
clustering  about  it  as  being  my  first  Oregon  home.  The  regular  plash  of  the 
oars  as  we  glided  down  the  beautiful  Wallamet  seemed  much  in  harmony  with 
my  emotions  which  I  am  almost  ashamed  to  confess  oppressed  me  with  sadness 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  83 

while  the  responsibilities  I  had  taken  upon  me  weighed  heavily  upon  my  heart. 
The  future  was  all  uncertain.  My  mission  to  Washington  was  itself  an  experi 
ment  I  had  scarce  the  courage  to  make.  There  were  no  steamships  then  on 
the  western  coast  of  America  north  of  Panama.  Suppose  that  Capt.  Gelston, 
after  getting  beyond  San  Francisco,  then  a  little  dirty  village,  should  change 
his  destination  and  not  take  me  on  to  Panama,  according  to  his  contract,  how 
would  I  be  able  to  proceed  ?  Even  if  I  succeeded  in  getting  forward  without 
any  detention  of  this  character,  would  I  be  able  to  obtain  a  guide  to  conduct 
me  over  the  Isthmus  to  Chagres;  and  how  long  would  I  be  detained  in  that  most 
unhealthy  of  all  known  places — that  charnel  house  of  death — -before  I  would 
be  able  to  obtain  a  passage  on  board  some  transcient  vessel  bound  for  Havana  or 
for  some  port  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States  ?  All  these  difficulties  being 
either  avoided  or  overcome,  would  the  government  of  the  United  States  conde 
scend  to  give  any  heed  to  the  suggestions  and  counsel  of  so  humble  a  repre 
sentative  of  an  obscure  little  colony  and  its  Provisional  Government  ? 

But  deeply  interested  in  the  permanent  welfare  of  the  colony  and  thoroughly 
honest  and  disinterested  in  the  motives  which  impelled  me  to  action  in  consent 
ing  to  go  to  Washington,  it  was  quite  natural  for  me  to  believe  that  when  Con 
gress  were  made  acquainted  with  the  embarrassing  circumstances  in  which  their 
fellow-citizens  of  Oregon  were  situated,  although  they  had  done  nothing  for 
them  up  to  the  time  of  which  I  am  speaking,  yet  the  government  would  not, 
nay,  it  could  not,  be  guilty  of  the  monstrous  injustice  of  permitting  an  omission 
to  extend  to  them  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  their  native  country  to  disfigure 
another  page  of  its  history.  Congress  had  hitherto  permitted  this  unhappy 
omission  because  of  the  impossibility  of  their  knowing  the  real  condition  and 
wants  of  their  brothers  of  this  distant  and  isolated  portion  of  our  common  coun 
try,  and  because  of  slavery  becoming  an  element  of  the  question,  as  to  wnether 
the  General  Government  would  proceed  at  once  to  the  discharge  of  its  most  sol 
emn  duty,  to  throw  over  all  its  citizens  the  aegis  of  its  laws. 

I  was  also  encouraged  to  hope  for  prompt  and  efficient  action  upon  the  subject 
of  the  main  object  of  my  mission  from  a  consideration  of  the  additional  fact  that 
the  treaty  of  June  I5th,  i8<f6,  settling  the  question  of  title  to  Oregon  had  re 
moved  every  obstacle  which  could  be  referred  to  as  a  reason  for  not  granting  to 
the  colonists  of  Oregon  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  their  country  and  the 
means  of  defense  against  the  Indian  tribes.  So,  too,  I  felt  that  it  would  ill  com 
port  with  the  character  of  a  great  nation  to  urge  that  protection  could  not  be 
afforded  to  a  people  whose  duty  and  allegiance  had  been  tested  by  almost  every 
variety  of  circumstances.  I  could  not  persuade  myself  that  it  would  be  said, 
that  because  the  people  of  Oregon  had  done  well  in  establishing  a  p^vernment, 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

in  the  administration  of  wnich  internal  order  had  been  maintained  to  an  extent 
equal  to  that  of  any  StaLe  of  the  Union,  that  therefore  they  might  be  neglected, 
and  exposed  to  the  brutal  outrages  of  ruthless  savages,  upon  their  borders  and 
in  their  midst.  This  I  could  not  but  believe  would  be  making  their  well  doing 
a  misfortune,  by  causing  a  withholding  of  their  rights.  The  continued  expec 
tation  that  the  Provisional  Government  would  be  superseded,  prevented  them 
from  doing  for  themselves  what  the  exigencies  of  their  situation  demanded,  and 
that  which  they  would  otherwise  have  done.  They  were  therefore  weary,  as  I 
personally  knew,  of  a  quasi  independence,  and  would  have  rejoiced  to  have 
yielded  it  up  for  something  that  might  not  be  changed  by  the  arrival  of  the  next 
ship  that  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 

Had  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  the  subjects  of  her  Hritanic 
Majesty,  who  resided  in  Oregon  under  the  treaty  of  joint  occupancy,  by  cherish 
ing  for  each  other  a  feeling  of  positive  hostility  and  rancorous  enmity,  become 
embroiled  in  an  unnatural  strife,  instead  of  cultivating  a  spirit  tending,  to  pre 
serve  the  peace  of  the  country,  I  saw  that  the  laws  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States  would  have  been  extended  over  us  long  before  the  time  at  which 
these  thoughts  filled  my  mind.  This,  too,  I  could  not  but  believe  would  have 
been  done,  also,  if  the  country,  instead  of  presenting  an  example  of  industry 
and  tranquility  wholly  unexampled  in  the  history  of  new  colonies,  had  ex 
hibited  a  scene  of  anarchy,  confusion  and  bloodshed,  unworthy  of  their  origin 
and  of  the  destiny  of  their  beloved  Oregon.  But  how  much  better  was  it  to 
extend  the  laws  over  a  people  already  in  the  enjoyment  of  many  of  the  bless 
ings  of  a  peaceful  and  well  ordered  State,  than  to  be  under  the  necessity  of 
interposing  authority  as  a  shield  to  prevent  them  from  staining  their  hands  in 
fraternal  blood. 

Although  the  people  of  Oregon  felt  an  unconquerable  desire  for  self  govern 
ment — a  desire  nurtured  and  educated  under  the  republican  institutions  of  the 
land  of  their  birth-  yet  their  position  was  so  peculiar  that  they  realized  the 
impossibility,  under  their  circumstances,  of  making  full  provision  for  their  pro 
tection  in  a  manner  at  all  satisfactory  to  themselves;  and  they  therefore  hus 
banded  their  resources  under  a  temporary  government,  cherishing  a  hope  which 
they  believed  to  be  reasonable,  that  as  soon  as  a  suitable  opportunity  presented 
itself,  a  law  would  be  passed  establishing  a  Territorial  Government.  The 
settlement  of  the  boundary  question  seemed  to  present  that  opportunity  for  the 
fulfillment  of  their  most  ardent  hopes,  and  the  consummation  of  their  most 
devout  wishes.  The  extension  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  people, 
was  an  event  looked  to  as  promising  a  remedy  for  evils  growing  out  of  the  fact 
that  there  were  many  important  subjects  upon  which  the  Provisional  Legislature 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  85 

had  not,  under  the  circumstances,  the  power  to  legislate.  It  was  an  event 
looked  for,  also,  as  one  that  would  give  additional  importance  to  the  country, 
and  a  new  impulse  to  trade  and  commerce,  and  one  which  would  satisfy  the 
mind  on  the  subject  of  a  grant  of  land  to  settlers. 

That  this  anxiety  was  both  reasonable  and  natural,  would  appear  by  advert 
ing  to  the  peculiarly  interesting  history  of  the  country.  During  several  years 
without  any  government  except  that  which  reason  imposes,  and  without  a  law 
of  any  kind  except  the  general  law  of  duty  arising  out  of  the  relations  which 
exist  between  men  everywhere,  the  penalties  for  the  violation  of  which  were 
inflicted  by  the  conscience  only,  the  people  peacefully  pursued  their  occupations 
during  six  days  of  the  week,  and  on  the  seventh  quietly  assembled  to  listen  to 
the  preaching  of  some  one  of  the  missionaries.  But  time  brought  changes,  and 
in  these  changes  originated  the  absolute  necessity  for  that  Provisional  Govern 
ment  under  which  had  grown  up  a  prosperous  and  virtuous  community,  mature 
in  its  development  and  strong  in  the  confidence  of  the  peoples'  ability  to 
achieve  success  in  all  legitimate  enterprises. 

It  was  thus  as  our  little  boat  rapidly  glided  down  the  beautiful  Wallamet  to 
the  vessel  about  two  miles  below  Portland,  waiting  only  for  our  arrival,  that  I 
surveyed  the  history  of  Oregon's  past  and  considered  her  existing  circumstances, 
that  my  heart  might  be  strengthened  with  courage  and  hope  as  to  the  results  of 
my  proposed  labors  at  Washington. 

On  board  the  Whitton^  I  was  conveyed  first  to  San  Francisco,  and  thence  to 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Ix>wer  California,  where  Capt.  Gel- 
ston  informed  me  that  he  had  determined  upon  engaging  in  the  trade  with 
Mazatlan,  on  the  western  coast  of  Mexico,  and  that  he  therefore  could  take  me 
no  further.  The  United  States  sloop  of  war  Portsmouth,  Capt.  Montgomery, 
was  lying  at  anchor  in  the  open  roadstead  off  the  point,  and  hearing  of  my 
dilemma,  he  sent  Lieutenant  Bartlet  to  the  Whitton  with  a  message  to  me, 
inviting  me  on  boaid  the  Portsmouth,  and  requesting  me  to  bring  with  me  any 
papers  showing  my  relations  to  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon,  and  the 
nature  and  objects  of  my  mission  to  Washington.  This  I  did,  of  course,  and 
the  interview  ended  by  his  offering  to  give  up  his  cabin  to  my  exclusive  use, 
and  to  convey  me  as  a  guest  to  Boston  harbor.  It  required  about  three  weeks 
to  get  the  ship  ready.  But  this  being  done,  we  sailed  for  Boston,  and  the  ship 
being  one  of  the  best  in  the  United  States  navy,  we  cast  anchor  in  the  port  of 
our  destination  on  the  2nd  of  May,  1848. 

I  proceeded  at  once  to  Washington,  where,  soon  after  my  arrival.  President 
Polk,  Mr.   Benton  and  Mr.  Douglas  suggested  to  me  the  propriety  of  my  pre 
paring  a  memorial  to   Congress,  setting  forth  the  condition  and  wants  of  the 
11 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

people  I  was  representing.  In  pursuance  of  their  advice1  I  at  once  prepared  a 
memorial  ;  and  among  the  most  prominent  subjects  to  which  I  solicited  atten 
tion,  was  the  necessity  for  a  Territorial  Government,  and  for  grants  of  land  to 
encourage  settlement,  The  memorial  was  presented  by  Mr.  Benton  in  the  Sen 
ate,  and  being,  on  his  motion,  printed  for  the  use  of  both  Houses  of  Congre  ;s, 
it  greatly  helped  me  forward  on  my  way  to  the  general  objects  of  my  mission. 

Soon  afterwards,  I  prepared  a  bill  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government; 
and  I  so  framed  it  that  it  amounted  to  a  practical  recognition  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  and  of  the  land  law  under  it.  This  I  did  in  the  wording  of  the 
iyth  section  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  I4th,  1848.  Among  other  things 
important  to  be  noticed,  having  this  in  view,  is  the  following  : 

lt All  land  recognizances,  and  obligations  of  every  kind  ^vhafsoever,  valid  un 
der  the  existing  /aws,  within  the  limits  of  said  Territory,  shall  be  valid  under 
this  act;  ******  an(i  a^  penalties,  forfeitures, 
actions,  and  causes  of  action,  may  be  recovered  under  this  act  in  like  manner  as 
they  would  have  been  under  the  laws  in  force  within  the  limits  comprising  said 
Territory  at  the  time  this  act  shall  go  into  operation ." 

This  provision  was  designed  to  afford  the  means  for  enforcing  all  previous 
sales  and  contracts  to  sell  real  estate,  and  particularly  real  estate  in  towns. 

The  reasons  for  this  provision  will  at  once  be  obvious  to  the  reader,  when  he 
is  informed  that  under  the  organic  law  of  Oregon  and  the  enactments  of  the 
Provisional  Legislature,  contracts  had  been  made,  marriages  had  been  entered 
into,  divorces  had  been  granted  by  both  the  Legislature  and  the  courts;  judg 
ments  had  been  rendered  in  courts  of  law,  and  decrees  had  been  rendered  in 
chancery,  some  of  which  had  already  been  satisfied;  and  actions  and  suits  were 
still  pending  in  the  courts. 

In  order,  therefore,  that  inextricable  confusion  and  remediless  wrong  might 
not  result  from  the  Provisional  Government  being  supersededby  a  Territorial 
Government,  I  so  drafted  the  bill  that  provision  should  be  made  for  all  suits, 
process  and  proceedings,  civil  and  criminal,  at  law  and  in  equity,  and  #11  in 
dictments  and  informations  which  might  be  pending  and  undetermined  in  the 
courts  established  by  the  Provisional  Government,  when  the  act  should  take 
effect,  being  transferred  to  be  heard,  tried,  prosecuted  and  determined  in  the 
district  courts  to  be  established  by  the  bill,  which  might  include  the  counties 
where  any  such  proceedings  might  be  pending;  and  for  all  contracts,  bonds, 
recognizances,  and  obligations  of  every  kind  whatsoever,  valid  under  the  exist 
ing  laws  within  the  limits  of  the  Territory,  being  in  like  manner  valid  under 
the  act  which  I  sought  to  have  passed  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government; 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  87 

and  for  all  crimes  and  misdemeanors  against  the  laws  in  force  within  Oregon 
being  prosecuted,  tried  and  punished,  in  the  courts  which  might  be  established 
by  said  act;  and  for  all  penalties,  forfeitures,  actions  and  causes  of  action, 
being  recovered  under  said  act,  in  like  manner  as  they  would  have  been  under 
the  laws  in  force  within  the  limits  of  said  Territory  at  the  time  the  said  act 
should  go  into  operation.  These  provisions  were  contained  in  the  iyth  section 
of  the  proposed  law. 

In  the  bill  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government,  I  had  incorporated  a  pro 
vision  prohibiting  slavery  in  Oregon.  This  I  took  from  the  ordinance  of  1787, 
and  I  was  induced  to  make  it  a  part  of  the  bill,  not  only  because  of  my  own 
convictions  on  the  subject  of  human  rights,  but  also  for  the  reason  that  the  peo 
ple  of  Oregon  had,  under  the  Provisional  Government,  sternly  pronounced  a 
rigid  interdiction  of  slavery.  I  believed  that  the  bill  would  become  a  law; 
but  because  the  opposition  from  southern  members  on  account  of  the  prohi 
bition  of  slavery  might  delay  its  passage  until  it  would  be  too  late  to  come  to 
a  final  vote  on  the  land  bill,  which  I  drafted  and  caused  to  be  introduced,  I 
incorporated  in  the  Territorial  bill  the  provisions  I  have  referred  to  as  being 
contained  in  the  1 7th  section,  designed  in  general  terms  as  a  practical  recog 
nition  of  the  Provisional  Government,  and  of  the  land  law  under  it,  but  it  was 
especially  designed  to  legalize  all  contracts  for  the  sale  of  town  property  in 
every  part  of  Oregon. 

In  a  government  like  ours,  resting  upon  the  suffrages  pf  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  who,  not  only  in  semblance  but  in  reality,  have  the  care  of  their  political 
institutions,  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  is  necessary,  in  order  that  they 
may  exercise  their  rights  in  a  manner  the  most  conducive  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  nation,  the  perpetuity  of  its  laws;  and  the  purity  of  its  legislative  and 
judicial  tribunals.  The  education  and  mental  training  of  the  youth  of  the 
country  is  absolutely  necessary,  to  qualify  them  Tor  the  care  of  our  political 
institutions,  and  that  they  may  possess  the  ability  to  exercise  the  powers  of 
government  in  a  manner  the  most  conducive  to  their  civil  and  religious  liberties. 
All  history  shows  that  where  the  people  have  not  been  educated,  they  have 
always  been  the  dupes  of  political  demagogues,  who  were  selfish  rather  than 
sagacious,  and  who  learned  to  ruin  by  hollow  pretenses  and  professions  of 
patriotism.  Believing  that  the  generous  and  ennobling  sentiments,  to  which  his 
own  breast  is  a  stranger,  are  a  worthless  and  wicked  pretense  in  others,  the 
demagogue  justifies  himself  in  caressing  an  uneducated  and  deluded  people 
he  means  to  scourge  as  soon  as  they  transfer  their  power  to  him. 

If  an  uneducated  people  do  not  fall  into  the  hands- of  demagogues,  yet  they 
are  sure,  in  time,  to  become  the  victims  of  the  rapacity,  avarice,  and  that  thirst 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

for  power  which  characterizes  another  class,  who  are  even  yet  more  dangerous, 
because  they  worship  cunning,  betray  with  a  kiss,  counterfeit  wisdom,  and  so 
adroitly  work  upon  the  weakness,  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  their  victims, 
that  they  at  length  obtain  place,  as  slimy  reptiles  are  sometimes  known,  by  a 
slow  and  laborious  process,  to  arrive  at  the  top  of  pyramids. 

But  these  political  evils  and  errors  can  be  prevented,  by  training  the  youth 
of  the  country  in  proper  studies,  and  by  animating  them  with  a  love  of  country 
and  of  virtue,  and  by  the  habitual  contemplation  of  the  character  and  example 
of  distinguished  American  statesman  and  warriors.  Enlightened  and  instructed, 
they  may  set  at  nought  the  wicked  designs  of  the  hypocrite,  who  flatters  and 
caresses  those  he  means  to  sell  as  soon  as  he  discovers  that  they  are  sufficiently 
debased  to  submit  quietly  and  without  rebuke  to  the  wrong.  But  if  properly 
educated,  the  people  will  be  able  to  sustain  the  institutions  of  the  country,  not 
only  against  their  own  temporary  excesses,  but  when  their  rulers  contemplate 
wicked  enterprises,  and  would  cast  down  the  ark  of  their  country's  liberty, 
they  can,  without  presumption,  extend  their  hands  to  stay  it  up. 

Entertaining  sentiments  and  opinions  such  as  these,  I  felt  a  vehement  desire 
to  so  multiply,  in  Oregon,  the  springs  of  knowledge  that  pure  streams  might 
thence  flow  out  to  water  all  the  land,  and  to  gladden  unborn  generations  thirst 
ing  for  literary  and  scientific  knowledge.  To  this  end,  I  framed  the  2oth 
section  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  I4th,  1848,  which  enacts : 

"That  when  the  lands  in  the  said  Territory  shall  be  surveyed  under  the 
direction  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  preparatory  to  bringing  the 
same  into  market,  sections  numbered  sixteen  and  thirty -six  in  each  township  in 
said  Territory  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  reserved  for  the  purpose  of 
being  applied  to  schools  in  said  Territory,  and  in  the  States  and  Territories  to 
be  erected  out  of  the  same."* 

The  consideration  which  influenced  my  judgment  and  determined  me  to  make 
the  1 7th  section  a  part  of  the  bill  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government,  de 
cided  me  to  make  this  2oth  section  a  part  of  the  same  bill,  rather  than  to  make 
it  a  part  of  the  land  bill,  to  which  both  sections  more  appropriately  belonged- 

Soon  after  the  bill  for  a  Territorial  Government  was  introduced,  I  prepared  a 
bill  for  making  donations  of  land  to  settlers.  There  was  at  no  time  much  oppo 
sition  to  the  land  bill,  and  what  there  was,  I  soon  succeeded  in  overcoming  by 
a  few  explanations  and  a  reasonable  amount  of  labor  well  directed  by  the  sug 
gestions  of  common  sense.  But  the  land  bill  could  not  be  gotten  beyond  a 
second  reading,  because  the  bill  for  the  Territorial  Government  must  necessarily 
pass  first;  and  the  opposition  to  this  finally  drove  its  enemies  under  the  lend  of 


HISTORY    OF    THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  89 

Mr.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  and  of  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  to  resort 
to  all  known  legislative  tactics  which  were  supposed  to  be  in  any  manner  con 
ducive  to  the  end  at  which  those  gentlemen  .sought  to  arrive.  For  this  purpose 
they  labored  to  consume  time  in  offering  amendments,  by  debating,  etc.,  so  that 
the  bill  should  never  reach  a  vote'  on  its  final  passage  until  the  I4th  of  August, 
M.,  the  hour  fixed  upon  by  a  joint  resolution  of  Congress  for  the  close  of  that 
session. 

On  Saturday  morning,  August  I2th,  Mr.  Benton,  Mr.  Douglas  and  John  E. 
Hale,  sent  for  me  to  meet  them  in  one  of  the  retiring  rooms.  They  there  in 
formed  me  that  the  leading  friends  of  the  bill  then  known  to  be  in  the  majority, 
had  on  the  night  before  determined  on  a  "golden  silence  "  as  the  line  upon 
which  to  receive  the  onset  of  the  enemy;  and  that  the  supporters  of  the  pro 
posed  law  would  under  no  circumstances  change  their  tactics,  the  leading  fea 
ture  of  which,  consisted  in  a  determination  to  make  no  replies  to  the  enemies  of 
the  bill,  but  to  vote  against  all  the  usual  motions  for  adjourment  from  that  time 
(Saturday  morning,  Aug.  12,  1848)  until  Monday,  12  o'clock,  M. 

I  re-entered  the  Senate  Chamber  with  the  deepest  feelings  of  solicitude,  and 
yet  hopeful  because  of  the  assurances  which  had  been  given  to  me  by  the  gen 
tlemen  I  have  named.  I  soon  saw,  ho  ever,  that  Calhoun  and  Butler,  of  South 
Carolina;  Davis  and  Foot,  of  Mississippi;  and  Hunter  and  Mason,  of  Virginia, 
as  leaders  of  the  opposition,  had  girded  up  their  loins  and  had  buckled  on  their 
armor  for  the  battle. 

When  I  explain  a  little  the  reader  will  not  be  surprised  that  I  felt  very  ner 
vous.  The  bill  had  previously  been  in  the  Senate  and  having  passed  went 
down  to  the  House  where  it  was  amended,  and  now  it  had  come  back  for  con 
currence.  The  debate  when  the  bill  was  first  in  the  Senate  was  one  of  thrilling 
interest.  "There  were  giants  in  those  days,"  and  the  field  on  which  they 
fought  and  measured  strength  with  each  other  was  one  in  which  no  man  could 
be  at  a  loss  to  find  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel,  since  h  re  might  be  encountered 
such  mighty  men  as  Douglas  and  Benton,  Webster,  Calhoun  and  Corwin.  The 
last  named  gentleman  having  gotten  the  floor  in  the  debate  on  the  Oregon  bill, 
the  Senate  adjourned.  In  this  manner  it  became  known  at  once  throughout  the 
city  that  Mr.  Corwin  would  on  the  next  day,  after  the  preliminary  business  of 
the  morning  hour  had  been  disposed  of,  address  the  Senate  on  that  bill — the 
provision  in  it  taken  from  the  ordinance  of  1787,  prohibiting  slavery  being  the 
point  of  his  departure,  and  human  rights  the  subject  of  his  address.  At  an 
early  hour  the  gallery  was  literally  packed  full  of  the  elite  and  beauty  of  the 
capitol,  most  of  them  being  brought  hither  by  an  unconquerable  desire  to  wit 
ness  the  triumph  of  right  over  wrong  and  of  reason  over  passion  which  they  felt 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

sure  would  be  achieved  by  their  favorite  orator's  burning  words  consuming  to 
ashes  the  sophisms  relied  upon  by  the  advocates  of  slavery  to  defend  the  most 
gigantic  evil  that  ever  cursed  a  nation  or  stained  its  escutcheon.  On  the  floor 
of  the  Senate  were  iplomatic  representatives  from  every  Court  in  Europe  al 
ready  impatient  to  drink  in  the  inspiration  of  the  wonderful  eloquence  of  an 
orator  who  had  no  equal  in  some  respects  and  no  superior  in  any. 

The  preliminary  business  of  the  morning  hour  having  been  hurried  through, 
Mr.  Corwin,  of  Ohio,  rose  to  his  feet;  and  during  two  hours  commencing  with 
his  saying  "  Mr.  President  "  and  ending  with  the  close  of  his  wonderful  address, 
no  other  sound  was  heard  save  occasionally  that  of  one  who  seemed  to  catch  at 
his  breath,  and  no  movement  could  be  seen  save  in  the  varying  muscles  of  the  faces 
of  the  listening  hearers  as  the  orator's  matchless  manner,  melodious  voice,  and 
ready  command  of  most  apt  language  alternately  melted  the  heart  into  pity  or 
kindled  it  into  resentment,  while  with  inimitable  skill  and  unequaled  power,  he 
portrayed  "the  sum  of  all  villainies." 

This  description  of  the  effects  of  the  address  does  not  of  course  apply  to  such 
of  his  hearers  as  were  the  advocates  of  "  the  patriarchal  institution."  The 
faces  of  these  seemed  at  times  to  be  as  much  blanched  with  fear  as  would  that 
of  a  nervous  woman  on  being  suddenly  confronted  by  a  death's  head.  At  other 
times  the  face  was  equally  white  yet  the  compressed  lips,  and  the  flashing  eye 
and  a  peculiar  expression  of  the  countenance  as  clearly  as  languge  could 
speak  showed  that  the  heart  was  a  burning  volcano  of  the  most  fiery 
passions  in  the  throes  of  a  terrible  eruption. 

When  Mr.  Corwin  closed  his  memorable  speech,  there  seemed  to  be  quite  an 
interval  before  those  who  heard  gained  their  self-recollection,  and  a  motion  was 
made  for  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate.  As  with  others  I  was  slowly  and 
thoughtfully  retiring,  Father  Richie,  the  most  venerable  journalist  in  the  United 
States,  a  life  long  advocate  of  slavery,  and  at  that  time  editor  of  the  govern 
ment  organ,  nervously  laid  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder,  and  with  lips  as  white 
as  paper  and  quivering  with  emotion  he  said  :  "  A  few  speeches  such  as  that 
would  sever  the  bonds  of  this  Union  ! !" 

With  such  a  scene  as  this  fresh  in  my  memory,  the  reader  will  not  be  sur 
prised  if  on  Saturday  morning,  the  I2th  of  August,  1848,  I  felt  after  my  inter 
view  with  Mr.  Benton,  Mr.  Douglas  and  Mr.  Hale,  anxious  for  the  results  of 
the  day's  proceedings  on  the  bill  returned  for  concurrence  in  the  amendments 
made  in  the  House. 

The  friends  of  the  bill,  led  by  Mr.  Benton,  having  taken  their  position,  waited 
calmly  for  the  onset  of  their  adversaries,  who  spent  Saturday  until  the  usual 


HISTORY    OF   THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  gi 

hour  of  adjournment  in  skirmishing  in  force,  as  if  feeling  the  strength 
of  their  opponents.  When  the  motion  was  made  at  the  usual  time  in  the  after 
noon  for  adjournment  the  friends  of  the  bill  came  pouring  out  of  the  retiring 
rooms,  and  on  coming  inside  the  bar  they  voted  No  with  very  marked  emphases. 
I  ought,  perhaps,  to  explain  that  when  many  of  the  friends  of  the  Oregon  bill  went 
into  this  room  to  rest  upon  lounges,  and  to  smoke  and  chat  and  tell  anecdotes, 
they  left  behind  a  trusty  corps  to  observe  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and 
through  a  vigilant  page  stationed  at  the  door  to  give  notice  when  it  was  neces 
sary,  to  rise  and  rush  inside  the  bar  to  vote  No  on  all  motions  for  adjournment. 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  until  after  night  when  Judge  Butler,  of  South 
Carolina,  being  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  resorted  to  a  sort  of  legislative  filli- 
bustering  with  a  view  to  thrusting  aside  the  Oregon  bill,  under  a  motion  to  go 
into  executive  session  for  the  purpose  of  enquiring  into  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Ben- 
ton,  who  he  alleged  had  communicated  to  Dr.  Wallace,  the  reporter  of  the  New 
York  Herald,  some  things  that  had  been  said  and  done  in  secret  session.  Dur 
ing  his  remarks,  Judge  Butler  characterized  Mr.  Benton's  conduct  as  being 
"dishonorable."  This  word  had  only  been  pronounced  when  Mr.  Benton 
sprang  to  his  feet  in  great  anger,  and  advancing  rapidly  toward  Judge  Butler, 
with  his  clenched  fist  and  violently  gesticulating,  said  :  You  lie,  sir !  You  lie !  ! 
I  cram  the  lie  down  your  throat !  !  !"  Both  men  wore  long  hair  that  age  had 
made  as  white  as  wool,  and  yet  they  were  only  kept  from  violence  on  the  floor 
of  the  Senate  Chamber  by  Gen.  Dix,  of  New  York,  Mason,  of  Virginia,  and 
others,  who  by  placing  themselves  between  the  venerable  Senators,  prevented 
them  from  coming  to  blows.  Thus  restrained,  Judge  Butler  said  to  Mr.  Benton 
in  a  very  loud  and  angry  tone,  "  I  will  see  you  sir,  at  another  time  and  place." 
Mr.  Benton  immediately  rejoined  in  great  heat,  "  Yes  sir,  you  can  see  me  at 
any  other  time  and  in  any  other  place;  but  you  and  your  friends  will  take  no 
tice  that  when  I  fight,  I  fight  for  a  funeral." 

Order  being  at  length  restored,  the  vote  was  taken  on  Judge  Butler's  motion, 
to  go  into  Executive  session,  and  the  real  ohject  of  the  motion  being  seen  to  be 
the  defeat  of  the  Oregon  bill  through  the  consumption  of  time,  it  was  lost. 

Gen.  Foot,  the  colleague  of  Jeff.  Davis,  then  rose  and  in  a  drawling  tone  as 
sumed  for  the  occasion,  said  his  powers  of  endurance  he  believed  would  enable 
him  to  continue  his  address  to  the  Senate  until  Monday,  12  o'clock  M.,  and 
although  he  could  not  promise  to  say  much  on  the  subject  of  the  Oregon  bill, 
he  could  not  doubt  that  he  would  be  able  to  interest  and  greatly  edify  dis 
tinguished  Senators.  The  friends  of  the  bill,  seeing  what  was  before  them, 
posted  a  page  in  the  doorway  opening  into  one  of  the  retiring  rooms,  and  then 
after  detailing  a  few  of  their  number  to  keep  watch  and  ward  on  the  floor  of  the 


92  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Senate,  withdrew  into  the  room  of  which  I  have  spoken  to  chat  and  tell  anec* 
dotes  and  to  drink  wine,  or  perhaps  something  even  much  stronger,  and  thus  to 
wear  away  the  slowly  and  heavily  passing  hours  of  that  memorable  Saturday 
night.  Soon  great  clouds  of  smoke  filled  the  room,  and  from  it  issued  the 
sound  of  the  chink  of  glasses,  and  of  loud  conversation,  almost  drowning  the 
eloquence  of  the  Mississippi  Senator  as  he  repeated  the  Bible  story  of  the  cos 
mogony  of  the  world,  the  creation  of  man,  the  taking  from  his  side  the  rib  from 
which  Eve  was  made,  her  talking  with  the  "  snake,"  as  he  called  the  Evil  One, 
the  fall  of  man,  etc,  etc.  The  galleries  were  soon  deserted.  Many  of  the  aged 
Senators  prostrated  themselves  upon  the  sofas  in  one  of  the  retiring  rooms,  and 
slumbered  soundly,  while  "thoughts  that  breathed  and  words  that  burned" 
fell  in  glowing  eloquence  from  the  lips  of  the  Mississippi  Senator,  as  he  con 
tinued  thus  to  instruct  and  edify  the  few  watching  friends  of  the  bill,  who,  not 
withstanding  the  weight  of  seventy  winters  pressed  heavily  upon  some  of  them, 
were  as  wide  awake  as  the  youngest,  and  they  sat  firm  and  erect  in  their  seats, 
watching  with  lynx  eyes  every  movement  of  the  adversaries  of  the  bill. 

At  intervals  of  about  one  hour,  the  Speaker  would  yield  the  floor  to  a  motion 
for  adjournment,  coming  from  the  opposition.  Then  the  sentinel  page  at  the 
door  would  give  the  notice  to  the  waking  Senators  in  the  retiring  room,  and 
these  would  immediately  arouse  the  slumbering  Senators,  and  all  would  then 
rush  pell  mell  through  the  doorway,  and  when  the  inside  of  the  bar  was 
reached,  would  vote  No  with  a  thundering  emphasis. 

It  happened,  however  on  more  occasions  than  one,  that  a  sleeping  Senator, 
not  yet  quite  awake,  even  after  getting  inside  the  bar,  voted  "aye,"  then 
"nay,"  and  then  "aye,"  and  finally  "nay"  again,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
those  who  were  sufficiently  wide  awake  to  see  where  the  laugh  came  in. 

Occasionally  southern  Senators,  toward  Sunday  morning,  relieved  Gen.  Foot 
by  short,  dull  speeches,  to  which  the  friends  of  the  bill  vouchsafed  no  answers; 
so  that  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  pro-slavery  subordinates  had  things  for  the  most 
part  all  their  own  way  until  Sabbath  morning  August  I3th,  1848,  at  about  8 
o'clock,  when  the  leading  opponents  of  the  bill  collected  together  in  a  knot, 
and  after  conversing  together  a  short  time  in  an  under  tone,  the  Mississippi 
Senator  who  had  been  so  very  edifying  and  entertaining  during  the  night,  said 
that  no  further  opposition  would  be  made  to  taking  a  vote  on  the  bill.  The 
ayes  and  nayes  were  then  called  and  the  bill  passed.  The  Senate  of  course 
then  adjourned  and  many  members  came  to  me  and  congratulated  me  on  the 
result  of  the  struggle  as  though  1  had  been  even  mainly  instrumental  in  achiev 
ing  the  victory;  although  the  fact  was  that  I  necessarily  acted  in  the  very  sub 
ordinate  position  of  one  industriously  furnishing  facts  and  making  suggestions 


HISTORY    OF    THE     PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  93 

to  members  before  the  debate  came  on.  Among  those  thus  generous,  kind  and 
considerate,  I  may  mention  Mr.  Vinton,  of  Ohio,  and  Judge  Colamer,  of  Vejr- 
mont.  The  last  named  gentleman  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Lands,  in  the  House,  and  for  that  reason  I  had  often  found  it'  necessary  to  be 
with  him  at  his  rooms.  On  the  passage  of  the  bill,  he  took  my  hand  in  both  of 
his,  and  with  great  warmth  said  :  "  From  the  profoundest  depth  of  my  heart  I 
congratulate  you,  because  throughout  this  struggle,  and  in  the  discharge  of  all 
your  difficult  duties,  you  have  acted  very  much  like  a  man  who  intended  to  re 
turn  to  his  constituents. 

To  all  of  this  I  could  not  utter  a  single  word  of  reply,  no  more  than  if  I  had 
never  known  or  listened  to  the  music  of  speech;  and  only  my  quivering  lips  be 
traying  the  intensity  of  my  feelings  and  the  depth  of  my  emotions,  interpreted 
the  language  of  my  heart  to  this  incorruptible  and  great  man,  in  whose  presence 
I  felt  so  small,  yet  so  happy  to  be  thus  commended.  In  short,  I  may  truly  say 
that  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  bill  was  the  supreme  moment  of  my  life. 

The  reader  has  not  failed  to  observe  how  conspicuous  Gen.  Foot  made  him 
self  during  the  proceedings  of  this  memorable  Saturday  night  and  Sunday 
morning.  This  he  did  to  provoke  Mr.  Benton,  and  to  finally  so  kindle  his  anger  . 
into  flame  that  in  an  unguarded  moment  he  might  elict  from  the  great  Missourian 
some  remark  of  recognition  ;  but  the  contempt  of  the  veteran  Senator  for 
Gen.  Foot  could  be  measured  only  by  the  intensity  of  his  hatred  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 
Two  anecdotes  will  illustrate  how  he  despised  the  former  and  how  well  he  hated 
the  latter.  Gen.  Foot,  while  preparing  a  political  pamphlet  which  he  felt  quite 
sure  would  annihilate  Mr.  Benton,  but  which  of  course  left  him  as  undisturbed 
as  would  be  the  bull  on  whose  horn  a  gad-fly  had  lighted,  sent  to  "  the  gentle 
man  from  Missouri  "  a  message  in  about  these  words  :  "  Please  say  to  Mr.  Ben- 
ton  that  I  am  writing  a  very  small  book  in  which  his  name  will  appear  very 
often."  Whereupon  Mr.  Benton  immediately  replied  in  his  inimitable  manner : 
"  And  return  for  my  answer  to  Foot  that  I  am  writing  two  very  large  books  in 
which  his  name  will  not  appear  at  all."  Any  one  who  is  familiar  with  Mr. 
Ben  ton's  Congressional  Debates  in  fifteen  volumes,  and  with  his  Thirty  Years 
in  the  United  States  Senate,"  in  two  large  volumes,  will  know  how  well  he 
kept  his  word. 

The  intensity  with  which  Mr.  Benton  hated  Mr.  Calhoun  will  be  seen  in  the 
spirit  of  a  remark  he  made  to  me  very  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate 
after  coming  to  a  vote  on  the  bill  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government  in  Or 
egon.  My  way  to  my  boarding  house  being  the  same/that  led  to  Mr.  Benton's 
residence,  we  naturally  fell  in  together  as  we  left  the  Senate  Chamber;  and  as 
naturally  our  conversation  was  on  the  subject  of  the  scenes  during  the  recent 

12 


94  HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

protracted  session.  In  allusion  to  the  passage  at  arms  between  himself  and 
Judge  Butler,  he  said:  "  I  did  not  blame  Judge  Butler  so  much  as  I  did  that 
scoundrel  Calhoun,  who,  while  egging  on  Butler,  sat  the-e  looking  as  demure 
as  a  whore  at  a  christening." 

I  had  not,  indeed,  succeeded  in  accomplishing  all  I  had  in  view  in  accepting 
the  mission  to  Washington;  and  yet  a  brief  notice  of  the  results  of  my  labors  as 
the  objects  of  my  mission,  embodied  in  the  forms  of  law,  will  certainly  be  suffi 
cient  to  show  that  these  labors  had  not  been  in  vain. 

In  the  passage  of  this  law,  the  great  and  primary  object  of  my  mission  was 
secured,  the  immediate  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  over 
the  people  and  the  country.  In  framing  the  bill  I  incorporated  an  appropriation 
of  five  thousand  dollars  for  a  Territorial  Library;  and  in  the  passage  of  the  bill 
I  secured  this  also.  But  second  only  to  the  general  object  of  obtaining  an  ex 
tension  of  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  over  us,  was  that  of  ob 
taining  a  practical  recognition  of  the  Provisional  Government  and  of  the  Land 
Law  under  it,  as  also  of  all  judicial  proceedings  valid  under  existing  laws  of  the 
Provissional  Government.  All  these  objects,  too,  were  chrystalized  into  law  by 
the  I7th  section.  The  2yth  section  appropriated  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for 
the  construction  of  a  light  house  at  New  Dunginess  and  one  at  Cape  Hancock, 
as  also  for  buoys  to  indicate  the  channel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river. 
This  was  the  first  appropriation  Congress  ever  made  for  commercial  purposes  on 
the  Pacific  Coast;  and  I  secured  it  mainly  through  the  influence  of  Hon.  Wash 
ington  Hunt,  of  New  York,  then  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce  in 
the  House.  And  I  feel  great  pleasure  in  saying  that  in  this  gentleman,  as  well 
as  those  already  named,  I  found  an  earnest  co-laborer  in  everything  tending  to 
promote  the  permanent  interests  of  Oregon. 

A  law  providing  for  a  grant  of  land  to  immigrants,  had  not,  indeed,  been 
actually  passed.  But  a  bill  had  been  carefully  prepared  by  me  and  it  had  been 
introduced  in  the  House;  and  nothing  prevented  it  from  passing  through  both 
Houses,  but  the  fact  of  the  passage  of  the  Territorial  Bill  being  too  late  to 
reach  the  Land  Bill.  The  Donation  Law  we  now  have,  except  the  nth  section 
and  two  or  three  unimportant  amendments,  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  bill  I  pre 
pared,  and  which  Congress  passed  Sept.  27th,  1850,  with  scarce  any  opposition. 

I  had  felt  a  strong  desire  to  increase  the  educational  facilities  of  Oregon,  in 
the  very  beginning  of  the  structure  of  its  institutions,  and  as  the  foundation  on 
which  to  build  them.  To  this  end,  I  framed  the  2Oth  section  of  the  Act  of 
Congress  of  August  I4th,  1848,  so  that  the  i6th  and  36th  sections  of  land  in 
each  township  should  be  reserved  for  the  purpose  of  being  applied  to  schools 
in  Oregon  and  the  States  and  territories  to  be  erected  out  of  it. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  bill,  Congress  had  never  appropriated 


HISTORY    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT.  95 

more  than  the  i6th  section  for  the  support  of  common  schools;  and  the  late 
Nathan  Dane,  L.  L.  D.,  had  labored  long  before  he  succeeded  in  inducing  the 
government  to  appropriate  that  portion  of  the  public  lands.  It  will  not  then  be 
thought  strange  that  during  a  considerable  time,  the  policy  of  adding  the  36th 
section  to  an  endowment  already  supposed  to  be  munificent,  was  met  by  a  re 
sistance  which  threatened  to  be  very  grave,  if  not  fatal  to  success.  In  my 
efforts  to  neutralize  this  hostility,  and  to  meet  the  objections  of  honest  and  can 
did  gentlemen,  I  was  often  made  to  feel  that  I  required  greater  resources  of 
prudence,  knowledge  and  wisdom  than  I  possessed.  But  I  succeeded  at  length 
in  bringing  to  the  support  of  my  measure  the  industry,  patriotism  and  influence 
of  such  gentlemen  as  Hon.  Mr.  Vinton,  of  Ohio,  and  of  Hon.  Horace  Mann,  of 
Massachusetts,  who  seconded  my  efforts  in  such  a  manner  that  all  serious  oppo 
sition  gave  way  before  their  logic  and  eloquence. 

Daniel  Webster  once  said  in  one  of  his  great  speeches  that  he  would  rather 
go  down  to  posterity  as  the  recognized  author  of  the  policy  of  appropriating  the 
i6th  section  of  the  public  lands  to  the  support  of  common  schools,  than  to  com 
mit  his  name  and  fame  to  all  else  by  which  he  would  be  known  in  the  history 
of  his  country.  And  I  will  frankly  admit  that  when  to  this  section  of  the  public 
lands,  the  36th  was  added  by  the  passage  of  the  bill,  the  thought  that  Provi 
dence  had  permitted  me  to  be  the  instrument  of  conferring  so  great  a  boon  upon 
posterity,  filled  my  heart  with  emotions  as  pure  as  can  be  experienced  by  man. 
So,  also,  when  I  confess  that  I  could  not,  and  indeed,  did  not,  wish  to  shut  out 
from  my  mind  the  thought  that  when  I  rested  from  my  life's  toils  and  responsi 
bilities,  and  had  bequeathed  my  name  to  the  generations  my  labor  herein  had 
blessed,  I  might  be  recognized  as  a  benefactor  and  friend  of  my  race,  other  rea 
sons  than  those  I  have  mentioned,  will  be  seen  why  it  was  that  I  regarded  the 
time  of  the  passage  of  this  bill  as  the  supreme  moment  of  my  life.  And  as 
if  to  enhance  my  enjoyment  of  the  event,  such  gentlemen  as  the  Hon.  Horace 
Mann,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Hon.  Mr.  Vinton  and  Corwin,  of  Ohio,  and  Col- 
lamer,  of  Vermont,  together  with  other  large  hearted  gentlemen  came  clustering 
about  me  and  most  cordially  congratulated  me  upon  the  success  of  a  measure  to 
which  they  had  so  largely  contributed,  but  for  which  in  the  warmth  of  their 
friendship  and  the  outgushings  of  their  sympathy  they  so  generously  gave  me  all 
the  credit  and  unselfishly  commended  me  for  successful  efforts  springing  from  a 
vehement  desire  to  greatly  enlarge  the  means  of  enlightenment  to  those  who 
would  else  wander  in  darkness. 

General  Jo.  Lane  having  been  appointed  by  President  Polk,  Governor  under 
the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  I4th,  1848,  arrived  at  Oregon  City  on  the  3d  of 
the  following  March,  and  at  once  issued  a  proclamation  inaugurating  the  Terri- 


96  HISTORY    OF    TI^E    PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

torial  Government;  and  thus  the  Provisional  Government  surrounded  with  many 
pleasant  and  honorable  memories  passed  into  history  and  became  a  thing  that 
was;  the  Oregon  pioneers  as  such,  having  then  yielded  up  to  stranger  hands 
the  civil  institutions  they  had  reared  on  foundations  as  deep  as  the  principles  of 
natural  justice  and  as  broad  as  the  common  law. 

Of  the  Oregon  pioneers  whose  mutual  trials  and  labors  in  establishing  the  in 
stitutions  of  society,  civil  government  and  Christianity  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
bearing  together  the  burthen  and  heat  of  the  day,  comparatively  few  now  re 
main,  the  greater  number  having  made  their  last  remove  and  gone  to  that  land 
from  whose  bourne  no  traveller  returns;  but  those  who  yet  wait  in  old  age  and 
infirmity  for  their  time  also  to  come,  may  look  back  through  the  vista  of  the  years 
that  are  gone,  and  surveying  the  institutions  their  hands  have  assisted  to  build 
up  in  this  our  goodly  heritage,  may  with  honest  pride  and  pure  pleasure, 
exclaim  :  "  This  is  in  part  my  work-" 


THE   PEOVISIOKAL  AND  TEKKITOEIAL  SEAL, 

On  the  title  page  of  this  pamphlet  there  is  what  purports  to  be  the  Seal  of 
the  Provisional  Government.  This  is  an  error  which  the  printer  might  well 
have  made  under  the  circumstances.  My  recollection  is,  that  the  Seal  of  the 
Provisional  Government  was  simply  a  beaver;  Legend,  Territory  of  Oregon. 

The  Seal  which  appears  on  the  title  page  was  devised  and  procured  by  me 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1848,  and  it  was  by  me  offered  to  Gov. 
Lane  in  1849,  who  declined  to  receive  it.  In  1850,  I  offered  it  to  Gov.  Gaines 
and  Secretary  Hamilton  who  thought  it  so  much  more  suitable  for  Oregon  than 
the  one  they  brought  with  them,  that  they  at  once  accepted  it,  and  it  then  con 
tinued  to  be  the  Great  Seal  until  June  2d,  1859. 

In  note  3,  General  Laws  of  Oregon,  page  496,  Hon.  Matthew  P.  Deady,  the 
compiler,  says  : 

"By  an  Act  of  January  18,  1854,  the  description  of  this  Seal  was  directed  to 
be  deposited  and  recor.led  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary,  to  remain  a  public  rec 
ord;  but  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  same  was  never  done.  The  descrip 
tion  of  this  Seal  was  as  follows :  In  the  center,  a  shield,  two  compartments. 
Lower  compartment — in  the  foreground,  a  plow;  in  the  distance,  mountains. 
In  the  upper  compartment — a  ship  under  full  sail.  The  crest,  a  beaver.  The 
sinister  supporter — an  Indian  with  bow  and  arrows,  and  a  mantle  of  skins  over 
his  shoulder.  The  dexter  supporter,  an  eagle,  with  wings  displayed.  The 
motto — a/is  volat  propriis — I  fly  with  my  own  wings.  Field  of  the  lower  com 
partment,  argent;  of  the  upper,  blue.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  Seal  was 
not  continued  as  the  Seal  of  the  State,  by  simply  substituting,  "  the  State  of 
Oregon"  for  "  the  Territory  of  Oregon."  In  design  and  propriety,  it  is  in  every 
way  superior  to  the  obscure  and  meaningless  one  of  the  State — particularly  is 
the  loss  of  the  sagacious  beaver  to  be  regretted,  the  most  appropriate  symbol  of 
the  history  and  people  of  Oregon  that  could  have  been  selected  from  the 
treasury  of  heraldry.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Legislative  Assembly  will  yet 
restore  him  to  his  proper  place  in  our  coat  of  arms."  J.  QUINX  THORNTON. 


NOTE  BY  THE  PUBLISHING  COMMITTEE.— It  will  be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  cover  and 
title  page,  that  no  special  mention  is  made  of  the  "History  of  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment."  Both  were  printed  before  the  Committee  had  concluded  to  solicit  that  paper  from 
Judge  Thornton.  Having  been  compelled  to  write  it  during  leisure  hours  when  not  en 
gaged  in  professional  duties,  the  publication  of  this  pamphlet  has  been  unavoidably  de 
layed  several  weeks.  It  \vill  be  found  valuable  and  interesting. 

WILLAKD  H.REE3, 
E.  N.  COOKE. 

SALEM,  April  20,  1875.  J.  B.  McCLANE, 

S.  F  .CHAD WICK. 


TRANSACTIONS 


THIRD    ANNUAL    EE-UNION 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS  DELIVEEED  BY  EOU,  MATTHEW  P,  DEADY, 

TOGETHEB    WITH 

THE    ADDRESSES  BY  SON.    J.  W.  NESMITH,    EX-GO V.    GEO.    L.   CUKKY,  AND 
HON.    GEO.    P.    HOLMAN. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  COL,  Jos.  L.   MEEK, 


SALEM,  OREGON: 

JZ,   M.   WAITE,   PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 
1876. 


PREFACE. 

It  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  the  Printing  Committee,  that 
they  are  enabled  to  present  this  the  second  annual  publication  of 
the  Transactions  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  and  the  ad 
dresses  delivered  at  the  third  re-union  held  on  the  State  Agricul 
tural  Society's  Grounds  near  Salem,  June  15,  1875.  The  re-union 
proved  a  grand  success,  both  financially  and  socially,  and  a  large 
number  of  Pioneers  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  be 
come  members  of  the  Association;  and  it  is  earnestly  hoped  that 
the  remainder  of  the  Pioneers  who  are  eligible,  will  secure  a 
membership,  so  that  the  Association's  roll  will  contain  the  names 
of  all  of  those  who  came  and  settled  within  the  bounds  of  the 
original  Territory  of  Oregon,  either  by  sea  or  across  the  plains. 

The  addresses  of  Hons.  M.  P.  Deady,  J.  W.  Nesmith  and  Ex- 
Gov.  Geo.  L.  Curry,  contain  a  great  deal  of  history,  and  will  be 
perused  with  interest.  The  address  of  Ex-Gov.  Curry  was  de 
livered  at  Champoeg,  at  the  first  re-union  of  the  Association,  but 
the  copy  not  being  furnished,  was  not  printed  in  the  pamphlet  of 
1875,  consequently  the  committee  have  placed  it  in  this  year's 
report. 

The  biography  of  the  late  Col.  Joseph  L.  Meek,  was  furnished 
by  Mrs.  F.  F.  Victor,  by  request. 

E.  N.   COOKE, 

S.  F.  CHADWICK, 

WILLARD  H.  REES, 

JOHN  MINTO, 

J.  HENRY  BROWN, 

Committee. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


LEGISLATIVE  HALL,  ) 

SALEM,  OREGON,  May  15,  1875.  j 

In  pursuance  to  adjournment,  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  met  in  the  Legislative  Hall,  in 
Salem,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  was  called  to  order  by  Hon.  J, 
W.  Grim,  President  of  the  Association. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Association,  Willard  H.  Rees,  being 
absent,  J.  Henry  Brown  was  elected  Secretary /n?  tern. 

The  Secretary  read  the  published  proceedings  of  the  last  meet 
ing  of  the  Board,  which  met  at  Aurora,  December  3d,  1874. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Herren,  Chairman  of  Committee  of  Arrangements, 
made  a  verbal  report  of  the  committee's  work;  and  that  they  had 
procured  lumber  to  construct  a  dancing  floor,  and  had  secured 
vocal  and  instrumental  music  for  the  occasion  of  the  re-union. 
And  a  committee  had  been  appointed  to  canvas  the  city  for  funds 
for  the  celebration. 

Mr.  Herren  submitted  a  programme  for  the  celebration,  which 
on  motion  of  Mr.  J.  B.  McClain,  was  referred  to  a  committee  of 
lour,  consisting  of  Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick,  W.  J.  Herren,  J.  N. 
Matheny  and  E.  M.  Waite,  whereupon  the  committee  retired  for 
consultation. 

While  awaiting  the  action  of  the  committee,  the  members  en 
tered  into  a  general  exchange  of  reminiscence  of  the  early  days 
of  emigration,  when  they  crossed  the  plains  with  ox  teams. 

The  committee  on  programme  submitted  the  following  report : 


4  MEETING    OF   THE   BOARD    OF   DIRECTORS. 

To  the  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregen 
Pioneer  Association: 

Your  committee  appointed  to  arrange  programme  of  exercises  for  the  annual 
re-union  of  the  Pioneer  Association  for  1875,  would  report  the  following: 

EXERCISES    AT    THE    FAIR    GROUNDS. 


The  procession  will  form  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief  Marshal,  Col,  John 
McCracken,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  June  15,  1875,  on  the  plank  walk  extending 
East  from  the  railroad  track,  at  the  Fair  Grounds,  in  the  following  order: 

1st.     Northwest  Band. 

3d.     Standard  Bearers. 

3d.     President  and  Vice  President. 

4th.     Chaplain  and  Orator. 

5th.     Members  of  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  Oregon. 

6th.     Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Association. 

7th.     Invited  guests,  male  and  female. 

8th.  Members  of  the  Society,  male  and  female,  who  came  into  the  Territory 
prior  to  January,  1841,  followed  by  the  twelve  divisions  to  January  1853,  each 
division  with  appropriate  banner. 

9th.    Friends  of  the  Association,  male  and  female. 

AT  THE  STAND. 

1st.  Music — Hail  Columbia. 

2d.  Prayer  by  the  Chaplain^=Rev.  E.  Walker. 

3d.  Annual  Address  by  Hon»  Matthew  P.  Deady. 

4th.  Music. 

5th.  Recess. 

AFTERNOON    EXE.RCISES, 

1st.  I  o'clock,  Picnic  Dinner. 

2d.  2  o'clock,  Musical  Entertainment  in  the  Pavilion,  by  the  Pioneer  young 

ladies  and  gentlemen. 

3d.  Address  by  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  and  others. 

4th.    At  5  o'clock,  dancing  in  the  pavilion. 

5th.    At  7  o'clock,  annual  election  of  officers  of  the  Association. 

6th.    At  8  o'clock,  Pioneer  LOVE  FEAST. 


MEETING   Of   Tfrfi   SOARD   OF   DIRECTORS.  5 

vl"he  following  persons  have  been  selected  as  Floor  Managers  of  the  Pioneer 
ball: 

Walter  S.  Moss,— Oregon  City, 
M.  L.  Savage, — Salem. 
D.  Thompson, — Albany. 
F.  C.  Geer, — Butteville, 
Ex-Gov.  Geo.  L.  Curry, — Portland, 
John  Thompson, — Eugene  City, 
Edward  Taylor, — Astoria. 
Erastus  Holgate. — Corvallis. 
Chris.  Taylor, — Dayton. 
James  Applegate,— Yoncalla. 

The  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  and  games  of  chance  on  the  ground,  positively 
prohibited. 

l<&  <erder  tkat  t!he*6  will  be  complete  success  of  the  pidnfc  dinner,  it  is  re 
quested  that  when  convenient,  the  Pioneers  bring  their  baskets  with  them. 

The  Pioneers  throughout  Oregon,  Washington  and  Idaho  Territories  are  cor 
dially  invited. 

Respectfully  suTamitted, 

W.  J,  HERREN, 

Chairman. 
On  motion,  the  report  was  adopted. 

Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke,  Chairman  of  Committee  on  Printing,  made 
a  verbal  report,  stating  that  the  committee  had  had  2,000 
copies  of  the  pamphlet  containing  Constitution  and  By-Laws, 
the  remarks  of  Gov.  L.  F.  Grover,  with  the  Annual  Address 
of  Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick,  and  a  history  of  the  Provisional  Gov 
ernment  by  Hon.  J.  Quinn  Thornton,  instead  of  500  as  first  de 
signed  by  the  Association,  and  that  the  printing  bill  was  $284. 

The  question  of  disposing  of  the  pamphlet  was  discussed  by  all 
of  the  members  present,  and  on  motion,  the  action  of  the  com 
mittee  in  regard  to  sending  copies  to  be  sold  at  the  bookstores  in 
Salem  and  Portland  was  endorsed,  and  that  copies  should  be  sent 
to  all  old  Pioneers,  and  that  each  member  who  had  heretofore 
joined  or  should  join  subsequently,  should  receive  a  copy  when 


6  MEETING  OF*  THE     fcOAKt)   Of  DIRECTORS. 

he  paid  the  amount  required  at  the  time  of  joining,  and  that  the 
Secretary  keep  in  his  office  250  copies  for  future  use. 

The  President  and  Secretary  Were  authorized  to  extend  special 
invitations  to  old  Pioneers. 

On  motion,  the  Printing  Committee  wag  instructed  to  place 
100  copies  of  the  pamphlet  in  the  hands  of  the  committee  to  col 
lect  ffioney  in  the  city  of  Salem. 

Ori  motion  of  Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke,  the  Committee  on  Printing 
was  authorized  to  present  50  copies  of  the  pamphlet  to  Hon.  J. 
Quinn  Thornton. 

On  motion  of  W.  J.  Herren,  Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick  was  added 
to  the  Committee  on  Printing,  and  instructed  to  send  copies  to 
old  Oregonians. 

On  motion  of  Mf.  J.  N.  Matheny,  the  President  Was  authorized 
to  extend  special  invitations  to  the  Territorial  officers  of  Wash 
ington  and  Idaho  Territories  to  attend  our  re-union. 

On  motion,  John  W.  Minto  was  authorized  to  solicit  member^ 
ship  of  those  eligible. 

On  motion,  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  Were  authorized 
to  act  when  necessary,  where  they  had  not  been  fully  instructed^ 
as  occasion  might  require. 

On  motion,  the  Board  adjourned. 

J.  W.  GRIM,  President, 
J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Sec'y  pro  tern. 


THIRD  ANNUAL  RE-UNION. 


STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,  ) 

SALEM,  June  15,  1875.      ]" 

The  third  annual  re-union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association, 
was  held  at  the  State  Fair  Grounds  near  Salem,  June  15,  1875, 
under  very  favorable  circumstances.  At  an  early  hour,  a  vast 
concourse  of  the  early  settlers  attended  by  their  families  and 
friends,  began  to  arrive.  The  different  roads  were  lined  with 
wagons  containing  participants,  who  were  anxious  to  join  in  the 

exercises  of  the  State  holiday,  and  while  the  different  trains  from 

} '  bar. 

the  north  and  south  materially  swelled  the  throng,  as  $hey  dis 
charged  their  precious  freight.  Hearty  greetings  were  exchanged 
by  friends  who  had  not  met  for  years,  old  acquaintances  were  re 
newed,  whose  long  separation  had  nearly  obliterated  their  remem 
brance;  although  they  had  traversed  the  sandy  plains  in  each 
other's  company.  The  patriarchs  although  young  then,  now  had 
grown  old  and  gray  in  pioneer  life,  were  surrounded  by  their 
children  and  children's  children,  who  were  assuming  their  posi 
tion  in  the  development  of  this  young  and  thriving  State,  making 
a  happy  occasion,  which,  to  be  properly  appreciated,  should  be 
witnessed. 

Punctual  to  the  hour  of  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  Col.  John  McCracken, 
Chief  Marshal,  assisted  by  his  aids,  formed  the  Pioneers  in 
column  according  to  the  year  of  their  arrival,  which  was  desig 
nated  by  an  appropriate  banner,  headed  by  the  Northwest  Brass 
Band,  which  discoursed  excellent  music,  marched  through  the 


8  THIRD    A&frUAL   R 

Fair  Grounds  and  halted  at  the  speaker's  stand  in  a  beautiful  grove 
of  young  oak,  where,  after  music  by  the  band,  prayer  by  the 
Chaplain,  the  President  made  the  following  remarks: 

LADIES  AND  OENTLEMEN  OF  ITSE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION: — In 
opening  the  exerfiises  of  your  third  annual  re-union,  you  will  permit  me  on  this 
happy  occasion  in  behalf  of  the  Executive  Board  and  Directors,  to  greet  yoit 
with  their  kindest  wishes,  and  ask  that  you  may  be  pleased  to  accept  their  heart 
felt  thanks  for  the  honored  distinction,  which,  through  your  favor,  we  have  beer* 
permitted  to  enjoy  during  the  past  year. 

Friends  and  fellow  citizens  with  us  here  assembled,  I  can  assure  you  that 
never  in  my  life  have  I  been  called  upon  to  discharge  a  more  pleasant  duty* 
than  at  this  present  moment,  which  oh  their  behalf  and  in  the  name  of  this 
honored  Association,  I  bid  you  all  thrice  welcome  to  our  feast. 

Turn  your  eyes  wheresoever  you  may,  I  verily  believe  no  more  deserving  or 
nobler  minded  men  or  women  aie  to  be  found  ^  than  they  who  stand  to-day  in 
the  ranks  of  this  self-sacrificing  love -devoted  remnant  of  Oregon's  early  Pio'neers. 
Long  may  they  be  spared  with  their  children  and  friends  to  enjoy  the  good 
things  of  this  favored  Idhdj  secured  by  their  valor  in  long  years  of  isolation, 
privation  and  toil,  which  they  so  faithfully  endured. 

The  address*  of  Hon.  M.  P.  Deady  was  replete  with  ihforma^ 
tion  and  the  large  audience  was  highly  pleased  with  that  gentle 
man's  effort. 

At  recess,  the  audience  dispersed  in  groups  to  enjoy  an  old 
fashioned  picnic  dinner,  strongly  bringing  to  mind  days  of  yore, 
and  reviewing  the  vicissitudes  of  years  gone  by,  recalling  names  of 
those  who  now  are  numbered  with  the  great  "  silent  majority," 
recounting  their  virtues  and  heaving  a  sigh  to  their  memory. 

At  2  o'clock,  a  musical  entertainment  was  had  iti  the  pavilion 
under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Thos.  H.  Crawford. 

At  3  o'clock,  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  Hon.  Geo.  P.  Holman  and 
others  delivered  instructive  and  entertaining  addresses.  Mr. 
Nesmith's  address  was  about  the  immigration  of  1843,  of  which 

*See  page  17,  for  Address. 


THlRt)    ANNUAL   RE-UNION.  9 

he  was  one,  and  was  a  full  and  succinct  history  of  the  toils  of  that 
early  day  df  overland  immigration.  Thus  placing  in  history  in  a 
permanent  manner  a  great  deal  of  imformation  that  will  prove  of 
Interest  aiid  value  in  after  years. 

At  5  o'clock,  dancing  commenced  in  the  pavilion,  in  which 
many  participated  who  had  not  danced  a  step  for  years,  and  they 
entered  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  hour  with  a  zest  that  was  grat 
ifying  to  the  floor  managers,  who  spared  no  pains  to  make  the 
occasion  a  success,  and  their  labor  was  well  rewarded. 

At  7  o'clock,  the  Association  met  to  transact  the  business  that 
is  necessary  at  these  annual  re-unions,  which  Was  as  follows: 

PAVILION,  STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,      ) 
SALEM,  June  15,   1875.          } 

Association  was  called  to  order  by  Hon.  J.  W.  Grim,  the  Pres-1 
ident. 

The  first  business  to  be  transacted  was  the  election  of  officers, 
which  was  held  with  the  following  result : 

President,  John  W.  Grim,  by  acclamation. 
Vice  President,  E.  N.  Cooke,  by  acclamation. 
Secretary,  J.  Henry  Brown. 
Treasurer,  John  M.  Bacon. 

Three  Directors,  Wm.  J.  Hefren,  Alex.  P.  Ankney  and  Bush 
W.  Wilson. 

The  committee,  consisting  of  Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke,  John  M. 
iBacon  and  Geo.  W.  Dimick,  who  had  been  appointed  to  confer 
with  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  Oregon,  submitted  the 
following  report  and  correspondence : 

To  the  President  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association:-~-¥o\\?  committee  ap 
pointed  to  confer  with  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  Oregon,  with  a 
view  of  uniting  under  one  constitution  the  two  organizations,  beg  leave  to  repqrt 


IO  THIRD     ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

that  they  have  communicated  with  the  officers  of  said  Pioneer  and  Historical 
Society,  and  they  decline  to  unite  the  two  organizations. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

E.  N.  COOKE, 
J.  M.  BACON, 

Committee. 

The  committee  submitted  the  following  correspondence  on  the 
subject : 

At  the  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society, 
held  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1874,  at  Astoria,  Wm.  H.  Gray,  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  said  Society,  presented  a  communication  from  the  Oregon  Pioneer 
Association,  which  reads  as  follows: 

OREGON  CITY,  OREGON,     ) 
JUNE  17,  1874.  j" 

To  tke  President,  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Pioneer  and  Historical 
Society  of  Oregon: — GENTS.  The  undersigned  were  appointed  a  commit 
tee  by  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  to  communicate  with  your  Society, 
and  to  ascertain  upon  what  terms  or  arrangements,  our  Association  could  be 
united  with  your  Society,  believing  the  two  organizations  to  be  identically  the 
same.  We  are  of  the  opinion  that  good  would  result  from  such  union. 

Respectfully  yours,  &c., 

E.  N.  COOKE, 
J.  M.  BACON, 
G.  W.  DIMICK, 

Committee* 

On  motion,  the  above  letter  was  placed  on  file,  and  whereupon  the  following 
jpreamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted  as  a  reply,  viz: 

WHEREAS,  A  proposition  to  unite  with  the  Pioneer  Association  of  Oregon,  at 
present  located  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  with  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Soci 
ety  of  Oregon,  located  at  Astoria,  the  latter  being  organized  and  incorporated 
Under  the  laws  of  Oregon,  and  being  historical  and  perpetual  in  its  existence 
and  efforts.  Therefore, 

Resolved  I .  That  any  material  change  in  our  organic  existence  would  de 
feat  the  prime  object  of  the  Society. 

Resolved  2.  That  to  facilitate  and  embrace  all  Pioneers  of  this  country,  we 
Cordially  invite  such  as  by  the  seventh  Article  of  our  Constitution,  are  entitled 


THIRD   ANNUAL   RE-UNloN.  II 

to  become  subscribing  and  voting  members,  to  send  their  names  td  the  Recording 
or  Corresponding  Secretaries,  that  they  may  be  duly  entered  on  our  Record  Book 
of  members. 

Resolved  3.  That  all  members  of  the  Pioneer  Association  are  invited  to  send 
their  names  to  the  Executive  Board  of  this  Society,  that  they  may  become  hon-- 
orary  and  corresponding  members. 

Resolved  4.  That  the  semi-annual  meetings  of  this  Society  shall  be  held  at 
such  time  and  place  as  shall  be  designated  by  its  Executive  Board;  said  Board 
taking  into  account  the  convenience  and  number  of  subscribing  members,  and 
of  the  location  of  such  meetings. 

On  motion >  the  Secretary  is  hereby  requested  to  furnish  a  certified  copy  of  this 
preamble  and  resolutions  to  the  Pioneer  Association  of  Oregon. 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,   I   hereby  sign  my  name,   and  affix   the  official 
seal  of  said  Society,  this  I5th  day  of  July,  1874. 

J.  TAYLOR, 

Secretary. 

The  following  is  Article  7,  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  and 
Historical  Society,  as  alluded  to  in  the  second  resolution  above: 

"ARTICLE  VII.  All  persons  may  become  members  of  this  Society,  who  ar 
rived  upon  the  coast,  or  were  born  in  the  country  >  prior  to  January  ist>  1851, 
and  are  twenty-one  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  signing.  All  persons  subscribing 
to  this  Constitution  and  By-Laws,  shall  give  their  full  name,  age,  nativity,  and 
date  of  arrival  in  the  country  as  near  as  possible. " 

The  committee  on  Pioneer  Banner,  consisting  of  Joseph  Watt, 
A.  P.  Ankeny  and  John  Minto,  made  a  verbal  report  that  they 
had  not  yet  completed  the  banner,  and  asked  that  three  more 
persons  be  added. 

On  motion  the  following  gentlemen  were  added  to  said  com 
mittee,  C.  A.  Reed,  M.  P.  Deady  and  J.  W.  Nesmith. 

On  motion,  the  Secretary  was  authorized  to  furnish  suitable 
badges  for  the  members,  with  the  year  of  arrival  of  each  member 
printed  thereon. 

W.  J.  Herren,  chairman  of  committee  to  revise  and  amend  the 
Constitution  of  the  Association,  submitted  an  amendment  to 
Article  VIII,  to  read  as  follows: 


12  tHIRD    ANNUAL 

ARTICLE  VIII.  All  immigrants,  male  or  female,  who  reside  witliiri  the 
bounds  of  the  original  Territory  of  Oregon,  under  joint  occupancy  of  the  coun 
try  by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  those  who  were  born,  or  settled 
within  said  Territory  prior  to  the  first  day  of  January,  1854,  are  eligible  to  be- 
become  members  of  this  Association. 

Also  that  Article  III  be  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows: 

ARTICLE  III.  The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  consist  of  President,  Vice 
Presidents  Recording  Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  Treasurer,  who 
shall  form  the  Executive  Board;  and  a  Board  of  five  Directors*  including  the 
President  and  Vice  President,  who  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  same.  All 
officers  of  the  Association  shall  hold  their  respective  places  for  one  year,  or  until 
their  successors  shall  have  been  elected  as  hereinafter  provided. 

On  motion,  the  above  amendments  were  adopted. 

On  motion  of  Gen.  Joel  Palmer,  the  Treasurer  was  required 
to  give  bonds  in  the  discretion  of  the  Executive  Board. 

On  motion,  the  thanks  of  the  Association  were  extended  to 
Hons.  M.  P.  Deady  and  J.  W.  Nesmith. 

On  motion  a  vote  of  thanks  was  extended  to  the  Oregon  Agri 
cultural  Society,  for  the  use  of  the  grounds. 

The  Association  voted  theif  thanks  to  the  Oregon  and  Cali 
fornia  Railroad  Company,  for  kindness  received  at  their  hands 
for  reduction  to  half  fare,  to  persons  who  attended  this  re-union* 

On  motion,  the  Association  adjourned. 


After  adjournment,  most  of  the  members  went  from  the  busi 
ness  hall  to  the  ball  room,  where  they  were  soon  mingled  with 
the  happy  throng,  and  enjoyed  themselves  only  as  Pioneers  could 
until  n  o'clock,  when  the  Portland  train  called  for  passengers* 
But  those  remaining,  continued  to  enjoy  themselves  until  the 
"  we  sma'  hours  of  morn."  Thus  closed  the  third  re-union,  and 
all  hope  to  live  to  enjoy  many  more  such  happy  occasions* 


THIRD   ANNUAL   RE-UNION.  13 

SALEM,  June  16,  1875. 

The  Board  of  Directors  met  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  Salem, 
Oregon,  for  the  purpose  of  transacting  business  and  receiving  re 
ports  of  committees. 

Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke  in  the  chair. 

On  motion,  the  Secretary  was  authorized  to  correspond  with 
the  new  Board  of  Directors  and  request  their  votes  for  W.  H. 
Rees,  Esq.,  who  had  been  nominated  for  Corresponding  Secre 
tary. 

The  following  is  the  financial  statement  as  per  reports  of  com 
mittees: 

Amount  received  from  all  sources $902  25 

Bills  paid  out  of  same 856  iS 

Balance  on  hand ,,,...,....,,, $  46  07 

On  motion,  Board  adjourned. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 

SALEM,  Jan.  2oth,  1876. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association 
met  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  office,  at  2  o'clock  p.  M.,  and  was 
called  to  order  by  Hon.  J.  W.  Grim,  President. 

The  following  members  of  the  Board  and  Asssociation  were 
present : 

Hon.  John  W.  Grim,  President. 

Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke,  Vice  President. 

W.  J.  Herren,  Esq. 

J.  Henry  Brown,  Secretary. 

Williard  H.  Rees,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Hon.  F.  X.  Mathieu,  Ex-President. 

Hons.  S.  F.  Chadwick,  Ralph  C.  Geer,  and  several  other  gen- 
men  who  took  part  in  the  proceedings. 

Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick  moved  that  the  next  annual  re-union  be 
held  at  the  Oregon  Agricultural  Society  Grounds  which  had  been 
generously  proffered,  and  as  there  had  been  no  other  place  of 
fered. 

A  letter  from  Hon.  Elwood  Evans  of  Washington  Territory, 
was  read,  declining  to  deliver  the  next  annual  address,  on  account 
of  previous  engagements. 

On  motion,  the  Printing  Committee  of  1875  was  reappointed, 
which  consisted  of  Hons.  E.  N.  Cooke,  S.  F.  Chadwick,  Willard 
H.  Rees,  Esq.,  and  Hon.  John  Minto. 


MEETING   OF   THE   BOARD    OF   DIRECTORS.  1 5 

On  motion,  the  Secretary  was  requested  to  make  an  exhibit  of 
the  financial  resources  of  the  Association. 

The  Secretary  was  added  to  the  Committee  on  Printing. 
On  motion,  adjourned  until  7  o'clock,  p.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  Hon.  J.  W.  Grim  in  the 
chair. 

A  telegram  was  received  and  read  by  the  Secretary  from  Alex. 
P.  Ankeny,  resigning  his  position  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Directors. 

On  motion,  the  resignation  was  accepted. 

On  motion,  Joseph  Watt  of  Yamhill,  was  elected  as  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  in  place  of  A.  P.  Ankeny,  resigned. 

The  Secretary  stated  that  there  were  380  contributing  members 
(males),  and  91  females  on  the  Association's  roll.  Total  471. 

Mr.  Rees  nominated  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Roberts  for  Chaplain. 
Mr.  Cooke  nominated  Rev.  J.  H.  Wilbur. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Wilbur  was  elected  as  Chaplain  and  Rev.  Wm.  H. 
Roberts,  alternate. 

Hon.  Jesse  Applegate  was  selected  to  deliver  the  Annual  Ad 
dress. 

Judge  R.  P.  Boise  was  selected  as  alternate. 

Mr.  Rees  moved  that  a  committee  of  five  ladies  be  elected  to 
select  some  lady  to  deliver  or  read  an  address  at  the  next  annual 
re-union,  and  to  report  to  the  Secretary  by  the  22d  of  February 
next,  who  they  have  selected. 

Mrs.  J.  F.  Miller,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Clarke,  Mrs.  Werner  Breyman, 


l6  MEETING   OF   THE    BOARD    OF   DIRECTORS. 

Mrs.  I.  N.  Gilbert  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Moores,  were  appointed  aaid 
committee. 

Mr.  Thos.  C.  Shaw  was  chosen  Chief  Marshal,  with  Col.  T. 
R.  Cornelius  and  Ralph  C.  Geer,  aids. 

On  motion,  the  following  Committee  of  Arrangements  was  ap~ 
pointed :  John  F.  Miller,  Joseph  Holman,  John  W.  Minto,  Mrs. 
B.  H.  Bowman,  Mrs.  Mary  Minto,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Miller,  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Clarke,  Mrs.  I.  N.  Gilbert,  Miss  Clara  Watt  and  Miss  Maria 
Smith. 

Moved  and  carried,  that  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  be 
instructed  to  attend  to  the  invited  guests. 

Hon.  John  Minto  was  selected  to  deliver  an  address  and  ca.ll 
the  roll  of  1844. 

Mrs.  F.  F.  Victor,  on  motion,  was  invited  to  write  a  biography 
of  the  late  Col.  Joseph  L.  Meek,  to  be  published  in  the  proceed 
ings  of  the  Association. 

Moved  and  carried  that  the  Committee  on  Printing  be  instructed 
to  have  2,000  copies  of  the  proceedings  and  addresses  printed  as 
soon  as  possible. 

Mr.  E.  M.  Waite  made  a  proposition  to  print  the  proceedings 
and  addresses  for  $5.00  less  than  last  year  (1875),  and  if  the 
number  of  pages  are  less,  at  a  corresponding  price,  and  if  the 
number  of  pages  be  more,  at  a  corresponding  advance. 

On  motion,  the  proposition  was  accepted. 

Moved,  that  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  be  instructed  to 
examine  the  banners  and  have  them  retouched  if  found  necessary. 

Moved  and  carried,  that  a  warrant  be  drawn  in  favor  of  the 
Secretary  for  $15.00. 

On  motion,  adjourned  until  the  first  Thursday  in  May. 

J.  HENRY  BROWN, 
Secretary. 


THE  AMUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY    HON.   MATTHEW  P.   DEADY. 


Hon.  Matthew  P.  Deady,  of  Portland,  was  then  introduced  by 
the  President,  and  in  a  full  voice,  with  his  usual  forcible  manner, 
delivered  the  following  address: 

OREGON  PIONEERS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

Allow  me  to  congratulate  you  upon  being  permitted  to  assemble  here  under 
the  sheen  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  on  this  Twenty-Ninth  Anniversary  of  the 
final  acknowledgment  of  Great  Britain  of  the  American  right  to  the  Oregon  ter 
ritory.  Having  wisely  resolved  to  meet  together  annually  and  celebrate  your 
entry  into  the  country,  and  brighten  and  perpetuate  the  memory  of  your  early 
trials  and  sufferings  while  engaged  in  making  the  weary  journey  from  the  Mis- 
souri  to  the  Wallamet,  and  transplanting,  to  this  then  far  off  shore,  the  customs, 
laws  and  institutions  of  Alfred  and  Washington,  you  could  not  have  selected  a 
more  appropriate  day  for  the  occasion,  than  this .  Just  twenty -nine  years  ago,  your 
only  rival  and  competitor  for  the  possession  of  this  goodly  land,  by  the  treaty  of 
Washington,  in  effect  admitted,  that  the  OREGON  PIONEER,  unaided  by  his 
Government,  and  despite  the  deeply  interested  opposition  of  the  far-reaching 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  backed  by  the  power  and  diplomacy  of  the  English 
Crown,  although  bringing  with  him  across  the  trackless  wilds  of  the  continent 
little  else  than  the  Family,  the  School  and  the  Church,  had  succeeded  in  occu 
pying  the  country  and  rearing  therein,  upon  these  institutions,  as  foundation 
stones,  the  enduring  edifice  of  an  American  State, 

But  we  are  not  here  to  triumph  over  those  who  failed  in  the  struggle  for  the 
prize  or  cast  reproach  upon  their  policy  or  conduct.  The  object  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  inx>ccupying  the  country,  was  to  secure  the  exclusive  trade  with 
the  Indians  and  such  British  subjects  as  might  suit  its  policy  to  allow  therein, 
and  it  pursued  this  object  as  justly  and  considerately  as  could  be  expected.  Its 
autocratic  government  and  discipline  was  such  as  best  suited  its  condition  and 
pursuits.  It  did  not  seek  to  build  towns,  establish  political  communities,  or 
even  to  cultivate  the  soil,  except  in  a  very  limited  measure.  Its  factors,  traders 


1 8  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF  HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY. 

and  clerks;  though  generally  just  and  intelligent  men,  were  a  part  of  an  unyield 
ing  system  which  compelled  them  to  live  for,  and  promote  the  special  interests 
of  the  Company  before  those  of  the  country. 

But  justice  demands  that  I  should  name,  at  least,  one  notable  exception  to 
this  general  rule. 

Dr.  John  McLoughlin  was  Chief  Factor  of  the  Company,  west  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  from  1823  to  1845,  when  he  resigned  the  position  and  settled  at  Ore 
gon  City,  where  he  died  in  1857,  full  of  years  and  honor.  During  this  period 
he  was  the  controlling  power  in  the  country,  and  did  more  than  any  one  else  to 
preserve  order,  peace  and  good  will  among  the  conflicting  and  sometimes  law 
less  elements  of  the  population.  Although,  as  an  officer  of  the  Company,  his 
duty  and  interest  required  that  he  should  prefer  it  to  the  American  immigrant 
or  missionary,  yet  at  the  call  of  humanity,  he  always  forgot  all  special  interests, 
and  was  ever  ready  to  help  and  succor  the  needy  and  unfortunate,  of  whatever 
creed  or  clime. 

Had  he  but  turned  his  back  upon  the  early  missionary  or  settler  and  left  them 
to  shift  for  themselves,  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  Americans  would  have 
been  seriously  retarded,  and  attended  with  much  greater  hardship  and  suffering 
than  it  was.  As  has  been  truly  and  eloquently  said  of  him  by  another:  '*  He 
was  a  great  man  upon  whom  God  had  stamped  a  grandeur  of  character  which 
few  men  possess,  and  a  nobility  which  the  patent  of  no  earthly  sovereign  can 
confer.  His  standard  of  commercial  integrity  would  compare  with  that  of  the 
best  of  men.  As  a  Christian,  he  was  a  devout  Roman  Catholic,  yet  neverthe 
less  Catholic  in  the  largest  sense  of  that  word." 

For  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century  McLoughlin  was  a  grand  and  potent  figure 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Pacific  slope.  Compared  with  his  surroundings  and  meas 
ured  by  his  opportunities,  in  majesty  of  appearance  and  nobility  of  soul,  he 
was — 

"  As  some  tall  cliff  that  lifts  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale,  and  midway  leaves  the  storm, 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head." 

But  he  has  long  since  gone  to  his  rest.  Peace  to  his  ashes'.  Yet  the  good 
deeds  done  in  the  body  are  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory,  and  shall  in  due 
time  cause  his  name  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold  in  Oregon  history.  As  I 
pass  along  where  he  fell  out  of  the  ranks  of  life,  I  reverently  turn  aside  and  drop 
this  stone  upon  his  neglected  CAIRN,  and  hope  every  OREGON  PIONEER  will  say, 
Amen. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  19 

Page  upon  page  has  been  written  to  prove  that  Oregon  belonged  to  the  United 
States  by  right  of  discovery,  and  by  virtue  of  the  French  cession  of  the  territory 
of  Louisiana  of  April  30,  1803,  and  the  treaty  of  limits  with  Spain,  of  February 
22,  1829,  by  which  the  latter  relinquished  her  rights  to  the  country  nonh  and 
east  of  a  line  therein  described  and  agreed  upon. 

But  these  indefinite  grounds  of  title,  although  as  good  as  any  set  up  against 
them,  were  the  mere*  makeweights  of  diplomatic  controversy  and  finesse,  and 
had  but  little,  if  any  effect,  upon  the  final  result.  The  accidental  discovery,  in 
1792,  of  the  mouth  of  the  Oregon  by  a  private  adventurer  in  the  ship  Columbia, 
'who  never  attempted  to  make  any  use  of  the  fact  or  exploration  of  the  country, 
was  a  very  insignificant  and  insufficient  circumstance  upon  which,  after  a  lapse 
of  fifty  years,  to  base  a  claim  to  a  country  crossed  by  seven  degrees  of  latitude 
and  nearly  as  many  as  many  more  of  longitude.  The  fact  of  the  entry  and  ex 
ploration  of  the  river,  for  the  distance  of  one  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth,  at 
a  latter  period  of  the  same  year,  by  the  British  navigator,  Vancouver,  is  of  the 
same  general  character,  In  the  absence  of  any  other  claim  to  the  country,  either 
jcircumstance  mi^ht  be  relied  upon  by  the  Governments  of  the  respective  disi- 
coverers,  as  giving  them  some  right  to  the  possession  of  the  territory  drained  by 
the  river.  But  upon  these  facts  alone,  as  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  I  think  the  better  right  was  with  the  former;  for,  as  I  have  said,  Gray 
was  only  a  private  citizen  engaged  in  a  mere  mercantile  adventure,  and  made 
no  exploration  of  the  river  above  its  mouth,  while  Vancouver  was  a  commis 
sioned  officer  of  the  British  Government  engaged  in  exploring  the  qoast,  who 
entered  the  river  and  explored  it  as  far  east  as  the  present  town  of  Vancouver, 
But  as  against  a  title  derived  from  the  actual  occupation  of  the  soil  by  any  con 
siderable  number  of  the  people  of  either  nation,  a  claim  based  upon  such  incon^ 
elusive  circumstances,  ought  not  to  weigh  a  feather. 

The  only  direct  result  of  Gray's  discovery,  has  been  the  change  of  the  name 
of  the  River  of  the  West  from  the  OREGON  to  the  COLUMBIA,  in  compliment  to 
his  ship.  For  many  reasons  the  change  is  to  be  regretted,  but  I  suppose  it  is 
now  beyond  recall.  Yet  the  sonorous  original  is  embalmed  in  the  beautiful 
lines  of  Bryant,  and  will  not  be  forgotten  while  Thanatopsis  remains  to  edify 
and  delight  the  world: 

"  Take  the  wings 

Of  morning— rand  the  Barcan  desert  pierce, 

Or  lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  woods, 

Where  rolls  the  OREGON,  and  hears  no  sound, 

Save  his  own  dashings— yet— the  dead  are  there." 

From  the  beginning,  the  right  to  the  country  was  to  depend  upon  the  success 
ful  occupation  of  it.  The  race  for  possession  was  between  Great  Britain  and 


20  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY. 

the  United  States — the  former  represented  by  its  Fur  Companies  with  their  hier 
archy  of  educated  and  trained  officers  and  clerks,  and  motley  following  of 
Canadians,  half  breeds  and  Indians — the  latter  by  the  Eastern  trader  and  Mis 
sionary  and  particularly  the  Western  woodsman  and  farmer.  Primarily,  the 
English  sought  to  occupy  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  fur  trade 
with  the  Indians.  It  was  to  be  keept  from  the  plough  and  the  sickle  and  pre 
served  as  a  breeding  ground  for  fur  bearing  animals  except  so  far  as  the  limited 
necessities  or  convenience  of  the  Company  might  otherwise  require.  Many  of 
the  "  gentlemen  "  of  the  Company  regarded  the  country  as  a  mere  outpost,  in 
which  they  were  engaged  in  a  temporary  service. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  American  settler  was  always  animated — often  it  may 
have  been  unconsciously — with  the  heroic  thought  that  he  was  permanently  en 
gaged  in  reclaiming  the  wilderness — building  a  home— founding  an  American 
State  and  extending  the  area  of  liberty.  He  had  visions,  however  dimly  seen, 
that  he  was  here  to  do  for  this  country  what  his  ancestors  had  done  for  savage 
England  centuries  before— -to  plant  a  community  which  in  due  time  should  grow 
and  ripen  into  one  of  the  great  sisterhood  of  Anglo-American  States,  wherein 
the  language  of  the  Bible,  Shakspeare  and  Milton  should  be  spoken  by  millions 
then  unborn,  and  the  law  of  Magna  Charta  and  Westminster  Hall  be  the  bul 
wark  of  liberty  and  the  buttress  of  order  for  generations  to  come. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  this  British  army 
of  occupation  failed  to  take  deep  root  in  the  soil  and  hold  the  country  as  against 
the  OREGON  PIONEER.  But  at  one  time,  apparently,  the  odds  were  largely  in 
its  favor.  Only  forty-five  years  ago,  a  casual  observer  might  have  concluded  that 
the  arch  of  the  American  Union  would  never  span  this  continent.  So  late  as  that 
period,  the  territory  did  not  contain  an  American  citizen.  Practically,  it  was  under 
the  control  and  in  the  occupation  of  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  and  their  Indian 
allies  and  dependents.  But  to-day  not  a  vestige  of  the  once  undisputed  dominion 
of  the  great  British  corporation  remains  to  be  seen,  while  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
float  free  from  every  battlement  and  mast-head  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea. 

Before  proceeding  to  speak  of  the  great  emigrations  from  the  West  to  Oregon, 
between  the  years  1840  and  1846,  which  by  their  numbers  and  character  finally 
determined  the  question  of  occupancy,  let  us  glance  at  the  progress  of  discovery 
and  settlement  up  to  that  period. 

Between  1804  and  1806,  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  traversed  the 
continent  from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  to  that  of  the  Columbia,  and  returned 
to  the  place  of  starting.  It  wintered  in  the  country  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  near  its  mouth.  This  expedition  was  authorized  and  supported  by  the 
National  Government,  and  is  more  properly  entitled  to  the  credit  of  discovering 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY.  2* 

the  river  than  either  Gray  or  Vancouver.  Altogether,  it  did  much  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  the  country,  and  impress  them 
with  the  feasibility  of  manking  the  journey  to  the  Pacific  shore  by  land. 

The  entrance  of  the  Tonquin  into  the  Columbia  in,  1811,  and  the  establish 
ment  of  a  trading  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  by  Astor's  Fur  Company^  to 
gether  with  the  overland  journeys  of  Hunt,  Stuart,  Franchere,  and  others  of  the 
Pacific  and  Northwest  companies,  prior  to  the  year  1815,  also  served  to  famil 
iarize  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  with  the  general  character  of  the 
country  and  its  proximity  and  relation  to  the  acknowledged  American  territory. 
The  war  with  Great  Britain  having  caused  the  failure  of  Astor's  project  to  occupy 
the  country  with  a  psuedo  American  fur  company,  the  property  and  trade  of  the 
Pacific  Fur  Company  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Northwest  Company— a  British- 
Canadian  organization— ^-some  of  whose  members  constituted  the  principal  per 
sons  in  Astor's  company.  Thereupon  Astoria  became  Fort  George,  and  the 
Northwest  Company  was  the  dominant  power  in  the  country  until  1823,  when  it 
was  merged  into  the  Hudson  Bay  Company;  thenceforth  the  latter  ruled  in 
Oregon,  until  it  was  superceded  by  the  government  of  the  PIONEERS.  With  the 
advent  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  seat  of  empire  was  removed  from  Fort 
George  to  Vancouver,  which  latter  place  became  the  westeni  emporium  of  this 
great  colonial  corporation.  There  for  full  twenty  years,  its  Chief  Factor,  Mc- 
Loughlin,  held  baronial  sway,  governing  the  country  with  a  strong  hand  but  a 
just  judgment,  and  dispensing  a  primitive  but  generous  hospitality  to  the  weary 
traveller  or  chance  tourist  of  whatever  race  or  land.  The  scream  of  the  Ameri 
can  eagle  was  unheard  in  the  country  while  the  British  lion  roamed  without  a 
rival  from  Fort  Hall  to  Fort  George  and  from  Colville  to  Umpqua. 

And  now  diplomacy  entered  the  arena  and  conceded  that,  notwithstanding 
the  partial  discoveries  of  Heceta,  Mears,  Gray,  Vancouver,  Lewis  and  Clarke, 
the  country  was  open  to  be  occupied  by  the  people  of  either  nation. 

On  October  20,  1818,  it  was  agreed  by  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  Lon 
don,  "  that  any  country  that  may  be  claimed  by  either"  Great  Britain  or  the 
United  States  "  on  the  Northwest  coast  of  America,  westward  of  the  Stony 
mountains  *  *  *  should  be  free  and  open  for  the  term  of  ten  years 
to  the  vessels,  citizens  and  subjects  of  the  two  powers."  By  this  act  the  two 
high  contracting  parties  virtually  admitted  to  the  world,  that  neither  of  them 
had  any  perfect  or  acknowledged  right  to  any  country  westward  of  the  Stony 
mountains,  or  that  at  most,  they  had  but  a  claim  of  right  to  some  undefined  part 
of  that  comparatively  unknown  region.  This  convention,  apparently  acting 
upon  the  admission  that  neither  party  had  any  definite  right  to  the  country,  and 
that  like  any  other  unsettled  and  unowned  portion  of  the  globe,  it  was  open  to 


22  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    tfoN.    MATTftEW    P.    DE'ADV. 


occupation  by  the  first  coiner,  expressly  recognized  the  right  of  the  people  of 
both  nations  to  occupy  it,  for  the  time  being,  at  pleasure. 

Thus  was  sanctioned  th^t  occupation  of  the  country  by  Great  Britain,  which 
was  practically  commenced  some  years  before,  with  the  transfer  of  the  property 
and  business  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  to  the  Northwest.  This  convenient 
condition  of  things  was  continued  indefinitely  by  the  treaty  of  London,  of  Au 
gust  16,  1827,  with  liberty  to  either  party  "to  annul  and  abrogate"  it  at  any 
time  after  October  20,  1828,  by  giving  notice  of  such  purpose. 

And  now  commenced  a  movement  that,  if  it  had  been  successful,  would  have 
hastened  the  occupation  of  the  country  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Ameri 
can  title  to  it  by  at  least  ten  years.  As  early  as  the  year  1817,  Hall  J.  Kelley, 
of  Boston,  began  to  advocate  the  immediate  occupation  of  the  Oregon  territory 
by  American  settlers.  He  became  an  enthusiast  apon  the  subject,  and  spent 
his  time  and  some  fortune  in  promoting  a  scheme  for  emigration  to  the  country, 
As  early  as  1829  he  procured  the  incorporation,  by  the  commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts*  of  "  The  American  Society  for  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  ter 
ritory." 

From  a  memorial  presented  by  the  society  to  Congress,  in  1831,  it  appears 
that  it  was  "  engaged  in  the  work  of  opening  to  a  civilized  and  virtuous  popula 
tion  that  part  of  Western  America  called  Oregon."  The  memorialists  state  that 
"  They  are  convinced  that  if  the  country  should  be  settled  under  the  auspices  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  from  sueh  of  her  worthy  sons  who  have  drunk  the 
spirit  of  those  civil  and  religious  institutions  which  constitute  the  living  fountain 
and  the  very  perennial  source  of  her  national  prosperity,  great  benefits  must  re-^ 
suit  to  mankind.  They  believe  that  there  the  skillful  and  persevering  hand  of 
industry  might  be  employed  with  unparalleled  advantage;  that  there  science  and 
the  arts,  the  invaluable  privilege  of  a  free  and  liberal  government,,  and  the  re 
finement  and  ordinances  of  Christianity,  diffusing  each  its  blessing,  would  hat- 
moniously  unite  in  meliorating  the  moral  condition  of  the  Indians,  in  promoting 
the  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  settlers,  and  in  augmenting  the  wealth  and 
power  of  the  Republic." 

After  stating  "  that  the  country  in  question  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  un 
occupied  portions  of  the  earth,"  and  designed  by  Providence  "  to  be  the  resi-» 
dence  of  a  people  whose  singular  advantages  will  give  them  unexampled  power 
and  prosperity,"  the  memorial  adds  "  That  these  things  *  *  *  * 
have  settled  in  the  policy  of  the  British  nation  the  determined  purpose  of  possess^ 
ing  and  enjoying  the  country  as  their  own,  and  have  induced  their  Parliament  ta 
confer  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  chartered  privileges  for  occupying  with 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  2$ 


their  settlements  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Columbia.  *, 

Already  have  they  flourishing  towns,  strong  fortifications  and  cultivated  farms. 
*  *  *  Their  largest  town  is  Vancouver^  which  is  situated  on  a 
beautiful  plain,  in  the  region  of  tide  water,  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Colum 
bia.  *  *  *  Everything,  either  in  the  organization  of  the  govern 
ment,  or  in  the  busy  and  various  operations  of  the  settlements  of  this  place,  at 
Wallawalla,  at  Fort  Colville  and  at  De  Fuca,  indic-ite  the  intention  of  the  Eng 
lish  to  colonke  the  country.  Now,  therefore,  your  memorialists,  in  behalf  of  a 
large  number  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  would  respectfully  ask  Con 
gress  to  aid  them  in  carrying  into  operation  the  great  purposes  of  their  institu 
tion — to  grant  them  troops,  artillery,  military  arms  and  munitions  of  war  for  the 
security  of  the  contemplated  settlement — to  incorporate  their  society  with  power 
to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  such  tracts  and  extent  of  territory,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  and  the  junction  of  the  Multnomah  with  the  Columbia,  as  may 
be  adequate  to  the  lau  iable  objects  and  pursuits  of  the  settlers;  and  with  such 
other  powers,  rights  and  immunities  as  may  be  at  least,  equal  and  concurrent  to 
those  given  by  Parliament  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company;  and  such  as  are  not  re 
pugnant  to  the  stipulations  of  the  Convention,  made  between  Great  Britain  and 
1-he  United  States,  wherein  it  was  agreed  that  any  country  on  the  Northwest 
coast  of  America,  to  the  westward  of  the  Rocky  mountains  should  be  free  and 
open  to  the  citizens  aud  subjects  of  the  two  powers,  for  a  term  of  years;  and  to 
.grant  them  such  other  rights  and  privileges  as  may  contribute  to  the  means  of 
establishing  a  respectable  and  prosperous  community." 

Mr.  Kelley  w-as  the  general  agent  of  the  -Society.  In  1831  he  published  a 
pamphlet,  entitled  "  A  general  circular  to  all  persons  of  good  character,  who 
wish  to  emigrate  to  the  Oregon  Territory,"  which  set  forth  the  general  objects 
of  the  Society.  The  opening  paragraph  discloses  the  fact  that  the  subsequent 
cry  of  "  Fifty-Four-Forty-or-Fight"  had  not  then  been  invented  nor  the  claim 
upon  which  it  was  based  known  or  understood.  It  commences — "  Oregon  Set 
tlement.  To  be  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1832  on  the  delightful  and  fertile 
banks  of  the  Columbia  river.  It  has  been  for  many  years  in  serious  contempla 
tion  to  settle  with  a  free  and  enlightened  but  redundant  population  from  the 
American  Republic  that  portion  of  her  territory,  called  Oregon,  bounding  on 
the  Pacific  ocean  and  lying  between  the  forty-second  and  forty-ninth  paral 
lels  of  N.  latitude." 

As  appears,  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  were  then  supposed  to  be  the  valuable 
portion  of  the  country,  while  the  great  Wallarnet  valley  where  "  the  clouds  drop 
fatness"  and  seed'time  and  harvest  never  fail,  was  scarcely  known  or  mentioned. 

The  names  of  37  agents  of  the  Society  are  given  in  the  pamphlet,  from  any  of 


24  ANNUAL   ADDRESS   O^   rfON.    MATTHE'W    P.    DEADV. 

whorri,  persons  desirous  of  becoming  emigrants  to  Oregon,  under  its  auspices 
might  obtain  the  proper  certificate  for  that  purpose.  The  agents  were  scattered 
over  the  Union.  Only  two  of  them-~Nathaniel  Wyeth,  of  Cambridge,  Mass., 
and  Mr.  Kelley  himself — ever  visited  the  scene  of  the  proposed  colony. 

The  expedition  was  to  start  from  St.  Louis  in  March,  1832,  with  a  good  sup 
ply  of  waggons  and  stock.  Each  emigrant  was  to  receive  a  town  and  farm  lot 
at  the  junction  of  the  Columbia  and  Multnomah  rivers,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
former,  where  seaports  and  river  towns  were  already  laid  off — on  paper. 

But  this  scheme  bore  no  immediate  fruit.  Congress  was  busy  with  some  po 
litical  abstraction  and  could  not  spare  the  time  or  stoop  to  give  attention  to  a 
plan  for  founding  an  empire  on  the  Columbia;  and  so  the  American  occupation 
of  the  disputed  territory  was  delayed  for  at  least  another  decade.  Nevertheless, 
the  agitation  of  the  project  brought  the  country  favorably  before  the  public,  and 
here  and  there  set  certain  special  forces  and  interests  in  motion,  which  in  due 
time  materially  aided  the  consummation,  Hall  J.  Kelley  so  devoutly  wished, 
and  so  long  labored  for. 

To  him,  more  than  any  other  one  person,  in  my  judgment,  may  be  justly  at 
tributed  the  subsequent  occupation  of  the  country  by  emigrants  from  the  United 
States — and  Oregon  should  in  some  way  worthy  of  the  subject  and  herself  yet 
acknowledge  and  commemorate  that  fact. 

In  the  year  1832,  Nathaniel  Wyeth,  crossed  the  plains  to  Oregon,  and  return-' 
ing  by  the  same  route  to  Boston  in  1833,  came  back  in  1834  and  established 
himself  as  an  independent  trader  in  the  country;  having  sent  his  goods  around 
the  Horn  the  same  year  in  the  May  Dacre.  He  established  his  headquarters 
on  Wappatoo  island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wallamet.  A  continuation  of  ill- 
luck,  including  a  dearth  of  salmon  in  the  Columbia  river  for  two  successive 
years,  induced  him,  after  an  experiment  of  three  years,  to  abandon  the  enter-- 
prise.  He  disposed  of  his  property  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  placed  a 
Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Sauve  on  the  island,  as  a  dairyman.  In  after  years, 
when  the  western  emigrants  found  their  way  to  this  country,  they  called  it  from 
this  fact,  Sauve's  island — and  thus  the  original  name,  by  which  it  was  knowft 
and  settled  by  Wyeth,  was  lost. 

Yet  this  attempt  of  Wyeth's,  which  itself  was  largely  a  consequence  of  Kel- 
ley's  scheme,  was  not  without  results  conductive  to  American  occupation. 
Divers  persons  employed  in  the  enterprise  remained  in  the  country  and  were  the 
beginning  of  the  independent  American  settlers  in  the  country. 

Among  them,  were  the  well  known  names  of  O'Neil,  Hubba/d  and  Smith. 


ANNUAL   ADDkfiSS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    £>£ADY.  2$ 

Afterwards,  these  men  exerted  a  positive  influence  in  favor  of  American  interests 
and  the  formation  of  the  Provisional  government.  The  last  named — the  Hon. 
Solomon  Smith — is  still  living  and  at  present  a  member  of  the  Senate  from  Clat> 
sop  county.  He  came  here  from  New  Hampshire  in  1834,  and  has  been  a  use 
ful  and  exemplary  citizen  of  the  country  ever  since.  I  believe  he  is  the  oldest 
Pioneer  now  living. 

Besides  these,  there  came  with  Wyeth,  Nuttall  the  naturalist,  and  Townsend 
the  ornithologist,  whose  accounts  of  their  explorations  and  observations  did  much 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  scientific  and  curious  to  the  country. 

To  this  expedition  we  also  owe  in  great  part  the  presence  of  the  first  Metho 
dist  missionaries  in  the  country — the  Lees,  Shepard  and  Edwards,  who  crossed 
the  plains  with  Wyeth  in  1834;  their  goods  being  shipped  by  him  with  his  own 
in  the  May  Dacre.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Methodist  mission  in 
Oregon. 

The  other  members  of  the  mission— among  who  were  Willson,  Beers,  Leslie, 
Waller,  Hines,  Judson,  Parrish,  Abernethy,  Campbell  and  Babcock^-came  to 
the  country  between  this  year  and  1840 — many  of  them  in  the  latter  year. 
They  were  mostly  from  the  Eastern  States.  Their  professed  object  in  coming 
to  the  country  was  a  religious  one — to  convert  the  Indian  to  the  Christian  reli 
gion — rather  than  to  occupy  the  country  and  establish  therein  an  American  com 
munity  and  State.  They  came  simply  as  missionaries  to  the  Indians,  and  as 
such  were  made  welcome  by  the  Company.  Incidentally,  of  course,  they  ex 
pected  to  occupy  mission  stations,  and  engage  in  such  secular  labor  as  might 
be  necessary  and  convenient  for  the  maintenance  of  their  work  among  the  Indi 
ans.  When  they  landed  in  the  country  they  did  not  burn  their  ships. 

It  was  expected  that  their  base  of  operations  would  be  in  the  east;  and  after  a 
few  years  spent  in  ministering  to  the  heathen,  the  missionary  himself  might  re 
turn  to  his  friends  and  home  in  the  land  from  whence  he  came.  Their  Board 
of  Missions  had  very  little  idea  of  the  character  and  value  of  the  country  or  of 
the  important  and  far  reaching  results  which  were  to  issue  from  their  futile  mis^ 
sion  to  the  Indians  of  Oregon.  So  late,  even,  as  1844,  their  organ,  the  New 
York  Christian  Advocate,  published  an  article  on  Oregon  which  was  quoted  in 
Congress  during  the  debate  on  the  resolution  to  terminate  the  treaty  of  joint  oc 
cupation,  to  show  that  the  country  was  not  worth  quarreling  about.  The  article 
contained  the  following  paragraph:  "  We  have  some  opportunity  from  GUI' 
position,  to  found  a  correct  estimate  of  the  soil,  climate,  productions  and  facili 
ties  of  the  country  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  as  we  have 
had  a  large  mission  there  for  several  years,  distributed  in  small  parties  over  the 


£0  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADV, 

territory;  and  from  all  that  we  have  learned  we  should  prefer  migrating  to  Botany 
bay.  "With  the  exception  of  the  lands  of  the  Wallamet,  and  strips  along  a  few 
of  the  smaller  water  courses,  the  whole  country  is  among  the  most  irreclaimable, 
barren  wastes  of  which  we  have  read,  except  the  desert  of  Sahara." 

But  now,  after  the  lapse  of  years,  we  can  readily  see  how  these  sirnple  men 
Were  really  the -unconscious  instruments  in  the  hands  of  HIM  who  "hath  made 
the  round  world"  and  ruleth  the  destiny  of  all  nations  that  dwell  thereon.  Un« 
der  His  divine  guidance,  they  "builded  better  than  they  knew." 

Although  their  mission  to  the  Indians  was  substantially  a  failure,  they  were 
of  great  benefit  to  the  country.  They  wisely  settled  in  the  heart  of  the  great 
Wallamet  valley,  and  formed  there  a  nucleus  and  rallying  point  for  the  future 
American  settlement)  and  thereby  attracted  the  after  coming  immigration  to 
this  Goshen  of  the  Pacific.  From  the  first,  the  lay  element  and  secular  spirit 
Was  sufficiently  strong  among  them,  to  cause  them  to  take  root  in  the  country 
and  gradually  become  a  permanent  colony,  rather  than  remain  mere  sojourners 
among  the  Indians.  Before  long  they  began  to  build  and  plant  as  men  who 
regarded  the  country  as  their  future  home.  Comparatively,  they  prospered  in 
this  world's  goods;  and  when  the  immigration  came  flowing  into  the  country 
from  the  west,  they  found  at  the  "  Wallamet  Mission,"  practically  an  American 
settlement,  whose  influence  and  example  were  favorable  to  order,  industry,  so 
briety  and  economy,  and  contributed  materially  to  the  formation  of  a  moral, 
industrious  and  law  abiding  community  out  of  these  successive  waves  of  unstrat- 
ified  population. 

True,  their  Indian  school  had  no  permanent  effect  upon  the  aboriginies  of  the 

vicinage. 

"  His  soul  their  science  never  taught  to  stray, 
Far  as  the  solar  walk  or  milky  way." 

But  it  was  of  great  advantage  as  a  seat  of  learning,  however  primitive,  and  a 
means  of  education,  to  the  white  youth  of  the  country.  "As  the  shadow  of  a 
great  rock  in  a  weary  land,"  it  attracted  to  its  vicinity,  those  who  were  desirous 
of  protecting  themselves  as  far  as  possible,  from  the  withering  atmosphere  of  an 
ignorant  and  uncultivated  community.  Around  it,  and  largely  on  account  of 
it,  grew  up  the  town  of  Salem — now  the  wide-spreading  capital  of  the  State. 
Long  since,  it  discarded  the  rustic  and  uncertain  appellation  of  "  Institute,"  and 
now  glories  in  the  honor  of  being  a  well-endowed  and  prosperous  university, 
which  many  of  the  foremost  young  men  of  this  generation  are  proud  to  hail  as 
their  Alma  Mater. 

In  1834,  Hall  J.  Kelley  reached  the  country,  via  Mexico  and  California.  On 
account  of  ill-health  he  returned  to  the  east  in  the  following  spring,  and  thus 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DfiADY.  27 

ended  his  early  aspiration  to  found  "  a  virtuous  and  civilized"  community  in 
Oregon.  Yet  even  this  transient  visit  of  his  was  not  without  notable  results  in 
favor  of  American  occupation.  Somewhere  in  lower  California  Kelky  fell  in 
with  Ewing  Young,  formerly  of  Missouri*  whom  he  indueed,  with  some  others, 
to  come  to  the  country  with  him.  Young  soon  settled  in  the  Wallamet  valley 
as  a  farmer  and  stock-raiser.  He  and  a  few  others,  of  whom  he  seems  to  have 
been  somewhat  a  leader,  early  aspired  to  an  independent  existence  as  free  Amer-- 
lean  settlers — not  recognizing  any  superiority  of  right  or  position  in  either  the 
Company  or  the  Mission.  In  January,  1837,  Young,  in  company  with  Edwards, 
a  layman  of  the  Mission,  and  a  few  others,  went  to  California  by  sea,  to  purchase 
cattle  for  themselves  and  others  in  the  Wallamet  settlement.  The  party  returned 
by  land  in  the  spring  of  the  same  year  with  600  Spanish  cattle.  This  was  a 
very  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  colony — almost  as  much  so  as  the 
rape  of  the  Sabine  women  in  the  founding  of  Rome.  For  without  the  cheap 
labor  of  the  patient  ox  and  the  simple  fbc  d  of  the  faithful  cow,  the  plough  must 
have  rusted  in  the  furrow  and  the  young  pioneer's  gone  hungry  to  bed.  There-1 
after  the  cattle  monopoly  of  the  Company  was  at  an  end,  and  the  settlers  soon 
Bad  a  sufficient  supply  of  •'  long  horns'7  for  food  arid  labor. 

I  suppose  that  the  "  blue  blood"  of  these  Castilian  cattle  has  long  since  be 
come  so  diluted  with  that  of  the  ignoble  herds  driven  hither  from  the  West  in 
after  times,  that  to-day  it  is  scarcely  perceptable  in  the  ordinary  bovines  of  the 
country.  Indeed,  the  improved  short-horns  and  other  wonderful  adipose  pro^ 
ducts  of  modern  cow-culture,  are  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  all  others,  But 
the  time  was,  when  the  broad,  unbroken  prairies  of  the  Wallamet  were  dotted 
Over  with  droves  of  the  fleet-footed  descendants  of  these  seed -cattle  of  Oregon. 

Many  of  you  remember  their  striking  appearance — a  half  wild  look  and  mo 
tion;  a  light,  Idng,  round  body;  clean,  bony  limbs,  and  a  handsome  head  crowned 
with  a  pair  of  long,  tapering,  curved  horns.  When  tame  or  at  rest,  they  were 
as  mild-looking  as  gazelles}  but  a  herd  of  them  alarmed  or  enraged  was  as 
"terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 

In  February,  1841,  Young  died  comparatively  wealthy  in  cattle  and  horses, 
without  any  known  heirs.  The  necessity  of  providing  for  some  disposition  of 
his  property  forced  upon  the  settlers  the  question  of  organization,  which  was 
the  beginning  of  the  agitation  that  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  Provisional 
government.  The  result  was,  that  the  estate  was  appropriated  to  the  building 
df  a  jail  at  Oregon  City— probably  the  first  "  prison  house"  west  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  More  than  twenty  years  afterwards  the  State  of  Oregon  refunded 
the  value  of  the  property  taken,  to  his  son,  Joaquin  Young,  of  New  Mexico, 


28  ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADV. 

In  1837  the  formation  of  the  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Company  was  com 
menced  by  some  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  into  the  country  a  Pritish  agricultural  population,  to 
aid  by  their  presence  and  numbers  in  the  approaching  contest  for  the  occupation 
of  the  soil.  Before  1840  the  company  was  completely  organized,  and  in  1841  a 
party  of  settlers  was  brought  from  Red  river,  Rupert's  Land,  and  settled  at 
Cowlitz  and  Nisqually,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia.  In  1843,  Dr  Tolmie 
Was  placed  in  charge  at  Nisqually,  the  principal  point  of  operations.  But  the 
settlement  never  throve  and  the  scheme  failed  signally.  In  many  respects  the 
location  was  not  a  favorable  one  for  agricultural  pursuits:  and  some  of  the 
settlers,  who  were  attracted  to  the  Wallamet  Valley  on  account  of  its  superior 
advantages,  left  the  company  and  eventually  cast  their  weight  on  the  American 
side  of  the  question. 

The  missionaries  sent  across  the  Rocky  mountains  by  the  American  Board, 
remained  among  the  Indians  east  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  and  never  became 
and  were  not  considered  a  part  of  the  American  settlement  in  Oregon.  But  in 
exploring  the  pathway  to  their  mission  grounds,  they  did  much  towards  finding 
and  marking  the  route  for  the  future  immigration  to  the  country  and  facilitating 
their  journey  to  it. 

In  1836,  Whitman,  Spaulding  and  Gray,  with  the  wives  of  the  first  two,  were 
sent  by  this  Board  as  missionaries  to  the  Nez-  Perce  Indians.  They  established 
missions  at  Wailaptu,  near  the  Wallawalla  and  at  Lapwai  on  the  Clearwater. 
In  the  fall  of  1842,  Whitman  went  east  and  returned  to  his  mission  in  1843, 
travelling  a  part  of  the  way  with  the  great  immigration  of  that  year,  and  doing 
much  to  encourage  them  to  take  their  waggons  beyond  Fort  Hall,  the  point  where 
he  left  them.  Gray  went  home  in  1837  and  returned  in  the  following  year  with 
Mrs.  Gray.  There  came  with  him  Walker  and  Eells  and  their  wives,  as  addi 
tions  to  the  mission.  In  1842,  Gray  abandoned  the  mission  and  came  down 
into  the  Wallamet  valley,  where  he  soon  became  a  settler  and  an  active  sup 
porter  of  American  interests  and  a  determined  promoter  of  the  organization 
of  the  Provisional  government.  He  is  still  living  and  within  a  few  years 
has  published  an  interesting  chronicle  of  those  early  times.  In  the  spring  of 
1839,  Walker  and  Eells  and  their  wives  established  a  mission  on  the  Spokan,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Fort  Colville,  where  they  labored  until  1848,  when  they  with 
drew  from  the  mission  and  removed  to  the  Wallamet  valley.  In  1849,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Walker  settled  at  Forest  Grove,  where  they  still  live  respected  by  all  who 
know  them.  Of  the  American  women  now  living,  Mrs.  Gray,  Walker  and 
Eells,  are  the  first  that  crosed  the  plains — while  the  only  ones  who  proceeded 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  29 

them  were  Mrs.  Whitman  and  Spalding— both  long,  since  numbered  with  "  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

In  1838,  the  Rev.  F.  N.  Blanchett  and  Modeste  De  Meers  were  sent  from  Canada 
across  the  country  to  Vancouver,  by  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  as  missionaries  to  the 
Canadian  French  who,  after  leaving  the  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  had 
settled  in  the  Wallamet  valley  and  on  the  Cowlitz.  De  Meers  was  stationed  at 
the  Cowlitz  and  is  now  a  Bishop  in  British  Columbia.  Blanchett  went  into  the 
Wallamet  valley  and  founded  there  the  mission  of  St.  Paul,  where  a  church 
and  school  have  ever  since  been  maintained.  This  settlement  was  commenced 
about  1829,  and  when  Blanchett  arrived  there,  it  contained  about  twenty-five 
families — Frenchmen  with  Indian  wives — from  which  circumstance  the  region 
came  to  be  called  the  "  French  Prairie."  Among  them  were  the  well  known 
names  of  Luci,  Gervais  and  Laframbeaux. 

These  priests  were  not  settlers  in  the  country,  but  ministers  to  the  French  and 
Indians.  The  ultimate  possession  of  the  country  was  a  matter  in  which  they 
ostensibly  took  no  interest.  They  were,  however,  subjects  of  Great  Britain  and 
their  influence  and  teaching  among  their  people  were  naturally  in  favor  of  the 
authority  and  interest  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  They  discouraged  the 
early  attempts  at  the  formation  of  a  settlers  government  in  the  country,  but  sub 
mitted  to  it  when  established. 

Eianchett  is  still  living— a  genial,  kind  old  gentleman — upon  whom  near  40 
years  of  missionary  journeyings  and  labors  by  land  and  sea  in  both  hemispheres 
have  made  but  little  outward  impression.  In  some  sense  he  has  had  his  reward. 
From  a  simple  priest  he  has  become  an  Archbishop,  and  as  such  often  visits  the 
place  where  he  first  erected  the  Standard  of  the  Cross  in  Oregon — "  St.  Paul  du 
Wallamette." 

In  1839,  Griffin  and  Munger  and  their  wives  came  to  the  country  as  independ 
ent  missionaries,  and  settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wallamet  river,  in  the 
Tualitin  plains.  Practically  they  were  American  settlers  and  took  root  in  the 
country  at  once .  In  the  same  year,  the  Americans,  Sydney  Smith,  Shortess  and 
Geiger,  settled  in  the  country.  Shortess  was  for  some  time  a  noted  man  in  the 
affairs  of  the  colony.  Smith  is  still  living  in  Yamhill  county  where  he  cast  his 
independent  lot,  long,  long  ago. 

In  1840,  Harvey  Clarke,  an  independent  Congregational  missionary,  crossed 
the  plains  to  the  Whitman  mission,  and  the  following  year  came  into  the  valley 
with  some  associates  and  settled  in  Tualitin  plains.  Among  these  were  Alvin 
T.  Smith  and  Littlejohn.  Smith  is  still  living  in  the  vicinity,  a  well  to  do  farmer 
and  good  citizen.  This  settlement  on  the  Tualitin  plains  was  an  important  ad 
dition  to  the  active,  intelligent  American  sentiment  in  the  country.  In  his  day, 


30  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY. 

Mr.  Clarke  was  a  leading  spirit  in  it  and  a  useful  and  exemplary  man.  It  hag 
been  said  of  him — "  The  country  is  blessed  by  his  having  lived  in  it."  The 
votive  tablet  or  mural  monument  of  pantheon,  cathedral  or  abbey  contains  no 
greater  eulogy  of  the  dead  than  this.  He  was  the  principal  founder  and  pro. 
moter  of  the  school  at  Forest  Grove — since  grown  into  the  Pacific  University, 
and  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  seats  of  learning  on  the  coast. 

In  1840  a  few  mountain  men — independent  American  trappers  from  the  Rocky 
mountains — among  whom  were  Newell  and  Meek,  abandoned  their  nomadic 
lives  and  settled  in  the  Wallamet  valley.  They  all  took  part  in  the  subsequent 
organization  of  the  Provisional  government,  and  helped  to  Americanize  the 
country.  In  the  winter  of  1847-8,  during  the  Cayuse  war,  Meek  crossed  the 
plains  as  a  delegate  from  the  Provisional  government  to  the  government  at  Wash 
ington,  and  was  afterwards  the  first  United  States  Marshal  in  Oregon. 

In  the  same  year  there  came  from  the  States,  as  independent  settlers,  Robert 
Moore,  Amos  Cook,  Francis  Fletcher  and  Joseph  Holman.  Moore  settled  at 
the  Wallamet  Falls,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  and  called  his  place  "  Robin's 
Nest,"  where  he  lived  until  his  decease,  at  a  good  old  age,  in  1857.  Here,  in 
1841,  Wilkes  found  him  claiming  to  hold  a  section  of  land  under  a  purchase 
from  an  Indian  chief — Old  Slacomb,  I  suppose — and  sneered  at  him,  because, 
with  the  true  instinct  of  a  native  Pennsylvanian,  he  saw  iron  in  the  vicinity  and 
expected  before  long  to  be  engaged  in  smelting  it.  But  time,  which  tries  all 
things,  has  verified  "  Old  Mr.  Moore's"  unlearned  opinion  and  confuted  the 
Admiral's  scientific  scepticism. 

McLoughlin  claimed  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  In  the  course  of  this 
strife  for  preoccupation,  here  met  these  two  characteristic  representatives  of  the 
Pioneer  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World,  to  claim  the  respective  shores  of  this 
great  water  power  and  commanding  point  in  the  future  navigation  of  the  river 
and  business  of  the  country.  For  years  they  looked  out  upon  one  another  across 
the  foaming  flood  as  the  vanguards  or  leaders  of  the  opposing  armies  of  occupa 
tion.  They  died  within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  and  their  bodies  lie  buried 
within  the  sound  of  the  cataract,  which  separated  them  in  life. 

Cook  and  Fletcher  settled  on  the  bank  of  the  beautiful  Yamhill,  near  the 
Falls,  and  soon  became  the  leading  farmers  in  the  country,  Mr.  Cook  is  still 
living  within  a  short  distance  of  the  spot  where  he  first  settled.  Few  men  have 
done  more  with  their  own  hands  to  improve  the  country  than  he. 

Holman  settled  at  the  Methodist  mission,  and  soon  married  a  member  of  it— « 
Miss  Almira  Phelps.  For  a  short  time  he  and  his  wife  had  charge  of  the  Indian 
school,  after  which  he  was  engaged  in  farming  and  subsequently  went  into  bu- 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY.  3! 

siness  and  kept  a  store  at  Salem.  He  is  still  living  and  enjoying  in  a  large 
degree  the  reward  of  a  life  of  industry  and  integrity. 

At  the  close  of  this  year  the  population  of  the  country,  exclusive  of  the  Com- 
pany  and  Indians,  was  about  200.  Of  these,  one-sixth  were  Canadians.  Nine- 
tenths  of  them  were  located  to  the  west  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  and  almost 
all  of  them  in  the  Wallamet  valley.  But  the  power  and  prestige  resulting- 
from  wealth,  organization  and  priority  of  settlement  were  still  on  the  side  of 
those  who  represented  Great  Britain.  It  was  a  common  opinion  among  all  classes 
that  in  the  final  settlement  of  boundaries  between  the  two  countries,  the  territory 
north  of  the  Columbia  might  be  conceded  to  Great  Britain;  and  the  principal 
settlements  and  stations  of  the  British  and  Americans  were  located  with  refer 
ence  to  this  possibility. 

So  s'ood  the  matter  thirty-five  years  after  the  American  exploration  of  the 
Columbia  river  by  Lewis  and  Clarke.  A  casual  observer  might  have  concluded 
that  the  country  was  doomed  to  remain  a  mere  trapping  and  trading  ground  for 
the  Company  for  generations  to  come. 

But  a  new  force  was  now  about  to  appear  on  the  scene  and  settle  the  long  pro 
tracted  controversy  in  favor  of  the  United  States.  It  was  the  Oregon  Argonauts, 
moving  across  the  continent  in  dusty  columns,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
flocks  and  herds,  in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece  that  was  to  be  found  in  the 
groves  and  prairies  of  the  coveted  lands  of  the  Wallamet. 

The  actual  occupation  of  Oregon  for  the  purpose  of  claiming  and  holding  the 
country  as  against  Great  Britain,  and  forming  therein  an  American  State,  did 
not  commence  until  after  1840.  Very  naturally  the  movement  began  in  the 
West,  an  I  had  its  greatest  strength  in  Missouri,  Illinois  and  Iowa.  The  panic 
of  1837  and  the  subsequent  stagnation  of  business  had  produced  a  feeling  of 
dispondency  in  the  West.  Especially,  in  the  States  named,  was  there  no  market 
for  stock  or  produce,  and  money  had  almost  ceased  to  be  a  circulating  medium. 
Taxes  could  scarcely  be  paid,  and  many  persons  feared  that  the  land  must  ulti 
mately  be  sold  to  pay  the  public  debts  and  expenses.  This  state  of  things 
helped  very  much  to  turn  the  public  attention  to  Oregon,  as  a  sure  place  of 
refuge  from  panics,  bank  failures,  high  taxes,  and  all  the  other  ills,  real  or  im 
aginary,  under  which  the  extreme  Western  States  were  then  groaning,  as  they 
never  have  since. 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  advantages  on  the  side  of  those  who  represented 
Great  Britain  in  the  race  for  possession,  there  were  two  facts  or  circumstances  in 
the  case  which  were  operating  with  ever  increasing  force  in  favor  of  American 
occupation,,  and  which,  in  the  end  gave  the  victory  to  the  American  settler. 


32  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY. 

These  were:  (i.)  The  contiguity  of  the  country  to  the  admitted  territory  of  the 
United  States;  and,  (2.)  The  strong  inclination  and  well  tried  capacity  of  the 
western  American  for  emigration  by  land,  and  his  long  experience  in  self-gov 
ernment. 

The  country  south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude  was  properly- 
regarded  as  a  mere  prolongation  of  the  acknowledged  territory  of  the  United 
States  to  its  natural  geographical  boundary — the  Pacific  ocean — while  that  on  the 
north  of  such  line,  for  a  like  reason  more  properly  belonged  to  Great  Britain. 
Between  conflicting  claimants  to  unoccupied  country,  its  contiguity  to  the  prin 
cipal  possessions  of  either  party  is  always  a  material  circumstance  in  the  contro 
versy.  As  between  independent  nations,  convenience  and  utility  being  the  ulti 
mate  standard  of  right,  the  fact  of  greater  contiguity  has  much  force  in  such  a 
controversy  and  may  itself  be  sufficient  to  give  the  better  right. 

The  possession  of  Calais  by  the  English,'  though  won  by  force  of  arms  and 
sanctioned  by  treaties  and  lapse  of  time,  was  always  a  political  wrong.  It  vio 
lated  the  integrity  and  imperiled  the  security  of  the  French  territory,  and  was  a 
constant  pause  of  trouble  and  anxiety  to  both  nations.  It  was  a  standing  men 
ace  and  continuous  injury  to  France.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  Ireland, 
the  argument  of  convenience  and  utility,  based  upon  its  contiguity  to  Great 
Britain,  has  always  prevailed  and  justified  the  latter,  as  against  France  or  any 
other  continental  power  in  taking  the  Gem  of  the  Sea  and  wearing  it  among  the 
jewels  of  her  crown.  The  general  convenience  and  utility  being  most  promoted 
by  Oregon's  becoming  a  part  of  the  American  union,  rather  than  remaining  a 
mere  Hudson  Bay  possession  or  a  distant  appanage  of  the  British  crown,  the  better 
right  of  occupation  was  with  the  American  settler.  But  he  also  had  the  power 
to  enforce  that  right.  The  great  capacity  and  experience  which  the  Western 
trader,  farmer  and  woodman  had  acquired  for  moving  across  wild  and  uninhab" 
ited  regions,  and  occupying  new  countries,  and  supporting  and  governing  them 
selves  while  there,  without  government  aid  or  direction,  constituted  their  power 
to  take  and  occupy  Oregon.  In  such  matters,  in  the  long  run,  might  makes 
right.  In  the  struggle  for  the  possession  of  an  unoccupied  country,  the  weak 
and  ignorant  must  give  place  to  the  strong  and  experienced.  Under  the  cir 
cumstances,  emigration  from  Great  Britain  was  out  of  the  question.  The  people 
of  that  country  knew  nothing  of  Oregon,  and  took  but  little,  if  any,  interest  in 
its  settlement  or  acquisition.  Besides,  the  Company  did  not  desire  a  general 
immigration  to  the  country,  even  of  British  subjects,  for  that  would  interfere 
with  the  special  use  for  which  they  sought  to  occupy  the  country,  quite  as  much 
as  an  American  one.  The  policy  of  the  Company  was  to  hold  the  country  as  a 
private  possession,  within  which,  only  such  persons  should  be  allowed  to  settle 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY.  33 

as  would  submit  to  their  control — become  in  some  way  their  vassals  or  tenants. 

In  the  half  century  following  the  close  of  the  American  revolution,  thewwave 
of  population  had  moved  nine  hundred  miles  westward  from  the  Alleghanies, 
occupying  and  improving  the  country  over  which  it  passed.  But  the  public  in 
terest  in  Oregon  was  soon  to  become  so  thoroughly  aroused,  that  this  slow  rate 
of  extending  the  Western  frontier  was  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  wide  space  be 
tween  the  Missouri  and  the  Wallamet,  then  regarded  as  comparatively  worthless, 
crossed  at  a  bound. 

In  1836  and  1837,  Irving's  Astoria  and  Bonneville  were  given  to  the  world. 
The  perusal  of  these  sprightly  and  picturesque  pages  was  well  calculated  to 
fill  the  minds  of  the  romantic  and  adventurous  with  an  interest  in  the  country 
and  a  desire  to  make  that  marvelous  journey  across  the  plains. 

The  visit  of  Wilkes  in  1841,  with  the  exploring  squadron,  gave  the  impression 
that  the  national  government  was  intending  to  take  measures  to  encourage  the 
occupation  of  the  country  by  its  citizens.  His  account  of  the  country,  which 
was  largely  circulated,  confirmed  the  most  favorable  reports  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  and  the  salubrity  of  the  climate. 

Early  in  the  year  1842,  a  special  impetus  was  given  to  immigration  by  the  in" 
troduction  in  the  Senate  of  Dr.  Linn's  bill,  offering  a  liberal  donation  of 
land  to  settlers  in  Oregon.  The  promise  thereby  implied  was  afterwards  hon 
orably  redeemed  by  Congress,  in  the  passage  of  the  well-earned  Donation  act. 
As  a  result  of  this  proposition  and  the  other  circumstances  to  which  I  have  ad. 
verted,  about  100  immigrants  crossed  the  plains  this  year  to  Oregon — having 
left  their  waggons  at  Fort  Hall.  This  was  the  first  considerable  body  of  actual 
settlers  that  had  yet  come  to  the  country.  Among  them  were  the  well-known 
names  of  Lovejoy,  Hastings,  Crawford,  Robb,  Matthieu,  Coombs,  Shadden, 
Moss  and  Morrison,  all  of  whom  are  still  living  and  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
OREGON  PIONEERS.  Hastings  and  Coombs  reside  in  California,  the  former  hav 
ing  been  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State.  Lovejoy  was  a  lawyer 
from  Boston, — the  first  lawyer  in  the  colony — and  was  prominent  in  its  affairs 
and  councils  for  the  next  twenty  years.  Crawford  taught  in  the  Methodist  Mis 
sion  Indian  school  for  a  time,  and  has  since  held  various  positions  of  honor  and 
trust  under  the  National  and  State  governments.  The  tide  of  immigration  to  Ore 
gon  had  now  commenced  to  flood — never  to  slacken  or  ebb  until  it  had  covered 
the  country  with  permanent  settlers,  and  rendered  the  American  occupation  of  it 
an  accomplished  fact. 

This  year  also  witnessed  the  first  successful  attempt  at  independent  trad*  in 
Oregon.  In  July,  Capt.  John  H.  Couch  brought  the  ship  Chenamus  into  the 
Wallamet  river  with  a  cargo  of  goods  from  Boston,  which  he  placed  on  sale  at 


34  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY. 

Wallamet  Falls.  Prior  to  this  event,  the  Company  and  Mission  had  a  monopoly 
of  the  mercantile  business  in  Oregon.  Couch  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
country  that  he  gave  up  the  sea  and  settled  in  it.  Couch's  addition  to  the  city 
of  Portland,  is  built  upon  the  land  claim  taken  up  by  him  in  1845.  A  ^ew 
years  ago  he  was  carried  across  the  Wallamet  to  the  Necropolis,  where  he  lies 
at  anchor  awaiting  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead.  By  the  early  pioneers 
he  will  always  be  remembered  with  feelings  of  kindness  and  respect. 

On  November  8th  of  this  year  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  Alton,  Illinois, 
by  which  resolutions  were  passed  urging  the  importance  of  the  speedy  occupa 
tion  of  Oregon.  The  resolutions  were  reported  and  the  meeting  addressed  by 
Gen.  Semple,  of  that  State,  who  appears  to  have  taken  an  early  interest  in  the 
subject.  This  was  followed  by  a  large  meeting  at  the  capital  of  the  same  State 
on  February  5th,  1843,  at  which  resolutions  were  passed  to  the  same  effect. 
Many  of  the  distinguished  men  of  Illinois  were  present  at,  and  participated  in 
this  meeting.  Col.  Baker,  who  lived  to  become  a  United  States  Senator  from 
Oregon  and  one  other  person,  opposed  the  passage  of  the  resolutions.  How  true 
it  is  that  "  Man  proposes  but  God  disposes."  In  the  following  July  "  a  conven 
tion  of  delegates  from  the  States  and  territories  of  the  west  and  south-west," 
was  held  at  Cincinnati,  which  passed  resolutions  asserting  the  right  of  the 
United  States  to  the  country  as  far  north  as  "  Fifty-four  Forty,"  and  urging  Con 
gress  to  take  measures  to  promote  the  speedy  settlement  of  it. 

Whilst  these  causes  were  at  work  east  of  the  Missouri  to  push  on  the  column 
of  immigration  to  Oregon,  the  settlers  were  earnestly  preparing  for  them,  by 
laying  the  foundations  of  order  and  justice  in  the  colony. 

In  the  early  part  of  1843  "  the  citizens  of  the  colony,"  as  they  styled  them 
selves,  commenced  to  hold  meetings  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  protect  their 
stock  from  the  wolves  and  other  beasts  of  prey.  These  meetings  were  the  germ 
of  the  provisional  government.  The  first  one  was  held  on  February  2d,  at  "  the 
Oregon  Institute."  It  appointed  a  committee  of  six  to  report  business  to  an  ad 
journed  meeting  on  the  first  Monday  in  March,  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Gervais. 
This  meeting  after  providing  for  the  "destruction  of  all  wolves,  panthers  and 
bears,"  took  a  step  forward,  and  initiated  the  movement  for  the  establishment 
of  a  civil  government,  by  appointing  a  committee  of  twelve  persons,  namely, 
Babcock,  White,  O'Neil,  Shortess,  Newell,  Lucie,  Gervais,  Hubbard,  McRoy, 
Gray,  Smith  and  Gay,  to  devise  "  measures  for  the  civil  and  military  protection 
of  the  colony."  This  committee  agreed  upon  a  plan  of  government,  and  called 
a  gqperal  meeting  of  the  citizens  at  Champoeg  on  May  2,  to  consider  their  report. 
At  this  meeting  the  report  of  the  committee,  after  much  canvassing,  was  adopted 
by  a  vote  of  52  yeas  to  50  nays— the  yeas  and  nays  rising  and  separating,  while 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  35 

Meek  led  off  in  a  loud  voice  for  the  adoption  of  the  report.  Before  adjourning, 
the  meeting  set  the  new  government  on  its  legs,  by  electing  a  supreme  judge 
and  sundry  subordinate  officers,  and  also  a  legislative  committee  of  nine  persons, 
namely,  Moore,  Hill,  Shortess,  Beers,  Gray,  Hubbard,  O'Neil,  Newell  and 
Dougherty,  at  the  princely  compensation  of  $1.25  per  day,  to  prepare  and  re 
port  the  necessary  laws  for  the  new  government,  to  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  at  the  same  place,  on  the  5th  of  July.  The  report  of  the  legislative 
committee  was  by  this  COLONIA^  COMITIA  adopted;  and  thus  begun,  while  yet 
Oregon  was  claimed  and  partially  occupied  by  British  subjects,  a  government, 
which,  however  feeble  or  limited,  was  in  form  and  spirit  purely  American. 

How  appropriate  it  was,  under  the  circumstances,  that  these  isolated  and  self- 
reliant  people  should  inscribe  upon  their  banner,  the  old  motto  of  Thanet — 
ALIS  VOLAT  PROPRIIS.  May  their  descendants  never  forget  its  significance  or 
prove  themselves  unworthy  of  it! 

The  immigration  of  that  year  numbered  about  900  men,  women  and  children. 
They  brought  their  waggons  to  Wallawalla  and  The  Dalles,  where  they  were 
abandoned  for  the  time  being.  Their  cattle,  some  1,300  in  number,  were  driven 
into  the  valley  upon  a  trail  around  the  base  of  Mount  Hood.  The  main  body 
of  the  immigrants  were  brought  down  the  Columbia  river  in  the  Company's 
boats,  for  which  they  were  indebted  to  the  kindness  and  consideration  of  Dr. 
McLoughlin.  The  immigration  of  1844  amounted  in  round  numbers  to  800,  so 
that  by  the  close  of  this  year,  there  were  near  2,000  American  citizens  in  the 
country.  The  immigration  of  1845  was  still  larger  than  that  of  either  of  the 
two  preceding  years;  containing  near  3,000  persons  and  2,500  head  of  cattle. 
It  was  largely  from  Iowa  and  was  the  means  of  introducing  the  statutes  of  that 
State  into  the  country,  from  which  time  until  1854,  Iowa  law  was  substantially 
the  law  of  Oregon. 

The  great  majority  of  the  American  population  were  plain,  substantial  people. 
Many  of  them  were  persons  of  great  force  of  character  and  much  natural  ability, 
while  some  few  were  men  of  education  and  experience  in  public  affairs. 

Those  of  1843  stood  somewhat  pre-eminent  among  the  early  settlers.  This 
immigration -was  much  larger  than  any  which  preceded  it.  It  brought  the  first 
waggons  to  The  Dalles,  and  it  contained  many  persons  of  subsequent  note  and 
distinction  in  the  country.  Among  these  were  Applegate,  Burnett,  Waldo, 
Holman  and  Nesmith,  and  others  equally  worthy  of  being  mentioned  if  time 
would  admit. 

Applegate  was  a  farmer,  trader  and  surveyor  from  Missouri.  Full  of  original 
thought  and  suggestion,  of  great  energy  and  endurance,  he  has  written  his  plain 


36  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY. 

Saxon  name  upon  every  page  of  the  early  annals  of  the  country,  but  lacking  the 
useful  talent  for  either  leading  or  following  others,  more  often  in  the  minority 
than  otherwise. 

As  I  said  in  a  sketch  of  him  which  was  published  some  ten  years  ago: 

"Without  being  in  any  sense  a  party  leader  or  direct  manager  of  men  and 
having  but  little  of  the  huckstering  talent  that  conduces  to  getting  along  in  the 
world,  yet  by  force  of  his  self  abnegation  and  Catonian  independence — his  ever 
asserted  individuality  and  persistent  pressure  upon  the  mobile  masses,  he  has 
left  the  impress  of  his  thoughts,  opinions  and  prejudices  all  along  the  pages  of 
our  history.  He  is  now  well  advanced  in  years,  and  I  suppose  will  end  his  toil 
some  life,  within  the  sound  of  the  sweet  babbling  brook,  in  which  he  has  so  long 
performed  his  early  morning  ablutions,  and  be  buried  at  the  base  of  the  cloud- 
capped  mountain,  that  gives  name  to  his  early  home.  It  is  pleasant  to  think 
that  in  after  years,  coming  generations  while  enjoying  the  fruit  of  his  early  pri 
vations  and  labors,  will,  as  they  pass  to  and  fro,  slip  aside  from  the  highway, 
and  pause  a  moment  to  contemplate  the  tomb  of  The  Sage  of  Yoncalla." 

Burnett  was  a  lawyer  from  the  same  State.  His  legal  knowledge  and  exper 
ience  were  of  great  benefit  to  the  young  community  in  remodelling  the  govern 
ment  in  1845.  In  l844  ne  wrotea  seriesof  letters,  giving  an  interesting  account 
of  the  country  and  the  immigration  of  the  previous  year,  which  were  published 
in  the  east,  and  did  much  to  attract  favorable  attention  to  the  country  and  point 
the  way  to  it.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  territorial  government  in  1848,  he 
declined  the  position  of  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  and  removed  to  California, 
where  he  was  made  governor,  then  justice  of  the  supreme  court  and  is  still  living, 
surrounded  with — 

" that  \vhich  should  accompany  old  age. 

As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends." 

Waldo  was  a  substantial  farmer  from  Missouri  also.  -He  settled  in  the  red 
hills,  east  of  Salero,  and  impressed  upon  them  his  euphonius  name.  He  sat  in 
the  legislature  of  the  provisional  government.  I  believe  he  has  never  held  any 
other  office,  but  his  opinion  of  public  men  an4  measures  has  commonly  affected 
the  vote  of  his  neighborhood.  He  still  lives,  and  while  Waldo  Hills  are  Waldo 
Hills,  his  name  will  be  remembered  as  a  synonym  for  independence  and  in 
tegrity. 

Holman  was  a  respectable  farmer,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  from  Missouri  to 
Oregon.  He  was  the  forerunner  of  a  large  family  connection,  that  followed 
him  to  the  country,  and  contributed  largely  to  the  good  order,  morality  and  well 
being  of  the  colony. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  37 

Nesmith  was  a  roving  » 

" youth  to  fortune  and  to  fame  unknown, 

Fair  science  frown'd  not  on  his  humble  birth." 

But  a  person  of  his  great  natural  ability  could  not  long  remain  in  the  back 
ground  of  this  young  and  free  community.  He  soon  wore  the  colonial  ermine, 
and  sat  in  the  leislative  halls,  and  commanded  in  the  armies  of  the  provisional 
government.  He  has  since  held  many  responsible  public  positions,  including 
the  office  of  Representative  and  Senator  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  with 
usefulness  to  the  country  and  credit  to  himself.  His  braid  Scotch  humor  and 
peerless,  pitiless,  pungent  wit,  have  made  him  famous  on  both  shores  of  the 
Republic.  When  his  brief  candle  is  out,  any  of  us  who  remain,  may  exclaim — 

" He  was  man,  take  him  for  all  in  all, 

I  shall  not  look  upon  his  like  again." 

Among  the  immigrants  of  1844  were  Stephens',  Johnson,  Perkins',  Welch, 
Ford,  Gough,  Smith,  Watt  and  Lee.  The  majority  of  them  have  passed  away, 
but  in  their  lives  they  did  their  duty  by  the  country.  Stephens  still  lives  where 
he  first  settled,  but  in  the  mean  time  East  Portland  has  spread  over  his  land 
claim.  Welch  still  flourishes  like  a  green  bay  tree,  down  by  the  deep  sounding 
sea,  at  Astoria,  and  looks  as  if  he  may  live  long  enough  to  see  that  most  ancient 
city  of  the  Pacific  rival  in  grandeur  and  commerce  the  Bride  of  the  Adriatic. 
Smith  has  long  been  a  man  of  mark  in  business  circles  and  public  affairs.  While 
he  answered  to  the  name  of  Oregon,  at  the  roll  call  in  the  House  of  Represent 
atives,  she  had  no  cause  to  blush  for  her  Pioneer  Congressman. 

In  1847,  Wratt  went  East  and  returned  the  following  year  with  the  first  or 
second  flock  of  sheep  ever  driven  to  the  country.  He  aided  materially  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Salem  Woolen  Mill,  in  1857.  He  has  been  a  steady 
worker  and  builder  and  generally  a  benefactor  of  mankind,  according  to  the 
Jeffersonian  test,  by  causing  the  portion  of  the  earth  committed  to  his  care  to 
increase  and  double  its  products. 

The  roll  of  immigration  of  1846  contains  among  others,  the  names  of  Rector, 
Wilcox,  Barlow,  Stephens,  Terwilliger,  Bennett,  Cornelius,  King,  Palmer,  and 
Greenbury  Smith.  Most  of  them  are  yet  in  the  ranks  of  the  living.  Barlow  cut 
the  waggon  i-oad  around  the  base  of  Mount  Hood,  across  the  Cascade  mountains, 
in  1846.  The  building  of  railways  since  has  been  of  less  importance  to  the  com 
munity,  than  the  opening  of  this  road,  which  enabled  the  settlers  to  bring  their 
waggons  and  teams  directly  into  the  valley. 

Wilcox  has  served  in  the  Legislature  and  held  many  other  positions  with  the 
highest  integrity.  With  his  ability  and  popularity,  he  only  lacked  audacity  or 


38  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY. 

industry,  or  both,  to  have  long*since  been  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  Oregon. 
But  perhaps  he  has  chosen  the  better  part.     "  Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a 


Few  men,  in  this  or  any  country,  have  labored  harder  or  more  disinterestedly 
for  the  public  good  than  General  Joel  Palmer.  A  man  of  ardent  temperament, 
strong  friendships,  and  full  of  hope  for  and  confidence  in  his  fellow  men,  he  has 
unreservedly  given  the  flower  of  his  life  for  the  best  interests  of  Oregon— and  of 
all  the  early  Pioneers  it  may  be  justly  said  of  him — "He  deserves  well  of  his 
country." 

Rector  was  no  ordinary  man.  Amid  the  sneers  and  indifference  of  the  com 
munity,  he  projected  and  established,  in  1857,  the  Pioneer  woolen  mill  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  To-day,  the  town  of  Salem  has  good  reason,  because  of  her  fac 
tories  and  water  power,  to  be  thankful  that  he  ever  settled  within  her  borders.* 

The  journey  across  the  plains  was  one  of  great  length  and  risks,  to  be  under 
taken  with  ox  teams,  and  without  roads,  or  any  conveniences  or  supplies,  except 
such  as  could  be  carried  along.  The  waggon  was  the  ship  by  day  and  the  house 
and  fortress  by  night.  Occasionally  death  invaded  the  ranks  of  the  caravan, 
and  then  a  fresh  grave  denoted  the  stricken  wayfarer's  last  camping  place  on 
earth;  while  not  unfrequently,  a  little  stranger  was  introduced  to  the  camp  with 
out  the  aid  of  Esculapius  or  the  expense  of  a  trousseau. 

*Since  the  delivery  of  this  oration,  Mr.  Joseph  Watt,  thinking  that  the  foregoing  state 
ment  in  regard  to  Mr.  Bector's  connection  with  the  woolen  mill,  needs  qualification,  has 
written  me  an  account  of  the  founding  of  this  important  work,  from  which  I  condense 
the  following:  In  the  summer  of  1855  as  wool  was  almost  worthless  for  exportation,  Mr. 
Watt  conceived  the  idea  of  building  a  woolen  mill  in  Oregon.  After  conferring  with  Mr. 
Eeynolds  (now  of  Wallawalla) ,  and  a  few  others,  he  drew  up  articles  for  the  government 
of  "  The  Wallamette  Woolen  Manufacturing  Co.,"  with  a  capital  of  $25,000  divided  into 
shares  of  $250.  This  was  the  name  given  the  company  and  that  paper  is  still  on  the  files 
of  the  office.  The  articles  provided  that  the  mill  should  be  located  wherever  $1,000  of 
the  stock  was  subscribed.  Watt  was  anxious  to  locate  at  Salem,  because  he  thought  the 
people  of  that  place  would  take  an  interest  in  the  matter,  not  so  much  for  itself,  but  as  a 
means  of  getting  the  water  from  the  Santiam  brought  into  the  town.  By  the  spring  of 
1856  the  necessary  amount  of  stock  being  taken— principally  in  Yamhill  and  Polk 
counties— a  meeting  to  locate  was  held  at  Dallas,  and  Watt  and  Eeynolds  having  a  major 
ity  of  the  votes  decided  the  question  in  favor  of  Salem.  After  much  labor  and  time,  the 
Salem  people  were  induced  to  take  stock  in  the  enterprise.  The  most  active  of  them  in 
the  matter,  being  Waldo,  Holman,  Minto,  Eector,  Joe  Wilson,  Williams  and  Boon,— the 
latter  giving  the  company  the  valuable  property  upon  which  the  mill  was  built.  In  the 
Bummer  of  1856,  Eector  was  made  Superintendent  and  went  east  the  following  fall  to  pro ' 
cure  workman  and  machinery.  During  the  summer  of  1857,  Watt  superintended  the 
construction  of  the  mill  building  and  the  race  from  the  Santiam,  both  of  which  labors 
were  completed  by  November  of  that  year.  MATTHEW  P.  DEADY. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  39 

When  we  consider  how  little  was  known  of  the  country  in  those  early  days, 
and  the  dangers  and  hardships  which  might  be  encountered  and  suffered  along 
the  route,  who  can  hesitate  to  admire  the  heroism  which  led  those  Pioneers, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  to  undertake  such  a  journey  and  sustained  them 
through  the  weary  length  of  it.  Nothing  like  it  has  ever  occurred  on  this  con 
tinent.  The  only  parallel  to  it,  in  profane  history,  is  the  famous  "  Retreat  of 
the  Ten  Thousand" — and  in  that  case  the  distance  traversed  was  less  than  1000 
miles  compared  with  2,000  in  this.  "What  a  theme  it  affords  for  the  poet  and 
the  painter.  Not  the  showy,  sneering  caricature  of  Bierstadt,  upon  which  the 
ignorant  and  ostentatious  Dives  lavishes  his  surplus  coin,  but  the  truthful  and 
heroic  delineation  of  some  noble  soul,  capable  of  appreciating  the  grandeur  and 
simplicity  of  the  motives  which  induced  those  humble  and  unknown  men  and 
women  to  undertake  this  marvelous  journey — that  Oregon  might  be  brought 
under  the  aegis  of  the  American  Union  and  her  hills  and  valleys  become  the  in 
heritance  of  their  children. 

But  yesterday  one  of  Oregon's  poetic  sons  showed  us  in  a  few  rough-hewn 
but  graphic,  imaginative  stanzas,  what  high  inspiration  can  be  drawn  from  this 
memorable  march  by  one  capable  of  appreciating  nil  that  it  reveals  and  sug 
gests.  Here  are  a  few  lines,  taken  at  random  from  the  poem — PIONEERS  OF 
THE  PACIFIC,  by  Miller  : 


"  The  -wild  man's  yell,  the  groaning  wheel, 
The  train  that  moved  like  drifting  barge  ; 
The  dust  rose  up  like  a  cloud, 
Like  smoke  of  distant  battle  !    Loud 
The  great  whips  rang  like  shot,  and  steel 
Flashed  back  as  in  some  battle  charge. 

They  sought,  yea,  thev  did  find  their  rest 
Along  that  long  and  lonesome  way, 
Those  brave  men  buffeting  the  West 
With  lifted  faces.    Full  were  they 
Of  great  endeavor. 
******* 

When 

Adown  the  shining  iron  track 
We  sweep,  and  fields  of  corn  flash  back, 
And  herds  of  lowing  steers  move  by, 
I  turn  to  other  days,  to  men 
Who  made  a  pathway  with  their  dust." 

It  is  well,  fellow  citizens,  that  you  cherish  the  memory  of  these  early  days 
and  magnify  and  extol  the  conduct  and  qualities  of  these  worthy  founders  of 
this  great  and  growing  commonwealth.  You  and  those  who  come  after  you, 


40  ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    MATTHEW   P.    DEADY. 

will  in  turn  be  elevated  and  improved  by  the  proud  consciousness  that  your  pro 
genitors  and  predecessors  deserved  and  received  the  meed  of  honor  and  esteem 
for  lives  spent  in  noble  and  useful  deeds.  Doubtless  there  is  a  pride  of  ancestry 
which  is  a  weakness  and  a  care  for  posterity  which  is  only  disguised  selfishness. 
But  there  is  both  beauty  and  truth  in  the  sentiment  of  Webster,  expressed  on  a 
similar  occasion:  "  There  is  also  a  moral  and  philosophical  respect  for  our  an 
cestors,  which  elevates  the  character  and  impresses  the  heart.  Next  to  the 
sense  of  religious  duty  and  moral  feeling,  I  hardly  know  what  should  bear  with 
stronger  obligation  on  a  liberal  and  enlightened  mind,  than  a  consciousness  of 
alliance  with  excellence  which  is  departed;  and  a  consciousness  too,  that  in 
its  acts  and  conduct,  and  even  in  its  sentiments  and  thoughts  it  may  be  actively 
operating  on  the  happiness  of  those  who  come  after  it." 

With  the  influx  of  the  immigration  of  1843  and  1844,  the  Committee  govern 
ment  of  the  former  year  was  found  insufficient-for  the  population.  An  enlarged 
and  more  absolute  form  of  government  was  accordingly  prepared  by  some  of  the 
leading  minds  of  the  colony,  and  by  the  Legislative  Committee  submitted  to  the 
people,  on  July  5,  1845,  when  it  was  approved  by  a  majority  of  203  votes.  By 
this  change,  a  single  Executive  was  substituted  for  the  Executive  Committee  of 
three,  while  the  Legislative  Committee  of  nine  was  superseeded  by  "  a  House 
of  Representatives,"  consisting  of  not  less  than  13  nor  more  than  61  members. 
Abernethy,  who  came  to  the  country  as  the  Steward  of  the  Mission,  was  chosen 
Governor  annually  for  the  next  four  years.  In  a  late  paper  from  the  facile  pen 
of  one  of  Oregon's  distinguished  Pioneers,  I  find  the  following  notice  of  him : 
"  George  Abernethy,  an  intelligent  Christian  gentleman,  unassuming,  indisposed 
to  court  popular  favor,  with  strong  common  sense,  and  a  desire  to  do  his  duty 
consciously  and  quietly  was  the  light  man  for  the  occasion,  and  whatever  pre 
judice  may  assert  to  the  contrary,  it  was  fortunate  for  the  colony  that  just  such 
a  person  could  be  had  to  fill  the  highest  and  most  responsible  position  in  the 
pioneer  government." 

And  thus,  thirty  years  ago,  was  established,  by  a  mere  handful  of  people,  on 
this  then  remote  and  inaccessible  land,  that  famous  Provisional  Government, 
which  carried  the  country  with  honor  and  credit  through  the  vicissitudes  of  peace 
and  war,  until  March  3,  1849,  when  the  Territorial  Government  provided  by 
Congress  was  proclaimed  at  Oregon  City,  amid  the  rejoicings  of  the  people,  by 
its  first  Governor — General  Joseph  Lane. 

But  already,  the  country  was  practically  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  by 
the  highest  and  best  title  in  existence — the  actual  occupation  and  control  of  it 
by  her  citizens.  The  subsequent  acknowledgement  by  the  treaty  of  1846,  of  the 
American  right  to  Oregon,  was  only  a  formal  recognition  of  the  fact,  that  the 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    MATTHEW    P.    DEADY.  41 

long  contest  for  the  occupation  of  the  country  had  terminated  in  favor  of  the 
OREGON  PIONEER. 

Nor  was  this  all.  As  was  well  said  by  Gov.  Grover  in  his  address  to  you  on 
a  former  occasion:  "  As  great  events  generally  follow  in  clusters,  the  acquisi- 
sition  of  California  followed  in  1848,  by  military  occupancy.  It  is  fair  to  claim 
that  our  government  never  would  have  ventured  with  the  small  force  it  had  at 
command,  to  push  its  arms  to  the  Pacific,  in  Mexican  territory,  during  the  war 
with  Mexico,  if  we  did  not  already  possess  a  domain  in  that  quarter,  and  a  reli 
able  American  population  in  Oregon.  So  that  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  were 
really  the  fathers  of  American  jurisdiction  over  all  that  magnificent  domain  of 
the  United  States,  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains — an  empire  in  itself." 

Yes!  WORTHY  PIONEERS,  to  you,  whom  Heaven  has  kindly  granted  to  see 
this  day,  and  your  absent  but  not  forgotten  brethren  and  friends,  who  made  a 
pathway  to  the  country  with  their  dust,  or  have  since  given  their  lives  for  its  de 
fense,  or  fallen  asleep  in  its  valleys,  are  we  chiefly  indebted  for  this  grand  and 
benificent  result.  By  your  great  endeavors  an  empire  in  limits  has  been  added 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and  to-day  the  sun  in  his  journey  across 
the  heavens  shines  down  upon  a  continuous  Union  of  American  Sta  tes,  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Verily  you  have  your  reward!  and  they  who  come  after 
you  shall  rise  up  and  do  you  honor. 


THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 

BY   HON.   J.   W.    NESMITH. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN 

OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION: 

Having  been  honored  with  an  invitation  to  address  you  at  this  your  third  an 
nual  re-union,  with  the  understanding  that  my  remarks  are  to  be  preserved  in 
your  archives  as  a  portion  of  the  recorded  history  of  your  society,  I  have  reduced 
to  writing  the  little  that  I  have  to  say,  and  shall  submit  it  in  the  form  of  mere 
dry  narrative,*  feeling  more  than  compensated  if  my  humble  effort  shall  contrib 
ute  to  the  value  of  the  records  which  your  society  proposes  to  gather  up  and 
preserve  for  the  use  and  edification  of  those  who  are  to  be  our  successors.  His 
tory  is  said  to  be  "Philosophy  teaching  by  example."  Among  all  civilized 
people  there  exists  a  desire  to  be  informed  relative  to  the  past. 

The  example  taught  by  the  acts  of  those  who  have  preceded  us,  have  doubt 
less  contributed  to  our  edification.  Historians,  philosophers  and  antiquarians 
have  devoted  ages  to  the  most  laborious  investigation  and  research,  spreading 
barrels  of  ink  over  tons  of  paper  in  their  attempts  to  elucidate  incidents,  phases 
and  facts  which  might  and  hav£  been  preserved  by  those  whose  lives  were  co- 
temporaneous  with  the  subjects  sought  to  be  investigated. 

The  philosophic  presentation  of  those  examples  of  the  past  have  not  always 
been  of  the  most  reliable  or  definite  character,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  so 
much  valuable  time  has  been  wasted  in  arriving  at  conclusions  called  history, 
but  only  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  mythical  fictions.  If  the  founders  of  ancient 
and  extinct  empires  and  kingdoms  could  be  recalled  to  earth  they  would  feel 
like  instituting  suits  for  libel  against  the  historians  who  have  recorded  their  acts, 
if  their  remedy  in  that  direction  was  not  barred  by  the  statute  of  limitation.  In 
the  rude  and  barbaric  ages  of  the  past,  when  the  preservation  of  facts  and  inci 
dents  depended  solely  upon  the  uncertainty  of  tradition,  they  must  have  suffered 
terrible  mutations  incident  to  that  faulty  mode  of  preservation. 

Human  nature  is  so  constituted  with  its  bias  of  prejudice  and  self-interest,  to 
say  nothing  of  defective  memory,  that  it  is  rarely  that  two  persons  who  witness 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.  43 

the  same  incident  can,  with  the  most  honest  intentions,  give  a  similar  version  of 
what  actually  did  occur. 

It  seems  to  be  the  accepted  maxim,  and  doubtless  with  some  foundation  in 
reason,  that  no  man  is  qualified  to  write  the  history  of  the  time  in  which  he  lives, 
and  that  a  truthful  record  of  current  events  requires  the  conservative  and  mel 
lowing  influence  of  time  to  render  them  perfectly  impartial  and  reliable.  It 
seems  to  be  the  mission  of  historians  to  gather  up  facts  and  incidents  of  the  past, 
with  their  cot-mporaneous  illustrations,  and  weave  them  together  in  a  web  of 
probabilities,  often  colored  by  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  writer. 

The  proof  of  the  fact  that  historians  look  at  objects  and  incidents  of  the  past 
through  magnifying  or  contracting  lenses  is  to  be  found  in  what  is  recognized  as 
History,  both  sacred  and  profane. 

A  correct  narration  of  the  condition,  situation  and  surroundings  of  the  early 
settlers  of  our  State  will  be  of  interest  to  those  who  succeed  us.  Their  mode  of 
life,  dress,  manners,  occupation,  state  of  their  manufactories,  agricultural  and 
other  industries,  and  all  that  pertained  to  their  comparatively  rude  and  primitive 
condition  must  be  of  value  to  their  successors  in  estimating  the  progress  and  ben 
efits  of  civilization. 

In  the  far-off  future,  when  the  "  New  Zealander  will  sit  upon  the  ruined  pier 
of  London  bridge,"  and  indulge  in  antiquarian  cogitations  relative  to  the  past, 
it  might  be  convenient  for  him  or  some  other  delver  in  historic  mine,  to  refer  to 
the  archives  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Society  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  founders 
of  our  State,  unlike  Romulus  and  Remus,  derived  their  sustenance  from  some 
thing  more  respectable  than  a  she  wolf. 

It  is  then  evidently  a  duty  that  we  owe  to  posterity — as  the  second  article  of 
your  constitution  has  it — "  To  collect  from  living  witnesses  such  facts  relating 
to  the  Pioneers  and  history  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon  as  the  Association  may 
deem  worthy  of  preservation." 

The  treasures  thus  gathered  up  may  seem  to  be  of  little  present  value  to  their 
possessors,  but  the  time  will  come  when  posterity  will  highly  prize  and  appre 
ciate  them.  It  will  be  of  interest  to  tho^.e  who  are  to  inhabit  this  country  cen 
turies  hence  to  know  in  what  manner  and  by  whom  it  was  settled  and  reclaimed 
from  the  dominion  of  savages.  It  may  be  true  that  the  progress  of  civ 
ilization  and  the  accompanying  arts  and  sciences  will  be  such  as  to  place  our 
posterity  upon  a  plane  so  high  above  us  as  to  induce  them  to  look  upon  the  trials 
and  privations  of  the  pioneer  with  contempt,  just  as  the  modern  pleasure -seeker 
who  crosses  the  Atlantic  in  a  well  appointed  steamship  fails  to  discover  anything 
in  that  exploit  which  should  confer  immortality  upon  Christopher  Columbus, 


44  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

who  previously  performed  that  voyage  without  some  of  the  convenient  applian 
ces  developed  by  modern  sciences. 

In  a  few  years  hence,  as  the  traveler  in  search  of  pleasure,  crosses  the  conti 
nent, — when  every  foot  of  it  shall  be  occupied  with  thrifty  farms  and  smiling 
villages,  and  with  luxury  in  every  form  contributing  to  his  comfort  and  enjoy 
ment,  he  will  wonder  what  sort  of  stupid  people  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  the  early 
emigrants  were  to  spend  from  six  months  to  two  years  wandering  about,  half 
starved,  in  a  country  that  he  crosses  in  sixty  hours  without  suffering  any  dis 
comforts  or  inconveniences.  Indeed,  the  early  exploits  of  discoverers,  naviga 
tors,  and  warriors,  dwindle  into  insignificance  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  mod 
ern  science  and  improvement. 

The  performances  of  Horsea  and  Hingurst,  Christopher  Columbus,  Americus 
Vespucci,  Cortez,  Pizarro,  and  Lewis  and  Clark,  would  excite  no  comment  in 
modern  times  if  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  modern  appliances. 

Darius  did  not  resist  Miltiades  at  Marathon  with  a  battery  of  Modern  artillery 
and  Leonidas  failed  to  use  Catling  guns  and  revolvers  against  the  hosts  of  Xer 
xes  at  Thermopylae. 

Had  the  patriots  on  Bunker  Hill  been  armed  with  the  Springfield  breech 
loader,  no  red-coat  would  have  entered  that  historic  redoubt. 

But  those  failures  or  neglects  simply  illustrate  the  progress  of  the  world. 
That  pro2ress  which  has  received  such  an  impetus  within  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  as  to  astonish  those  of  us  who  have  witnessed  it,  is  not  likely  to  be  re 
tarded  or  impeded,  and  two  or  three  generations  hence  will  look  back  upon  us 
as  a  very  primitive  sort  of  people.  While  they  will  pity  our  ignorance,  it  may 
interest  them  to  read  of  our  lives  and  adventures  as  pioneers. 

In  looking  over  the  former  proceedings  of  your  society,  at  the  meetings  which 
I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  attending,  I  perceive  that  the  questions  relative 
to  the  organization  of  the  provisional  government  have  been  ably  presented  in 
the  main,  with,  however,  some  slight  inaccuracies,  which  would  be  incident  to 
any  narration  of  facts  so  long  after  their  occurrence.  Not  desiring  to  go  over 
the  same  grounds  so  ably  occupied  by  others  at  your  previous  re-unions,  I  have 
concluded  to  confine  myself  in  this  address  to  a  statement  of  Oregon  as  I  found 
it  in  1843,  who  came  here  with  me,  and  whom  we  found  when  we  came.  I 
might  at  this  point  add,  by  way  of  an  apology,  my  regrets  that  the  various  and 
pressing  demands  upon  my  time  have  not  permitted  me  to  exhaust  the  facts  and 
data  at  my  disposal,  which  bear  upon  the  early  history  and  settlement  of  the 
country.  I  have  therefore  condensed  my  present  communication  to  the  narrow 
est  possible  limits. 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.         45 

As  early  as  the  year  1840,  being  then  an  adventurous  youth  in  what  at  that 
time  was  known  as  the  "  Far  West,"  I  had  heard  of  Oregon  as  a  "  Terra  In 
cognita"  somewhere  upon  the  western  slope  of  the  continent,  as  a  country  to 
which  the  United  States  had  some  sort  of  a  claim,  and 

"Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound, 
Save  his  own  dashings." 

During  the  winter  of  1841-2,  being  in  Jefferson  county,  Iowa,  I  incidentally 
heard  that  a  party  contemplated  leaving  Independence  in  May  or  June,  1842, 
for  Oregon,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Elijah  White,  who  had  formerly  been 
in  Oregon  connected  with  the  Methodist  missions,  and  who  was  then  about  re 
turning  to  the  Territory  in  the  service  of  the  U.  S.  Government  as  Sub-Indian 
agent.  Thinking  this  a  good  opportunity  to  make  the  trip  which  I  had  some 
time  contemplated,  I  mounted  my  horse  and  rode  across  Western  Iowa,  then  a 
wilderness,  and  arrived  at  Independence  seventeen  days  after  White  and  his 
party  had  left.  I  at  first  contemplated  following  them  up  alone,  but  learning 
that  the  murderous  Pawnees  were  then  hostile,  I  was  advised  not  to  attempt 
the  dangerous  experiment.  I  therefore  abandoned  the  trip  for  the  present,  and 
spent  most  of  the  ensuing  year  in  the  employment  of  the  government  as  a  car 
penter,  in  the  construction  of  Fort  Scott,  in  Kansas,  about  loo  miles  south  of 
Independence. 

During  the  winter  of  1842-3,  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  then  a  missionary  in  the 
Walla  Walla  valley  visited  Washington  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  the  American 
interests  on  this  coast. 

Dr.  Lewis  F.  Linn  was  then  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  from  Missouri,  and  took  a 
great  interest  in  the  settlement  of  Oregon.  The  means  for  the  transmission  of 
news  at  that  time  was  slow  and  meagre  upon  the  frontier,  it  being  before  the 
day  of  railroads,  telegraph  and  postage  stamps.  But  the  Oregon  question 
through  the  medium  of  Senators  Benton  and  Linn,  and  Dr.  Whitman,  did  create 
some  commotion  in  Washington  and  enough  of  it  found  its  way  to  the  "  Far 
West,"  to  make  some  stir  among  the  ever  restless  and  adventurous  frontiersmen. 
Without  any  formal  promulgation  it  became  fairly  understood,  and  was  so  pub 
lished  in  the  few  border  papers  then  in  existence,  that  our  emigration  party 
would  rendezvous  at  Independence  to  start  for  Oregon  as  soon  as  the  grass  would 
subsist  the  stock. 

Without  orders  from  any  quarter,  and  without  preconcert,  promptly  as  the 
grass  began  to  start,  the  emigrants  began  to  assemble  near  Independence,  at  a 
place  called  Fitzhugh's  Mill.  On  the  iyth  day  of  May,  1843,  notices  were  cir 
culated  through  the  different  encampments  that  on  the  succeeding  day,  those 


46         THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

contemplating   emigration  to  Oregon,  would  meet  at  a  designated  point  to  or 
ganize. 

Promptly  at  the  appointed  hour  the  motley  groups  assembled.  It  consisted 
of  people  from  all  the  States  and  Territories,  and  nearly  all  nationalities.  The 
most  however,  from  Arkansas,  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Iowa,  and  all  strangers  to 
one  another,  but  impressed  with  some  crude  idea  that  there  existed  an  impera 
tive  necessity  for  some  kind  of  an  organization  for  mutual  protection  against  the 
hostile  Indians  inhabiting  the  great  unknown  wilderness  stretching  away  to  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  which  they  were  about  to  traverse  with  their  wives  and 
children,  household  goods  and  all  their  earthly  possessions. 

Many  of  the  emigrants  were  from  the  western  tier  of  counties  of  Missouri, 
know  as  the  Platte  Purchase,  and  among  them  was  Peter  H.  Burnett,  a  former 
merchant,  who  had  abandoned  the  yardstick  and  become  a  lawyer  of  some  celeb 
rity  for  his  ability  as  a  smooth-tongued  advocate.  He  subsequently  emigrated 
to  California,  and  was  elected  the  first  Governor  of  the  Golden  State,  was  after 
ward  Chief  Justice,  an  still  an  honored  resident  of  that  State.  Mr.  Burnett,  or, 
as  he  was  familiarly  designated,  "  Pete,"  was  called  upon  for  a  speech.  Mount 
ing  a  log,  the  glib-tongued  orator  delivered  a  glowing,  florid  address.  He 
commenced  by  showing  his  audience  that  the  then  western  tier  of  States  and 
Territories  was  overcrowded  with  a  redundant  population,  who  had  not  sufficient 
elbow  room  for  the  expansion  of  their  enterprise  and  genius,  and  it  was  a  duty 
they  owed  to  themselves  and  posterity  to  strike  out  in  search  of  a  more  expan 
ded  field  and  more  genial  climate,  where  the  soil  yielded  the  richest  return  for 
the  slightest  amount  of  cultivation,  where  the  trees  were  loaded  with  peren 
nial  fruit  and  where  a  good  substitute  for  bread,  called  La  Camash,  grew  in  the 
ground,  salmon  and  other  fish  crowded  the  streams,  and  where  the  principal 
labor  of  the  settler  would  be  confined  to  keeping  their  gardens  free  from  the  in 
roads  of  buffalo,  elk,  deer  and  wild  turkeys.  He  appealed  to  our  patriotism  by 
picturing  forth  the  glorious  empire  we  would  establish  upon  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific.  How,  with  our  trusty  rifless  we  would  drive  out  the  British  usurpers 
who  claimed  the  soil,  and  defend  the  country  from  the  avarice  and  pretensions 
of  the  British  lion,  and  how  posterity  would  honor  us  for  placing  the  fairest  por 
tion  of  our  land  under  the  dominion  of  the  stars  and  stripes.  He  concluded 
with  a  slight  allusion  to  the  trials  and  hardships  incident  to  the  trip  and  dan 
gers  to  be  encountered  from  hostile  Indians  on  the  route,  and  those  inhabiting 
the  country  whither  we  were  bound.  He  furthermore  intimated  a  desire  to  look 
upon  the  tribe  of  noble  "  red  men"  that  the  valiant  and  well  armed  crowd  around 
him  could  not  vanquish  in  a  single  encounter. 

Other  speeches  were  made,  full  of  glowing  descriptions  of  the  fair  land  of 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS   OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.          47 

promise,  the  far  away  Oregon  which  no  one  in  the  assemblage  had  ever  seen, 
and  of  which  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  had  ever  read  any  account.  After  the 
election  of  Mr.  Burnett,  as  captain,  and  other  necessary  officers,  the  meeting,  as 
motley  and  primitive  a  one  as  ever  assembled,  adjourned,  with  "three  cheers" 
for  Capt.  Burnett  and  Oregon. 

On  the  20th  day  of  May,  1843,  after  a  pretty  thorough  military  organization, 
we  took  up  our  line  of  march,  with  Capt  John  Gantt,  an  old  army  officer,  who 
combined  the  character  of  trapper  and  mountaineer,  as  our  guide.  Gantt  had  in 
his  wanderings  been  as  far  as  Green  river  and  assured  us  of  the  practicability 
of  a  wagon  road  thus  far.  Green  river,  the  extent  of  our  guide's  knowledge  in  that 
direction,  was  not  half-way  to  the  Willamette  valley,  the  then  only  inhabited 
portion  of  Oregon.  Beyond  that  we  had  not  the  slightest  conjecture  of  the  con- 
dition  of  the  country.  We  went  forth  trusting  to  the  future  and  would  doubtless 
have  encountered  more  difficulties  than  we  experienced  had  not  Dr.  Whitman 
overtaken  us  before  we  reached  the  terminus  of  our  guide's  knowledge.  He 
was  familiar  with  the  whole  route  and  was  confident  that  wagons  could  pass 
through  the  canyons  and  gorges  of  Snake  river  and  over  the  Blue  mountains, 
which  the  mountaineers  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Hall  declared  to  be  a  physical 
impossibility. 

Capt.  Grant  then  in  charge  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  at  Fort  Hall,  en 
deavored  to  dissuade  us  from  proceeding  further  with  our  wagons,  and  showed 
us  the  wagons  that  the  emigrant^  of  the  preceding  year  had  abandoned,  as  an 
evidence  of  the  impracticability  of  our  determination. 

Dr.  Whitman  was  persistent  in  his  assertions  that  wagons  could  proceed  as 
far  as  the  Grand  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  river,  from  which  point  he  asserted 
they  could  be  taken  down  by  rafts  or  batteaux  to  the  Willamette  valley,  while 
our  stock  could  be  driven  by  an  Indian  trail  over  the  Cascade  mountains,  near 
Mt.  Hood. 

Happily  Whitman's  advice  prevailed,  and  a  large  number  of  the  wagons  with 
a  portion  of  the  stock,  did  reach  Walla  Walla  and  the  Dalles,  from  which  points 
they  were  taken  to  the  Willamette  the  following  year. 

Had  we  followed  Grant's  advice  and  abandoned  the  cattle  and  wagons  at  Fort 
Hall,  much  suffering  must  have  ensued,  as  a  sufficient  number  of  horses  to  carry 
the  women  and  children  of  the  party  could  not  have  been  obtained,  besides 
wagons  and  cattle  were  indispensible  to  men  expecting  to  live  by  farming  in  a 
country  destitute  of  such  articles. 

At  Fort  Hall,  we  fell  in  with  some  Cayuse  and  Nez  Perce  Indians  returning 
from  the  buffalo  country,  and  as  it  was  necessary  for  Dr.  Whitman  to  precede  us 


48         THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS   OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

to  Walla  Walla,  he  recommended  to  us  a  guide  in  the  person  of  an  old  Cayuse 
Indian  called  "  Sticcus."  He  was  a  faithful  old  fellow,  perfectly  familiar  with 
all  the  trails  and  topography  of  the  country  from  Fort  Hall  to  The  Dalles,  and 
although  not  speaking  a  word  of  English,  and  no  one  in  our  party  a  word  of 
Cayuse,  he  succeeded  by  pantomime  in  taking  us  over  the  roughest  wagon  route 
I  ever  saw.  Sticcus  was  a  member  of  Dr.  Whitman's  church,  and  the  only  In 
dian  I  ever  saw  that  I  thought  had  any  conception  of,  and  practiced  the  Chris 
tian  religion.  I  met  him  afterward  in  the  Cayuse  war.  He  did  not  participate 
in  the  murder  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  his  family,  and  remained  neutral  during  the 
war  between  his  tribe  and  the  whites,  which  grew  out  of  the  massacre.  I  once 
dined  with  Sticcus,  in  his  camp,  upon  what  I  supposed  to  be  elk  meat.  I  had 
arrived  at  that  conclusion  because,  looking  at  the  cooked  meat  and  then  at  the 
old  Indian  interrogatively,  he  held  up  his  hands  in  a  manner  that  indicated  elk 
horns;  but,  after  dinner,  seeing  the  ears,  tail  and  hoofs  of  a  mule  near  camp,  I 
became  satisfied  that  what  he  meant  to  convey  by  his  pantomime  was  "ears" 
not  "  horns,"  but  digestion  waited  upon  appetite,  and  after  the  dinner  was  over 
it  did  not  make  much  difference  about  the  appendages  of  the  animal  that  fur 
nished  it.  It  not  being  my  intention  to  weary  your  patience  with  a  detailed  nar 
ration  of  our  toilsome  march  across  the  continent,  I  shall  leave  that  portion  of 
the*  subject  for  some  more  convenient  season,  with  the  assurance  to  you  that  the 
data  in  my  possession,  if  in  the  hands  of  a  skillful  Defoe,  would  be  a  sufficient 

and  truthful  basis  for  a  narrative  as  entertaining  as  Robinson  Crusoe. 

• 

Having  been  elected  by  the  people  comprising  the  emigration  to  the  position 
of  Orderly  Sergeant,  with  the  duties  of  Adjutant,  it  devolved  upon  me  to  make 
up  a  complete  roll  of  the  male  members  of  the  company  capable  of  bearing  arms, 
and  including  all  above  the  age  of  sixteen  years. 

They  were  divided  into  four  details  for  guard  duty,  thus  giving  one-fourth  of 
the  company  a  turn  of  guard  duty  every  fourth  day,  or  as  the  soldiers  express 
it,  we  had  "  three  nights  in  bed."  I  have  that  old  roll  before  me,  and  it  is  the 
only  authentic  copy  extant. 

It  has  lain  among  my  musty  documents  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  century,  and  I 
shall  now  proceed  to  call  over  the  names  with  the  sad  consciousness  that  the 
most  of  them  have  answered  to  their  last  roll-call  upon  earth,  and  I  hope  have 
made  a  better  exchange  for  the  troubles  of  this  life.  Still,  I  would  take  it  as  a 
great  favor  of  those  present  would  answer  promptly  as  their  names  are  again 
called  after  a  lapse  of  thirty-two  years,  and  I  will  mark  those  who  have  survived 
that  long  period  and  answer  "  here"  as  present  for  duty. 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.         49 


THE  ROLL   OF  1843. 


Applegate,  Jesse 

Carey,  Miles 

Ford,  Ninevah 

Applegate,  Charles 

Cochran,  Thomas 

Ford,  Ephram 

Applegate,  Lindsey 

Clymour,  L. 

Ford,  Nimrod 

Athey,  James 

Copenhaver,  John 

Ford,  John 

Athey,  William 

Caton,  J.  H. 

Francis,  Alexander 

Atkinson,  John 

Chappel,  Alfred 

Frazier,  Abner 

Arthur,  Wm. 

Cronin,  Daniel 

Frazier,  Wm. 

Arthur,  Robert 

Cozine,  Samuel 

Fowler,  Wm. 

Arthur,  David 

Costable,  Benedict 

Fowler,  Wm.  J. 

Butler,  Amon 

Childs,  Joseph 

Fowler,  Henry 

Brooke,  George 

Clark,  Ransom 

Fairly,  Stephen 

Burnett,  Peter  H 

Campbell,  John  G. 

Fendall,  Charles 

Bird,  David 

Chapman,  — 

Gantt,  John 

Brown,  Thomas  A 

Chase,  James 

Gray,  Chiley  B. 

Blevins,  Alexander 

Dodd,  Solomon 

Garrison,  Enoch 

Brooks,  John  P 

Dement,  Wm.  C. 

Garrison,  J.  W. 

Brown,  Martin 

Dougherty,  W.  P. 

Garrison,  W.  J. 

Brown,  Oris 

Day,  William 

Gardner,  Wm. 

Black,  J.  P. 

Duncan,  James 

Gardner,  Samuel 

Bane,  Layton 

Dorin,  Jacob 

Gilmore,  Mat. 

Baker,  Andrew 

Davis,  Thomas 

Goodman,  Richard 

Baker,  John  G. 

Delany,  Daniel 

Gilpin,  Major 

Beagle,  William 

Delany,  Daniel,  Jr. 

Gray,  — 

Boyd,  Levi 

Delany,  William 

Haggard,  B. 

Baker,  William 

Doke,  William 

Hide,  H.  H. 

Biddle,  Nicholas 

Davis,  J.  H. 

Holmes,  Wm. 

Beale,  George 

Davis,  Burrell 

Holmes,  Riley  A. 

Braidy,  James 

Dailey,  George 

Hobson,  John 

Beadle,  George        A 
Boardman,  —  £.  \*V«K- 

Doherty,  John 
Dawson,  — 

Hobson,  Wm. 
Hembre,  J.  J. 

Baldridge,  Wm.° 

Eaton,  Charles 

Hembre,  James 

Cason,  F.  C. 

Eaton,  Nathan 

Hembre,  Andrew 

Cason,  James 

Etchell,  James 

Hembre,  A.  J. 

Chapman,  Wm. 

Emerick,  Solomon 

Hall,  Samuel  B. 

Cox,  John 

Eaker,  John  W. 

Houk,  James 

Champ,  Jacob 

Edson,  E.  G. 

Hughes,  Wm.  P. 

Cooper,  L.  C. 

Eyres,  Miles 

Hendrick,  Abijah 

Cone,  James 

East,  John  W 

Hays,  James 

Childers,  Moses 

Everman,  Niniwon 

Hen%ley,  Thomas  J. 

4 

5O         THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS   OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 


THE   ROLL    OF   1843.—  Continued. 

Holley,  B. 

Little,  Milton 

O'Brien,  Hugh  D. 

Hunt,  Henry 

Luther,  — 

O'Brien,  Humphrey 

Holderness,  S.  M. 

Lauderdale,  John 

Owen,  Thomas  A. 

Hutchins,  Isaac 

McGee,  — 

Owen,  Thomas 

Husted,  A. 

Martin,  Wm.  J. 

Otie,  E.  W. 

Hess,  Joseph 

Martin,  James 

Otie,  M.  B. 

Haun,  Jacob 

Martin,  Julius 

O'Neil,  Bennett 

Howell,  John 

McClelland,  — 

Olinger,  A. 

Howell,  Wm. 

McClelland,  F. 

Parker,  Jesse 

Howell,  Wesley 

Mills,  John  B. 

Parker,  William 

Howell,  G.  W. 

Mills,  Isaac 

Pennington,  J.  B. 

Howell,  Thomas  E. 

Mills,  Wm.  A. 

Poe,  R.  H. 

Hill,  Henry 

Mills,  Owen 

Paynter,  Samuel 

Hill,  William 

McGarey,  G.  W. 

Patterson,  J.  R. 

Hill,  Almoran 

Mondon,  Gilbert 

Pickett,  Charles  E. 

Hewett,  Henry 

Matheny,  Daniel 

Prigg,  Frederick 

Hargrove,  Wm. 

Matheny,  Adam 

Paine,  Clayborn 

Hoyt,  A. 

Matheny,  J.  N. 

Reading,  P.  B. 

Holman,  John 

Matheny,  Josiah 

Rodgers,  S.  P. 

Holman,  Daniel 

Matheny,  Henry 

Rodgers,  G.  W. 

Harrigas,  B. 

Mastire,  A.  J. 

Russell,  William 

James,  Calvin 

McHaley,  John 

Roberts,  James 

Jackson,  John  B. 

Myers,  Jacob 

Rice,  G.  W. 

Jones,  John 

Manning,  John 

Richardson,  John 

Johnson,  Overton 

Manning,  James 

Richardson,  Daniel 

Keyser,  Thomas 

McCarver,  M.  M. 

Ruby,  Philip 

Keyser,  J.  B. 

McCorcle,  George 

Ricord,  John 

Keyser,  Pleasant 

Mays,  William 

Reid,  Jacob 

Kelley,  — 

Millican,  Elijah 

Roe,  John 

Kelsey,  ~'U$W^ 

McDaniel,  William 

Roberts,  Solomon 

Lovejoy,  A.  L. 

McKissic,  D. 

Roberts,  Emseley 

Lenox,  Edward 

Malone,  Madison 

Rossin,  Joseph 

Lenox,  E. 

McClane,  John  B. 

Rives,  Thomas 

Lay  son,  Aaron 

Mauzee,  William 

Smith,  Thomas  H. 

Looney,  Jesse 

Mclntire,  John 

Smith,  Thomas 

Long,  John  E. 

Moore,  Jackson 

Smith,  Isaac  W. 

Lee,  H.  A.  G. 

Matney,  W.  J. 

Smith,  Anderson 

Lugur,  F. 

Nesmith,  J.  W. 

Smith,  Ahi 

Linebarger,  Lew 

Newby,  W.  T. 

Smith,  Robert 

Linebarger,  John 

Newman,  Noah 

Smith,  Eli 

Laswell,  Isaac 

Nay  lor,  Thomas 

Sheldon,  William 

Loughborough,  J. 

Osborn,  Neil 

Stewart,  P.  G. 

THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.  'J.    W.    NESMITH. 


THE   ROLL    OF   1843.— Concluded. 


Sutton,  Dr.  Nathaniel 

Stringer,  C.  W. 

Williams,  Benjamin 

Stimmerman,  C. 

Tharp,  Lindsey 

Williams,  David 

Sharp,  C. 

Thompson,  John 

Wilson,  Wm. 

Summers,  W.  C. 

Trainor,  D. 

Williams,  John 

Sewell,  Henry 

Teller,  Jeremiah 

Williams,  James 

Stout,  Henry 

Tarbox,  Stephen 

Williams,  Squire 

Sterling,  George 

Umnicker,  John 

Williams,  Isaac 

Stout,  — 

Vance,  Samuel 

Ward,  T.  B. 

Stevenson,  — 

Vaughn,  William 

White,  James 

Story,  James 

Vernon,  George 

Watson,  John  (Betty) 

Swift,  -- 

Wilmtnt,  James 

Waters,  James 

Shively,  John  M. 

Wilson,  Wm.  H. 

Winter,  Wm. 

Shirley,  Samuel 

Wair,  J.  W. 

Waldo,  Daniel 

Stoughton,  Alexander 

Winkle,  Archibald 

Waldo,  David 

Spencer,  Chancey 

Williams,  Edward 

Waldo,  William 

Strait,  Hiram 

Wheeler,  H. 

Zachary,  Alexander 

Summers,  George 

Wagoner,  John 

Zachary,  John 

Stringer,  Cornelius 

Alas!  alas!  of  my  295  comrades  who  marched  across  the  border  at  Fitzhugh's 
mill,  with  rifles  on  their  shoulders,  on  the  morning  of  the  2Oth  of  May,  1843,  but 
13  are  here  to-day  to  respond  to  the  roll-call. 

Time  has  sadly  decimated  our  ranks,  and  the  thin  line  that  to-day  presents  it 
self  as  the  remnant  of  the  old  guard  of  "  43"  is  in  the  melancholy  contrast  with 
that  gallant  battalion  of  brave  hearts  and  strong  arms  which  so  full  of  life  and 
hope  marched  over  the  border  thirty-two  years  ago.  Many  of  them  have  fallen 
in  defense  of  our  infant  settlement  against  the  ruthless  savages  that  surrounded 
us,  and  now  fill  honored  but  undecorated  graves.  Some  I  have  with  my  own 
hands  consigned  to  their  last  resting  place;  others  have  found  homes  in  the  sur 
rounding  States  and  Territories,  while  a  few  are  scattered  about  over  Oregon. 
In  a  few  years,  the  last  of  us  will  have  taken  our  departure  for  a  better  land  as  I 
hope,  and  our  places  will  be  occupied  by  strangers.  Posterity  will  not,  however, 
forget  the  sacrifices,  the  trials  and  privations  we  have  endured  in  our  efforts  to 
make  the  "  wilderness  bud  and  blossom  like  the  rose." 

My  duty  did  not  require  me  to  make  out  a  list  of  the  women  and  children,  and 
I  have  always  regretted  that  it  was  omitted.  Such  a  list  would  be  of  interest  to 


52  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS   OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

many  who  were  then  young  and  whose  names  ought  to  be  enrolled  as  belonging 
to  the  emigration  of  1843. 

The  ladies  who  accompanied  us  and  who  have  contributed  so  much  to  the 
prosperity  of  our  young  State,  deserve  to  be  enumerated  in  the  list  of  early  set 
tlers,  but  that  important  duty  seems  to  have  been  neglected  by  those  who  had 
more  time  at  their  disposal  than  I  had. 

Men  are  generally  governed  in  their  actions  by  some  rational  motive.  I  have 
often  been  asked  by  refined  and  cultivated  people  in  Washington  the  reason  for 
my  coming  to  Oregon  at  that  early  day,  and  I  have  found  it  a  difficult  question 
to  answer.  I  was  a  poor,  homeless  youth,  destitute  alike  of  friends,  money  and 
education.  Actuated  by  a  reckless  spirit  of  adventure,  one  place  was  to  me  the 
same  as  another.  No  tie  of  near  kindred  or  possessions  bound  me  to  any  spot 
of  the  earth's  surface.  Thinking  my  condition  might  be  made  better,  and  know 
ing  it  could  not  be  worse,  I  took  the  leap  in  the  dark.  But  in  the  emigration 
that  accompanied  me,  there  were  staid  men  of  mature  years  and  cultivated  inti- 
lects — men  who  left  comparatively  comfortable  homes  and  friends,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  gave  up  the  advantages  of  civilization  to  cross  a  desert  con 
tinent  beset  with  hostile  savages,  to  go  they  knew  not  whither,  and  with  the  cer 
tainty  that  in  the  event  of  a  defeat  by  Indians,  or  finding  Oregon  uninhabitable, 
there  could  be  no  possibility  of  returning.  The  chances  were  more  than  even 
that  if  they  escaped  the  scalping  knife  of  the  savages,  it  would  only  be  to  perish 
by  starvation.  So  far  as  lands  at  reasonable  rates  and  a  fruitful  soil  were  desir 
able,  they  were  surrounded  with  them  in  the  homes  they  abandoned.  No  mo 
narchical  or  arbitrary  government  oppressed  them,  no  religious  zealots  persecu 
ted  them.  They  fled  from  no  such  evils  as  brought  either  the  pilgrims  or  cava 
liers  to  the  New  World ;  nor  was  their  avarice  tempted  by  the  inducements  which 
sent  Cortez  and  his  companions  to  Mexico,  or  Pizarro  to  Peru — for  the  existence 
of  precious  metals  in  this  region  was  then  unknown. 

Then  it  may  be  asked,  why  did  such  men  peril  everything — burning  their 
ships  behind  them,  exposing  their  helpless  families  to  the  possibilities  of  massa 
cre  and  starvation,  braving  death — and  for  what  purpose?  I  am  not  quite  cer 
tain  that  any  rational  answer  will  ever  be  given  to  that  question.  At  the  time 
we  came,  there  was  comparatively  nothing  known  of  the  possessions  to  which  we 
had  a  disputed  title  on  this  coast.  Lewis  and  Clark  had  only  beheld  the  valley 
of  the  Columbia  river.  The  missionary  reports  were  confined  principally  to  exag 
gerated  accounts  of  Indian  conversions,  while  other  writings  upon  the  subject  of 
Oregon  were  a  mixture  of  fiction  and  perverted  fact  that  contained  no  definite 
information  of  the  country  and  its  resources. 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.         53 

The  Hon.  Nathaniel  Pendleton  had  written  a  report,  submitting  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  of  which  he  was  a  member  in  1841  or  '42,  which  was  mostly 
a  compilation  of  such  information  as  he  could  gather  up  from  the  meagre  sources 
then  existing. 

The  best  informed  men  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  excepting,  perhaps,  Ben- 
ton  and  Linn,  placed  no  value  upon  the  country,  while  some  of  them  depreca 
ted  any  attempt  at  its  settlement,  and  derided  the  idea  of  its  ever  becoming  a 
portion  of  the  American  Union. 

The  furor  about  "54:40  or  fight"  was  raised  subsequently,  when  that  allitera 
tion  became  the  rallying  cry  of  a  political  party.  But  whatever  might  have  been 
the  motive  of  the  early  settlers,  their  labors  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of  one  of 
the  most  valuable  portions  of  the  American  Union,  and  their  efforts  in  that  be 
half  will  be  recognized  and  appreciated  by  posterity. 

But  to  return  to  the  consideration  of  the  facts  connected  with  the  emigration 
of  1843,  as  shown  by  the  roll  just  called.  There  were  295  male  persons  above 
the  age  of  sixteen,  capable  of  bearing  arms.  There  were  in  wagons  and  vehi 
cles  or  different  kinds,  but  no  pleasure  conveyance.  The  greater  portion  of  the 
teams  consisted  of  oxen. 

Of  the  party,  the  following  named  persons  turned  back  on  the  Platte:  Nich 
olas  Biddle,  Alexander  Francis,  F.  Lugur,  John  Loughborough  and  Jackson 
Moore. 

Their  hearts  weakened  at  the  prospect  of  the  toil,  privations  and  dangers  of 
the  trip  and  the  great  uncertainty  of  its  termination.  In  view  of  all  the  sur 
rounding  circumstances  then  existing,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  those  who  turned 
back  manifested  more  descretion,  but  less  valor  than  those  of  us  who  braved  the 
dangers  and  uncertainties  of  the  trip. 

The  following  named  persons  died  at  different  points  on  the  route:  —  Steven 
son  died  on  the  Sandy;  Clayborn  Paine  died  on  the  Sweetwater;  Daniel  Rich 
ardson  died  at  Fort  Hall;  McClelland,  Miles  Eyers  and  C.  M.  Stringer  were 
drowned  in  the  Columbia;  William  Day  arrived  sick,  and  died  at  Fort  Van 
couver. 

At  Fort  Hall,  the  following  named  persons  turned  off  and  went  to  California : 
J.  Atkinson,  —  Boardman,  Joseph  Childs,  —  Dawson,  John  Gantt,  Milton  Lit 
tle,  Capt.  Wm.  J.  Martin,  Julius  Martin,  F.  McClelland,  —  McGee,  John  Mc- 
Intire,  John  Williams,  James  Williams,  Squire  Williams,  Isaac  Williams,  P.  B. 
Reading  and  Thos.  J.  Hensley. 

Deducting  those  who  turned  back  and  those  who  died  on  the  road,  together 


54        THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

with  those  who  went  to  California,  left  the  actual  number  of  our  immigration 
who  arrived  here,  268.  Upon  our  arrival,  we  found  in  the  country  the  following 
persons,  exclusive  of  missionaries,  and  who  might  be  included  in  the  general 
term  of  settlers.  They  had  found  their  way  here  from  different  points,  some 
crossing  the  Rocky  mountains  from  the  Eastern  States,  some  of  them  sailors  who 
had  abandoned  the  sea,  while  others  were  trappers  who  had  exchanged  the  un 
certainties  of  nomadic  life  for  farming;  others  had  found  their  way  from  Cali 
fornia: 


Armstrong,  Pleasant 

Gale   Joseph 

Newell  Robert 

Burns,  Hugh 

Girtman,  — 

O'Neil,  James  A. 

Brown,  — 

Hathawy,  Felix 

PettygroNe,  F.  W. 

Brown,  William 

Hatch,  Peter  H. 

Pomeroy,  Dwight 

Brown,  — 

Hubbard,  Thomas 

Pomeroy,  Walter 

Black,  J.  M. 

Hewitt,  Adam 

P:rry,  — 

Baldro,  — 

Horegon,  Jeremiah 

Rimmick,  — 

Balis,  James 

Hoi  man,  Joseph 

Russell.  Osborn 

Bailey,  Dr. 

-H  11,  David 

Robb,  J.  R. 

Brainard,  — 

Hoxhurst,  Weberly 

Shortess,  Robert 

Crawford,  Medorem 

Hutch  nson,  — 

Smith,  Sidney 

Carter,  David 

Johnson,  William 

Smith,  — 

Campbell,  Samuel 

K  ng,  — 

Smith,  Andrew 

Campbell,  Jack 

-Kelsey,  — 

Smith,  Andrew,  Jr. 

Craig,  Wm. 

Lewis,  Reuben 

Smith,  Darling 

Cook,  Amos 

LeBreton,  G.  W. 

Spence,  — 

Cook,  Aaron 

Larrison,  Jack 

Sailor,  Jack 

Conner,  — 

Meek,  Joseph  L. 

Turnham,  Joel 

Cannon,  William 

Mathieu,  F.  X. 

Turner,  — 

Davy,  Allen 

McClure,  John 

Taylor,  Hiram 

Doty,  William 

Moss,  S.  W. 

Tibbetts,  Calvin 

Eakin,  Richard 

Moore,  Robert 

Trask,  — 

Eebbetts,  Squire 

McFadden,  — 

Walker,  C.  M. 

Edwards,  John 

McCarty,  William 

Warner,  Jack 

Foster,  Philip 

McKay,  Charles 

Wilson,  A.  E. 

Force,  John 

McKay,  Thomas 

Winslow,  David 

Force,  James 

Morrison,  —  • 

\Vilkins,  Caleb 

Fletcher,  Francis 

Mack,  J.  W. 

Wood,  Henry 

Gay,  George 

Newbanks,  — 

Williams,  B. 

On  the  arrival  of  immigration  in  the  fall  of  1843,  we  found  in  the  country  the 

following  named  persons,  as  Protestant  missionaries,  or  connected  with  the  mis. 

sions: 

THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS   OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.         55 


Dr.  Marcus  Whitman, 

W.  H.  Gray, 

—  Brewer, 

A.  F.  Waller, 

E.  Walker, 

Dr.  Babcock, 

David  Leslie, 

E.  Eells, 

Dr.  Elijah  White, 

Hamilton  Campbell, 

Alanson  Beers, 

Harvey  Clark, 

George  Abernethy, 

Jason  Lee, 

W.  H.  Spaulding, 

Wm.  H.  Willson, 

Gustavus  Hines, 

J.  L.  Parrish, 

L.  H.  Judson, 

—  Perkins, 

H.  W.  Raymond. 

I  do  not  claim  absolute  accuracy  for  the  lists  of  persons  who  were  in  Oregon 
prior  to  the  emigration  of  1843,  as  it  is  made  up  from  the  memory  I  retain  of 
persons  known  to  me  nearly  a  third  of  a  century  ago.  I  am  more  or  less  ac 
quainted  with  the  history  of  those  persons  and  the  time  of  their  arrival  here,  but 
to  go  into  such  details  would  swell  this  address  to  a  volume. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  they  were  the  real  Pioneers  of  Oiegon,  and  among  them  were 
some  of  the  noblest  men,  and  I  hope  that  an  abler  pen  than  mine  will  one  day 
delineate  their  true  merits.  Some  names  may  have  escaped  me;  if  so,  I  beg  that 
those  who  have  been  unintentionally  neglected  will  step  forward  and  assert  their 
rights. 

In  this  connection  I  should  say  that  some  of  the  persons  in  this  list  are  perhaps 
not  designated  by  their  Christian  names.  I  have  not  had  the  opportunity  to  ex 
amine  their  baptismal  record,  and  some  names  may  be  recorded  which  would 
astonish  their  sponsors. 

I  have,  however,  done  the  best  that  I  could  in  the  way  of  patronymics,  and 
shall  be  pleased  to  be  corrected  where  I  have  erred.  I  have  given  the  names 
that  the  early  Pioneers  were  then  known  by,  and  if  I  am  guilty  of  mistakes  it  is 
the  assumed  duty,  incumbent  upon  those  who  know  better  to  "vindicate  the  truth 
of  history." 

While  upon  the  subject  of  apologies,  perhaps  in  the  interest  of  absolute  cer 
tainty,  I  should  say  that  Uncle  Dan  Waldo  with  his  party  did  not  join  us  at  the 
rendezvous,  but  overtook  us  on  the  Big  Blue,  and  that  Ransom  Clark,  John  G. 
Campbell,  —  Chapman  and  Maj.  Gilpin,  though  crossing  the  plains  with  Lieut. 
Fremont,  they  did  not  properly  belong  to  our  party;  still,  I  have  included  them 
as  they  arrived  in  that  year. 

There  were  also  at  that  time  a  few  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in  Oregon, 
but  my  knowledge  of  them  was  not  sufficiently  definite  to  undertake  a  correct 
list  of  their  names. 

This  is  also  true  of  the  settlers  of  Canadian  birth  who  had  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Hudson  Pay  Company's  service,  but  who  had  left  it.  I  knew  the  most  of 


56         THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

them,  and  can  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that  they  were  quiet,  honest,  industrious 
settlers  and  good  citizens,  who  helped  to  develop  the  country  and  assisted  in  its 
defense  in  our  Indian  wars.  My  limited  acquaintance  with  them  would  forbid 
my  attempting  a  correct  list  of  their  names.  Among  them,  however,  I  remem 
ber  Chamberlane,  Plamondon,  Gervais  and  Luce,  and  many  others  who  are  en 
titled  to  share  with  us  whatever  credit  is  due  to  the  Pioneers,  as  they  endured 
the  toils  and  privations  of  developing  and  defending  the  country,  and  I  trust 
that  some  of  their  own  number  will  file  in  our  archives  a  correct  list  of  their 
names.  One  of  these  Canadians  (I  think  his  name  was  DeLoar)  lived  near 
Champoeg,  was  one  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  party  that  came  to  Oregon  in  1804, 
and  subsequently  returned  here  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  service,  and  for 
many  years  enjoyed  the  appellation,  "  oldest  inhabitant." 

William  Cannon,  another  very  old  man  who  resided  near  Champoeg  and 
died  a  few  years  since,  came  to  the  country  in  the  service  of  Astor,  in  Wilson  G. 
Hunt's  party,  and  resided  here  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Washington  Irving,  in 
his  Astoria,  makes  Cannon  the  hero  of  a  ludicrous  adventure  with  a  bear,  and  I 
have  heard  the  old  man  give  his  version  of  the  affair  wherein  he  figured  in  a  tree, 
his  position  secure  in  its  elevation,  while  bruin  watched  below. 

Estimating  the  Catholic  missions  and  the  Canadians  who  had  left  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  service  in  the  country  in  the  fall  of  1843,  at  50  persons,  added 
to  the  other  settlers  and  Protestant  missionaries,  would  make  the  white  male 
popnlation  157;  add  to  this  those  who  crossed  the  plains  that  year  ana  we  have 
in  that  vast  territory  now  comprised  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Oregon, 
Washington  and  Idaho  Territories,  approximating  424  male  white  persons  above 
the  age  of  16,  and  in  this  communication  you  have  their  names.  At  that  time 
there  were  no  settlers  between  the  Missouri  border  and  the  Cascade  mountains, 
and  no  Americans  north  of  the  Columbia  river.  My  old  friend  Mike  Simmons, 
now  deceased,  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  the  first  American  settler  in  that 
region,  and  no  better  man  has  ever  inhabited  it  since.  The  settlements  west  of 
the  Cascades  were  confined  to  the  counties  of  Clatsop,  Washington,  (then  known 
as  Tualatin  plains)  Clackamas,  Champoeg,  (now  Marion)  and  Yamhill.  There 
were  no  settlers  on  the  east  side  of  the  Willamette,  south  of  Marion,  and  George 
Gay,  living  in  the  southern  border  of  Yamhill  county,  was  the  most  southern 
settler  west  of  the  river.  Suiter's  fort,  now  Sacramento  city,  at  a  distance  of 
600  miles  south,  was  the  nearest  white  settlement  in  any  direction.  Oregon  City 
was  then  the  principal  town  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  It  was  located  by 
Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  then  Governor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  and  consisted  of  about  half  a  dozen  houses. 

On  the  west  side  at  the  Falls,  as  it  was  all  then  called,  was  Linn  City,  more 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.          57 

commonly  known  as  the  Robin's  Nest,  owned  by  Robert  Moor,  Esq.,  and  just 
below  it,  at  the  terminus  of  the  present  canal,  was  Multnomah  City  under  the 
proprietorship  of  Hugh  Burns,  a  shrewd  Hibernian,  and  the  principal  blacksmith 
west  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Salem  contained  three  houses,  and  no  other 
towns  were  known. 

The  present  site  of  Portland  was  a  solitude  surrounded  with  a  dense  forest  of 
fir  trees.     Perhaps  I  ought  to  devote  a  paragraph  to  its  early  history. 

With  three  comrades,  I  left  the  emigration  on  the  Umatilla  river,  at  a  point 
•near  the  present  Indian  Agency,  and  after  a  variety  of  adventures,  which  I  may 
at  some  time  narrate,  we  arrived  in  a  canoe  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  evening 
of  the  23d  of  October,  1843.  We  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  river  about 
where  the  government  wharf  now  stands.  The  greater  part  of  our  slender  means 
were  expended  in  the  purchase  of  provisions  and  hickory  shirts,  consigning  those 
that  had  done  such  long  and  continuous  service,  with  their  inhabitants,  to  the 
Columbia.  On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  we  started  for  what  was  known  as  the 
"  Willamette"  settlement  at  the  Falls. 

Dr.  McLoughlin  told  us  that  at  a  distance  of  seven  miles  below  the  Fort, 
we  would  encounter  the  waters  of  the  Willamette  entering  the  Columbia  from 
the  south.  At  about  the  distance  indicated  by  the  Doctor,  we  reached  what  we 
supposed  to  be  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  after  paddling  up  it  until  noon,  looked 
across,  and  to  our  astonishment  discovered  Fort  Vancouver.  It  then  flashed 
upon  us  that  we  had  circumnavigated  the  island  opposite  the  Fort.  We  retraced 
our  way,  and  that  evening  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette  and  encamped 
upon  its  banks.  The  next  evening  we  encamped  on  the  prairie  opposite  Portland 
upon  what  is  now  the  town  site  of  East  Portland,  owned  by  James  Stephens,  Esq. 

In  1844,  William  Overton,  a  Tennesseean,  located  upon  the  present  town  site 
and  engaged  in  making  shingles,  and  set  up  a  claim  to  the  land,  which  was  then 
like  the  other  continuous  wilderness  lining  the  banks  of  the  river.  Overton  sold 
his  claim  to  Pettygrove  and  Lovejoy,  who,  in  1845,  laid  out  some  lots  and  called 
the  place  Portland,  after  the  city  of  that  name  in  Maine,  from  which  State  they 
had  emigrated.  Overton  was  a  desperate,  rollicking  fellow,  and  sought  his  for 
tunes  in  the  wilds  of  Texas,  where,  as  I  have  heard,  his  career  was  brought  to  a 
sudden  termination  by  a  halter. 

In  1843,  the  only  settler  on  the  river  below  the  Falls,  was  an  old  English 
sailor  by  the  name  of  William  Johnson,  who  resided  upon  a  claim  about  a  mile 
above  the  present  city  of  Portland.  He  was  a  fine,  specimen  of  the  British  tar, 
and  had  at  an  early  day  abandoned  his  allegiance  to  the  British  lion  and  taken 
service  on  the  old  frigate  Constitution.  I  have  frequently  listened  to  his  narra- 


58         THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

tive  of  the  action  between  Old  Ironsides  and  the  Guerriere,  on  which  occasion  he 
served  with  the  boarding  party.  He  used  to  exhibit  an  ugly  scar  upon  his  head, 
made  in  that  memorable  action  by  a  British  cutlass,  and  attributed  his  escape 
from  death,  to  the  fact  that  he  had  a  couple  of  pieces  of  hoop-iron  crossed  in  his 
cap,  which  turned  the  cutlass  and  saved  his  life. 

To  narrate  all  the  incidents  which  occurred  in  connection  with  the  early  set 
tlement  of  the  country  would  exceed  what  I  have  intended  as  a  brief  address,  to 
an  unreasonable  limit.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  immigration  of  1843  arrived 
safely  in  the  valley  during  the  fall  and  early  part  of  the  winter,  and  found  homes 
in  the  then  settled  neighborhoods.  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  then  at  the  head  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  from  his  own  private  resources,  rendered  the  new 
settlers  much  valuable  aid  by  furnishing  the  destitute  with  food,  clothing  and 
seed,  waiting  for  his  pay  until  they  had  asuplus  to  dispose  of.  Dr.  John  McLough 
lin  was  a  public  benefactor,  and  the  time  will  come  when  the  people  of  Oregon 
will  do  themselves  credit  by  erecting  a  statue  to  his  memory.  Of  foreign  birth 
and  lineage,  he  gave  the  strongest  proof  of  his  devotion  to  republican  institutions, 
by  becoming  an  American  citizen,  while  all  his  personal  interests  were  identified 
with  the  British  government.  Thus  far,  detraction  and  abuse  have  been  his  prin 
cipal  reward.  There  was  at  that  time  no  money  in  the  country,  and  all  trans 
actions  were  based  upon  barter  or  trade,  and  fortunate  was  the  individual  who 
could  procure  an  "order"  on  the  "Hudson  Bay  Company"  for  goods,  which 
were  then  sold  at  remarkably  reasonable  rates  considering  all  the  surroundings. 
During  the  early  period  of  the  settlement  of  Oregon,  there  existed  a  wonderful 
equality  among  the  population  in  point  of  wealth.  Those  who  possessed  a  few 
cattle  were  considered  the  most  fortunate;  still  the  property  was  too  equally  di 
vided  a»d  too  scanty  to  admit  of  distinctions  on  the  score  of  wealth.  The  means 
of  transportation  consisted  of  pack  horses  by  land  and  canoes  by  water,  with  an 
occasional  Hudson  Bay  batteax.  I  remember,  as  late  as  1847,  standing  with 
some  friends  upon  the  banks  of  the  Willamette,  when  we  discussed  the  possibil 
ity  of  any  of  our  number  living  to  see  its  placid  bosom  disturbed  by  the  wheels 
of  a  steamboat.  At  that  time,  the  rude  hospitality  of  the  settlers  was  dispensed 
with  a  liberal  hand.  The  traveler  went  forth  with  his  own  blanket  and  lass- 
rope,  thus  furnishing  his  own  bed  and  security  for  the  safety  of  his  horse,  while 
the  cabin  door  of  the  settler  always  stood  open  to  furnish  him  shelter  and  food, 
without  money  and  without  price.  In  the  summer  of  1846,  my  wife  and  self, 
entertained  two  British  officers.  I  staked  out  their  horses  on  the  grass;  they  had 
their  own  blankets  and  slept  on  the  floor  of  our  palatial  residence,  which  con 
sisted  of  a  pole  cabin  fourteen  feet  square,  the  interstices  between  the  poles 

"  Stuffed  with  clav  to  keep  the  wind  away," 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS   OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.         59 

a  puncheon  floor  and  a  mud  chimney,  and  not  a  pane  of  glass  or  particle  of 
sawed  lumber  about  the  institution.  The  furniture,  consisting  of  such  articles 
as  I  had  manufactured  from  a  fir  tree  with  an  ax  and  augur.  We  regaled  our 
guests  bountifully  upon  boiled  wheat  and  jerked  beef,  without  sflgar,  coffee  or 
tea.  A  quarter  of  a  century  afterward  I  met  one  of  these  officers  in  Washington. 
He  reminded  me  that  he  had  once  been  my  guest  in  Oregon.  When  that  fact 
was  recalled  to  my  mind,  I  attempted  an  apology  for  the  brevity  of  our  bill  of 
fare,  but  with  characteristic  politeness,  he  interrupted  me  with,  "My  dear  sir! 
don't  mention  it.  The  fare  was  splendid  and  we  enjoyed  it  hugely.  You  gave 
us  the  best  you  had,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  could  do  no  more." 

As  an  illustration  of  the  honest  and  simple  directness  which  pervaded  our 
legislative  proceedings  of  that  day,  I  will  mention  that  in  1847,  I  had  the  honor 
of  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  of  the  Provisional  Government;  it  was  my  first 
step  upon  the  slippery  rungs  of  the  political  ladder.  The  Legislature  then 
consisted  of  but  one  house  and  we  sat  in  the  old  Methodist  church  at  the 
Falls.  Close  by  the  church,  Barton  Lee  had  constructed  a  "ten-pin  alley'' 
where  some  of  my  fellow  members  were  in  the  habit  of  resorting  to  seek  relaxa 
tion  and  refreshment  from  their  Legislative  toils.  I  had  aspired  to  the  Speaker- 
ship  and  supposed  myself  sure  of  the  position,  but  the  same  uncertainty  in  po 
litical  matters  existed  then  that  I  have  seen  so  much  of  since.  Some  of  my 
friends  threw  off  on  me  and  elected  a  better  man,  in  the  person  of  Dr.  Robert 
Newell.  God  bless  his  old  soul.  In  the  small  collection  of  books  at  the  Falls 
known  as  the  Multnomah  Library,  I  found  what  I  had  never  heard  of  before, 
a  copy  of  "  Jefferson's  Manual,"  and  after  giving  it  an  evening's  perusal  by  the 
light  of  an  armful  of  pitch  knots,  I  found  that  there  was  such  a  thing  in  parlia 
mentary  usage  as  "  the  previous  question." 

I  had  a  bill  then  pending  to  cut  off  the  southern  end  of  Yamhill,  and  to  estab 
lish  the  county  of  Polk,  which  measure  had  violent  opposition  in  the  body. 
One  rooming  while  most  of  the  opponents  of  my  bill  were  amusing  themselves 
at  *'  horse  billiards"  in  Lee's  ten-pin  alley,  I  called  up  my  bill,  and,  after  mak 
ing  the  best  argument  I  could  in  its  favor,  I  concluded  with:  "  And  now,  Mr. 
Speaker,  upon  this  bill  I  move  the  previous  question."  Newell  looked  confused, 
and  I  was  satisfied  that  he  had  no  conception  of  what  I  meant;  but  he  rallied, 
and,  looking  wise  and  severe  (I  have  since  seen  presiding  officers  in  Washington 
do  the  same  thing),  said:  "  Sit  down,  sir!  Resume  your  seat!  Do  you  intend  to 
trifle  with  the  Chair!  when  you  know  that  we  passed  the  previous  question  two 
weeks  ago?  //  -was  the  first  thing  we  done!"  I  got  a  vote,  however,  before 
the  return  of  the  "  horse  billiard"  players,  and  Polk  country  has  a  legal  existence 


60         THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    OF    HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

to-day,  notwithstanding  the  adverse  ruling  upon  a  question  of  parliamentary 
usage. 

Genial,  kind-hearted  Newell!  How  many  of  you  recollect  his  good  qualities 
and  how  heartily  have  you  laughed  around  the  camp  fire  at  his  favorite  song, 
•'  Love  and  Sassingers."  I  can  yet  hear  the  lugubrious  refrain  describing  how 
his  dulcena  was  captured  by  the  butcher's  boy. 

"  And  there  sat  faithless  she 
A  frying  sassingers  for  he." 

He  has  folded  his  robe  about  him  and  lain  himself  down  to  rest,  among  the 
mountains  he  loved  so  well,  and  which  have  so  often  echoed  the  merry  tones  of 
his  voice. 

In  these  primitive  days,  we  had  but  few  of  the  vices  of  civilization.  Intem 
perance  in  strong  drink  was  unknown,  and  there  was  comparatively  no  litigation. 
Lawyers  and  doctors  had  to  till  the  soil  like  honest  men  to  procure  their  daily 
bread.  Every  neighborhood  had  a  rough  log  school-house  in  which  "  stated 
preaching"  was  dispensed  on  Sunday  by  divines  who  had  cultivated  their  fields 
during  the  week,  and  who  did  not  "  sit  upon  the  ragged  edge  of  despair"  and 
were  not  troubled  with  visions  of  "  a  moral  Niagara,"  or  "  sections  of  the  day 
of  judgment."  Every  neighborhood  had  also  its  violinists,  who  furnished  music 
for  the  innocent  and  rational  devotees  of  Terpsichore,  who,  clad  in  buckskin, 
tripped  the  light  fantistic  toe  in  moccasins  on  puncheon  floors.  In  fact,  the 
young  people  whiled  away  much  of  the  long  dreary  winter  in  that  sort  of  amuse 
ment. 

"  We  danced  all  night  till  broad  daylight, 
And  went  home  with  the  gals  in  the  morning." 

As  a  result  of  such  social  intercourse,  there  was  often  a  union  of  two  "  half 
sections,"  to  one  of  which  each  of  the  dancers  was  entitled  when  they  concluded 
to  waltz  together  through  life. 

In  the  Eastern  States,  I  have  often  been  asked  how  long  it  was  after  Fremont 
discovered  Oregon  that  I  emigrated  there.  It  is  true  that  in  the  year  1843, 
Fremont,  then  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Engineer  Corps,  did  cross  the  plains,  and 
brought  his  party  to  the  Dalles,  and  visited  Vancouver  to  procure  supplies.  I 
saw  him  on  the  plains,  though  he  reached  the  Dalles  in  the  rear  of  our  emigra 
tion.  His  outfit  contained  all  of  the  conveniences  and  luxuries  that  a  Govern 
ment  appropriation  could  procure,  while  he  "  roughed  it"  in  a  covered  carriage, 
surrounded  by  servants  paid  from  the  public  purse.  He  returned  to  the  States 
and  was  afterward  rewarded  with  a  Presidential  nomination  as  the  "Pathfinder." 
The  path  he  found  was  made  by  the  hardy  frontiersmen  who  preceded  him  to 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH.          6 1 

the  Pacific,  and  who  stood  by  their  rifles  here  and  held  the  country  against 
hostile  Indians  and  British  threats,  without  Government  aid  or  recognition  until 
1849,  when  the  first  Government  troops  came  to  our  relief.  Yet  Fremont,  with 
many  people,  has  the  credit  of  "  finding"  everything  west  of  the  Rocky  mount 
ains,  and  I  suppose  his  pretensions  will  be  recognized  by  the  future  historian, 
while  the  deserving  men  who  made  the  path,  unaided  by  Government,  will  be 
forgotten.  "  And  such  is  history." 

A  rude  prosperity,  contentment  and  happiness  pervaded  our  society,  and 
while  our  posterity  may  be  more  refined,  cultivated  and  wealthy,  I  doubt  if 
they  will  be  any  better,  more  contented,  virtuous  or  happier,  than  their  rude 
Pioneer  ancestors. 

Mr.  President  and  Pioneers,  I  am  not  here  to  draw  inviduous  distinctions  or  de 
preciate  any  one  man's  merits  by  referring  to  those  of  another;  but  I  feel  it  is  an 
occasion  when  I  might  pay  a  slight  tribute  to  an  early  Pioneer  (who,  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  is  absent,  and  has  left  our  State),  without  partiality,  as  we  have 
always  been  political  opponents.  If  at  this  time,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  a 
third  of  a  century,  I  were  called  upon  to  designate  the  man  of  the  immigration 
of  1843,  or  any  other  immigration,  who  had  made  the  most  personal  sacrifices 
for  the  benefit  of  our  common  State  and  had  received  the  least  reward,  I  should 
mention  the  name  that  deservedly  heads  the  roll  of  1843, 

"  UNCLE"  JESSE  APPLEGATE. 

I  traveled  in  his  company  across  the  plains,  lived  neighbor  to  him  for  years, 
and  have  had  many  controversies  with  him,  in  which,  I  regret  to  say,  I  did  not 
always  come  out  of  the  contest  unscathed. 

He  was  at  the  rendezvous  at  Fitzhugh's  Mill  on  the  iyth  day  of  May,  1843, 
and  more  by  his  silence  than  by  what  he  said,  gave  character  to  our  proceedings. 
No  man  did  more  upon  the  route  to  aid  the  destitute  and  encourage  the  weak. 
He  divided  his  rations  with  the  same  reckless  liberality  with  which  he  signed 
the  bonds  of  those  who  have  victimized  him  and  reduced  him  to  poverty  in  his 
old  age. 

He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Polk  county,  as  he  has  been  in  Umpqua,  and 
now  is  in  Northern  California.  He  presents  the  singular  anomaly  of  a  gentle- 
man  of  the  highest  culture  who  shrinks  from  contact  with  society.  In  his  pres 
ence  all  feel  the  power  of  his  genius,  while  he  has  not  the  volubility  to  utter  a 
dozen  consecutive  words;  but  give  him  pen,. ink  and  paper,  and  there  is  scarcely 
a  subject  upon  which  he  cannot  shed  a  flood  of  light. 

He  was  the  leader  in  forming  our  Provisional  Government  in  1845,  as  ne  was 


62          THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    OF   HON.    J.    W.    NESMITH. 

of  the  party  of  1846  that  escorted  the  first  immigration  by  the  Southern  route — 
an  unselfish  service  in  which  he  periled  his  life  to  ruin  himself  pecuniarily. 
The  services  and  reputation  of  Jesse  Applegate  are  the  common  property  of  the 
Oregon  Pioneers.  "  Such  a  man  might  be  a  copy  to  these  younger  times."  In 
the  language  of  the  great  poet — 

"  This  was  the  noblest  Koman  of  them  all. 
His  life  was  gentle :  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him  that  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  was  a  man," 

As  a  frontiersman  in  courage,  sagacity  and  natural  intelligence,  he  is  the  equal 
of  Daniel  Boone.  In  culture  and  experience,  he  is  the  superior  of  half  the  living 
statesmen  of  our  land.  As  a  generous,  kindhearted  neighbor,  he  has  no  superior 
anywhere.  In  politics,  he  is  a  cross  between  the  old-fashioned,  honest  notions 
of  Hamilton  and  Jefferson.  In  religion,  while  he  broke  none  of  the  command 
ments,  separately  or  intentionally;  still,  like  Moses,  if  a  proper  provocation  occur 
red,  ha  would  be  likely  to  throw  down  the  tablets,  and  while  extemporizing  awk 
ward  profanity,  might  break  them  en  masse.  He  was  too  impracticable  to  be  a  party 
leader,  and  too  independent  to  be  the  recipient  of  political  favors.  The  future 
historian  will  do  justice  to  the  merits,  the  ability  and  the  sacrifices  of  the  "Sage 
of  Yoncalla." 

Mr.  President  and  Pioneers,  the  time  rapidly  approaches  when  we,  the  first 
settlers  of  Oregon,  must  go  hence  and  leave  to  our  posterity  the  fruits  of  our 
toils  and  our  labors,  and  I  feel  this  to  be  an  occasion  when,  if  animosiiies  or  un- 
kindness  have  existed  among  us,  they  ought  to  be  buried  out  of  sight  and  for 
gotten.  Let  us  at  least  leave  to  those  who  are  to  come  after  us  a  heritage  of 
charity,  kindness  and  good  feeling,  and  let  us  hope  that  our  descendants  may 
prove  themselves  an  honest,  patriotic  race  of  men  and  women,  worthy  to  inherit 
the  goodly  land  we  spied  out  for  them,  and  in  your  and  their  pursuit  of  all 
that  is  great  and  good, 

"  In  ploughman's  phrase, '  God  send  you  speed' 

Still  daily  to  grow  wiser, 
And  may  you  better  reck  the  rede 
Than  ever  did  th'  adviser." 


ADDRESS. 


BY  HON.   GEORGE  P.   HOLM  AN. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  PIONEERS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

By  referring  to  the  Register  of  our  Association,  I  find  recorded,  Jas.  W.  Nes. 
mith,  born  in  Maine,  1820;  arrived  in  Oregon,  1843.  Geo.  P.  Holman,  born  in 
Salem,  Oregon,  Feb.  6,  1842,  arrived  in  the  State  about  the  same  day. 
Thus  you  will  perceive  that  I  came  not  by  the  "  Horn  around"  or  the  "  plains 
across,"  yet  the  date  of  my  arrival  in  the  State  is  some  time  previous  to  that 
of  the  honorable  gentleman  who  has  so  ably  addressed  you,  and  places  me  upon 
the  record  as  a  genuine,  indigenous  Webfooter. 

By  request  of  your  committee,  I  will  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  that  portion 
of  our  population  born  within  the  State  of  Oregon,  prior  to  January  1st,  1853, 
recognized  as  native  Pioneers. 

Representing,  then,  this  particular  branch  of  our  Association,  it  is  with  emotions 
of  pride,  that  we  have  assembled  with  you,  honored  Pioneers,  to  celebrate  an 
other  anniversary  of  our  re-union;  and,  as  we  look  over  this  assembly  and  find 
here  and  there,  those  whom  we  have  known  for  years,  we  can  not  forget  the 
scenes  and  incidents  of  their  earlier  life.  In  the  history  of  these  brave  men  and 
noble  women,  our  fathers  and  our  mothers,  we  recognize  that  spirit  of  enterprise 
and  advancement,  both  moral,  social  and  intellectual,  so  universally  character 
istic  of  our  Pioneers. 

Only  a  few  years  ago,  and  the  country  extending  along  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
touching  the  lakes  on  the  north  and  the  Alleghanies  on  the  west,  embraced  the 
origional  States  of  this  Republic.  To-day,  how  different  the  picture!  How 
grand!  how  glorious  the  change!  Not  only  have  new  States  started  into  life, 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Father  of  Waters,  founding  beautiful  and  wealthy 
cities,  burdening  the  rivers  with  commerce,  stretching  the  iron  track  and  tele 
graph,  and  opening  classic  halls  and  consecrated  temples  throughout  all  this 
domain,  but  the  government  has  carried  the  chain  of  Union,  not  only  over  this 
region  but  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  still  on  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
finally  linked  it  to  the  rocks  which  roll  back  the  waves  of  the  Pacific. 


64          ADDRESS  OF  HON.  GEORGE  P.  HOLMAN. 

The  American  Pioneer  has  ever  been  the  chief  actor  in  this  drama  of  unpar 
alleled  national  progress.  "  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way," 
but  westward  no  further.  The  progress  of  population,  improvement  and  civili 
zation,  stretching  from  mountain  to  plain,  and  from  plain  to  the  western  ocean, 
had  reached  our  own  beautiful  valley  of  the  Willamette,  and  here  amid  toils  and 
suffering,  privations  and  defeat,  the  Pioneer  of  Oregon,  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
commonwealth,  destined  to  become  the  chief  of  our  Empire  on  the  Pacific. 

Animated  by  a  strong  love  of  country,  and  a  veneration  for  the  institutions  of 
their  fathers,  possessed  of  consummate  moral  courage,  imbued  with  indomitable 
energy  and  trusting  to  the  protection  of  Heaven,  they  began  to  build  upon  this 
foundation,  soon  reared  the  superstructure  of  a  State  Government,  and  lit  up  the 
land  with  the  lights  of  liberty,  religion  and  science;  lights  which  to-day  are 
illuminating  the  most  distant  portions  of  this  continent. 

Those  who  have  come  among  us  of  late  years,  may  not  regard  the  progress  of 
our  State  towards  internal  development  and  commercial  enterprise,  as  marked 
in  any  particular  degree.  It  is  the  old  Oregon  Pioneer  who  can  fully  under 
stand,  who  can  fully  comprehend  this  change.  Well  do  I  remember  when  only 
two  dwellings  graced  the  Capital  of  our  State,  and  the  voyager  was  carried  over 
the  waters  of  the  Willamette  and  the  Columbia,  in  the  rude  canoe,  with  the  red 
man  as  driving  power  and  pilot  combined.  To-day  how  different!  No  longer 
can  the  author  of  Thanatopsis  sing, 

"  Or  lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  woods, 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound 
Save  his  own  dashings." 

Other  sounds  now  reverberate  along  the  banks  of  that  noble  river,  as  upon  its 
broad,  deep  waters,  are  borne  the  intelligence  and  the  commerce  of  the  nations. 

While  we  rejoice  over  the  present  proud  position  of  our  young  State,  we  witness 
on  every  hand  the  evidences  of  still  greater  prosperity.  Our  healthful  skies, 
our  fertile  vallies,  our  wonderful  mines  of  mineral  wealth,  our  majestic  forests, 
our  noble  rivers,  our  commerce,  our  manufacturers,  our  busy  population,  already 
here,  all  these  assure  us  that  a  region  enjoying  such  a  profusion  of  Nature's  gifts, 
will  soon  be  densely  populated  by  industrious  citizens,  who  guided  by  enterprise 
and  science,  will  build  up  a  rich  and  powerful  State,  to  augment  the  nations' 
strength,  and  to  adorn  its  culture. 

As  we  gather  amid  these  scenes  of  festivity  and  song,  let  us  not  forget  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  those  honored  Pioneers  who  are  not  among  us  to-day. 
A  thousand  hallowed  associations  throng  the  mind,  as  we  witness  on  every  hand 
the  results  of  their  patient,  heroic,  Christian  lives.  But  alas!  They  have  gone 


ADDRESS  OF  HON.  GEORGE  P.  HOLMAN.          65 

and  gone  in  triumph;  and  though  no  splendid  monument  towers  above  the  spot 
where  rests  their  ashes,  yet,  their  memory  shall  live  in  the  hearts  of  their  de 
scendants,  as  long  as  one  shall  remain  to  recount  their  deeds  of  goodness  and 
virtue . 

Native  Pioneers,  assembled  as  we  are  with  these  noble  veterans  who  still 
linger  on  the  shore  of  time,  how  befitting  that  we  pledge  ourselves  to  guard 
with  a  jealous  care  the  sacred  heritage  of  our  fathers  and  protect  the  fair  name 
of  the  land  of  our  birth.  Let  us  maintain  all  the  organized  institutions  of  an 
enlightened  people,  institutions  of  law,  education,  benevolence,  religion  and  all 
the  adornments  of  the  highest  civilization  and  then  shall  our  native  State  of 
Oregon,  not  only  contribute  to  the  power  and  grandeur  of  this  Republic,  but  like 
ascending  sun,  rising  still  higher,  shed  its  glorious  influence  backward  upon  the 
States  of  Europe  and  forward  upon  the  Empires  of  Asia. 


FIRST  AINUAL  ADDRESS. 


DELIVERED   BEFORE  THE   OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION'. 
BY  EX-GOV.   GEORGE  L.   CURRY. 

AT  BUTTEVILLE,    MARION    COUNTY,   OREGON,   ON  THE    OCCASION  OF  THE    SIXTEENTH    ANNI 
VERSARY   OF  THE  ADOPTION   OF  THE   STATE   CONSTITUTION, 
NOVEMBER  llTH,   1873. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  AND  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

When,  a  short  time  since,  I  received  the  invitation  of  your  committee  to  be 
present  and  address  you  on  this  occasion — the  first  re-union  of  the  Pioneers  of 
Oregon— I  felt  that  I  should  be  greatly  gratified  to  be  able  to  do  so,  and  I  an- 
swered,  that  I  would  if  I  could,  for  I  was  then  closely  engaged  in  the  discharge 
of  a  public  duty.  That  engagement  has  been  concluded,  and  I  am  glad  to  re 
port  myself  here  to-day,  among  the  Pioneers,  to  take  with  them  a  brief  review  of 
the  circumstances  attending  the  first  formation  of  civil  Society  and  civil  govern 
ment  in  Oregon. 

Spain,  through  the  courage  and  perseverance  of  Columbus,  discovered  the 
Indies  of  the  West.  Here  was  a  Pioneer  of  the  sea,  greater  than  the  old  Vikings 
of  the  Norsemen,  because  he  was  able  to  establish  the  proof  of  his  discovery,  and 
that  discovery  was  for  the-benefit  of  his  race.  It  was  a  great  event.  It  occa 
sioned  and  shaped  other  great  events  of  the  first  consequence  in  the  progress  of 
humanity.  Men  turned  with  gladness  to  the  bright  prospect,  and  inhaled  the 
inspiration  of  the  new  world.  A  wide  and  new  field  was  opened  for  the  accomp 
lishment  of  many  grand  and  noble  undertakings.  The  spirit  of  adventure  seized 
the  opportunity.  Bold  and  unscrupulous  men  like  Cortez  and  Pizarro,  first 
planted  Christian  civilization  on  the  shores  of  a  new  hemisphere  and  made  their 
names  odious  by  their  cruelties  and  crimes.  For  nearly  300  years  Spain  was  a  great 
nation;  part  of  that  time  in  the  lead  of  nations,  for  her  maratime  discoveries, 
and  conquests  by  sea  and  land,  were  the  most  brilliant  and  important  that  the 
world  had  ever  known.  The  most  formidable  power  in  Europe,  her  influence 
was  felt  throughout  the  entire  continent,  and  her  authority  acknowledged  and 
obeyed  in  the  very  centre  of  its  dominions.  She  successfully  colonized  South 


FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY.        67 

and  part  of  North  America  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Her  early  navigators  explored 
the  entire  western  coast  line  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  Russian  possessions,  giving 
names  to  the  principal  rivers,  bays  and  headlands.  The  mutations  of  time  have 
left  her  now  only  the  memory  of  that  splendid  past  to  console  her  under  the 
vicissitudes  of  bitter  fortune. 

Just  three  hundred  years,  within  five  months,  after  the  discovery  made  by  Co 
lumbus,  a  ship  bearing  the  flag  of  a  new  nation,  which  his  grand  achievement 
had  brought  into  existence,  sailing  upon  the  Pacific  ocean,  entered  the  mouth  of 
a  large  and  unknown  river,  which  was  named  after  the  vessel,  and  is  now  known 
as  our  own  magnificent  Columbia.  Subsequent  explorations  proved  the  country 
to  contain  magnificent  forests  of  fine  timber,  and  beautiful  valleys  of  fertile  land. 
It  obtained  the  name  Oregon,  through  the  appellation  Oregana  given  to  the 
country  north  of  California,  from  the  circumstance  of  the  prolific  growth  of  a 
plant  or  shrub,  perhaps  the  "  Artemesia"  which  the  Spanish  navigator  likened 
to  wild  Marjoram^  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  Oregana."  I  know  of  nothing 
to  sustain  the  beautiful  idea,  that  the  word  "  Oregon"  is  derived  from  Indian 
tradition,  signifying  the  land  nearest  the  setting  sun,  or  the  most  western  land. 

The  first  settlement  was  made  by  American  traders  at  Oak  Point,  on  the 
Columbia  river,  where  Capt.  Smith  of  the  ship  Albatross  >  of  Boston,  in  the  spring 
of  1810,  cleared,  fenced  and  cultivated  a  piece  of  land,  but  the  annual  freshet  of 
the  river  submerged  his  improvements  aud  caused  him  to  abandon  the  place. 

On  the  night  of  the  26th  of  March,  of  the  year  following,  1811,  the  ship  Ton- 
quin,  the  pioneer  ship  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  as  John  Jacob  Astor's  en 
terprise  was  called,  crossed  the  bar  of  the  Columbia  river,  under  circumstances 
of  great  danger,  involving  loss  of  life,  and  anchored  in  Baker's  Bay.  This  bay 
was  named  after  the  Captain  of  the  vessel  which  first  used  that  anchorage. 
Point  George  was  selected  as  a  site  of  the  settlement,  and  called  Astoria,  which 
is  now  the  flourishing  town  of  that  name.  On  the  I2th  of  April,  the  work  was 
commenced,  and  in  due  time  the  requisite  buildings  were  erected  and  protected 
by  a  stockade.  Expeditions  were  fitted  out  and  sent  up  the  river;  one  as  far  as 
the  Spokane  country,  where  a  trading  post  was  established,  another  up  the  Wil 
lamette  river,  where  in  1812,  Mr.  Halsey  built  a  trading  establishment  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  present  town  site  of  Halsey,  so  called  in  compliment  to  the  Vice 
President  of  the  Oregon  and  California  Railroad  Company.  Here  is  a  remark 
able  coincidence,  and  the  question  might  well  suggest  itself  which  of  the  Hal- 
seys'  is  the  better  entitled  to  the  honor  of  having  the  place  named  after  him. 
The  presence  of  the  first  white  man,  and  he  an  American  on  the  Calapooiah 
Prairie,  was  a  circumstance  of  great  interest  and  importance,  and  the  whistle  of 


68         FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF    EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY. 

the  first  locomotive  was  an  event  of  equal  grandeur  and  significance.  The  first 
gave  the  promise  of  the  advent  of  a  new  order  of  things,  while  the  other  redeems 
the  pledge  with  the  assurance  of  beneficial  influences  and  continual  prosperity. 

The  war  with  England,  and  other  unpropitious  circumstances,  so  discouraged 
the  operations  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  as  to  cause  its  interests  to  pass  into 
other  and  foreign  hands,  and  ultimately  into  those  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
— an  incorporation  of  British  subjects  for  the  same  business. 

The  first  recognition  on  the  part  of  Congress  of  such  a  country  as  Oregon,  occurred 
in  1825,  in  the  introduction  of  a  bill,  by  Mr.  Floyd  of  Virginia,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  "  authorizing  the  occupation  of  the  Oregon  river,"  providing 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  military  establishment,  the  collection  of  the  customs 
and  the  donation  of  lands  to  settlers.  With  the  last  provision  stricken  out,  it 
passed  that  body.  On  the  26th  of  February,  during  the  same  session,  Mr. 
Mahlon  Dickerson  of  New  Jersey,  assailed  the  measure  in  a  sarcastic  speech  in 
the  Senate,  to  which  I  must  briefly  allude,  for  subsequent  events  and  our  present 
situation  and  prosperity,  have  played  the  mischief  with  the  logic  and  wit  of  this 
amusing  Senatorial  effort.  Mr.  Dickerson  said:  "But  is  this  Territory  of 
Oregon  ever  to  become  a  State?  Never!  "  He  alluded  to  the  great  distance  it 
was  from  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government,  fixing  it  at  4,600  miles.  "  The 
distance  therefore,"  said  he,  "  that  a  member  of  Congress  of  this  State  of  Oregon 
will  be  obliged  to  travel  in  coming  to  the  seat  of  government  and  returning, 
would  be  9,300  miles.  This  at  the  rate  of  $8  for  every  20  miles,  would  make 
his  travelling  expenses  amount  to  $3,720.  Every  member  of  Congress  ought  to 
see  his  constituents  once  a  year.  This  is  already  very  difficult  for  those  in  the 
most  remote  parts  of  the  Union.  At  the  rate  which  members  of  Congress  travel 
according  to  law,  that  is  20  miles  per  day,  it  would  require  to  come  to  the  seat 
of  government  and  return,  465  days.  But  if  he  should  travel  at  the  rate  of  30 
miles  a  day,  it  would  require  306  days.  Allowing  for  Sundays,  44  days,  it 
would  require  350  days.  This  would  allow  the  member  a  fortnight  to  rest  him 
self  at  Washington,  before  commencing  his  journey  home.  This  rate  of  travel 
ing  would  be  a  hard  duty,  as  a  greater  part  of  the  way  is  exceedingly  bad,  and 
a  portion  of  it  over  rugged  mountains,  where  Lewis  and  Clark  found  several  feet 
of  snow  the  latter  part  of  June.  Yet,  a  young,  able  bodied  Senator,  might  travel 
from  Oregon  to  Washington  and  back  once  a  year,  but  he  could  do  nothing  else. 
It  would  be  more  expeditious,  however,  to  come  by  water  round  Cape  Horn,  or 
through  Behring's  Straits,  round  the  north  coast  of  the  continent  to  Baffin's  Bay, 
through  Davis  Straits  to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  so  on  to  Washington.  It  is 
true  this  passage  is  not  yet  discovered  except  upon  the  maps,  but  it  will  be  as 
soon  as  Oregon  will  be  a  State."  Alas  for  all  human  expectations!  Oregon  is  a 
State  and  there  is  no  North-west  passage  yet.  Time  and  distance  are  well  nigh 


FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF    EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY.         69 

annihilated  by  steam  travel  and  the  telegraph,  and  but  one-fourth  part  of  the 
time-table  of  Mr.  Dickerson  is  now  required  to  make  the  trip  around  the  world. 
The  merciless  Senator  drove  the  last  nail  in  the  coffin,  which  he  was  making 
for  the  measure,  by  the  following  "  clincher:"  "  As  to  the  Oregon  Territory,  it 
can  never  be  of  any  pecuniary  advantage  to  the  United  States." 

Senator  Benton,  always  the  friend  of  Oregon,  remarked  in  reply:  "  It  is  a 
country  too  great  and  too  desirable  to  remain  longer  without  civilized  inhabit 
ants.  In  extent,  soil  and  climate,  it  is  superior  to  the  old  thirteen  United  States." 
Still  the  Senate  must  have  been  convinced  by  the  argument  of  Senator  Dicker- 
son,  for  it  refused  to  pass  the  bill. 

Other  ineffectual  attempts  at  legislation  occurred,  and  in  the  meantime,  the 
people  themselves  took  the  matter  in  hand.  The  Pioneers  came  and  established 
communities,  churches,  schools  and  a  government,  and  prosperous  industries. 
These,  our  adventurous  fellow  citizens,  did  more  to  preserve  all  this  great  North 
western  section  to  the  United  States,  than  all  the  skillful  diplomates  and  astute 
statesmen.  The  stamp  of  the  American  character  was  placed  upon  the  country 
and  its  institutions,  in  the  management  of  public  affairs,  in  its  churches,  schools 
and  the  business  of  every  day  life.  It  may  appear  strange  that  a  handful  of 
.  Americans  in  Oregon,  at  that  early  day,  should  have  so  acted  as  to  have  im 
pressed  events  then  in  the  womb  of  the  future.  New  countries  develope  character. 
Man  cannot  be  a  hypocrite  in  performing  the  duties  of  pioneer  life.  Whatever 
there  is  in  him,  whether  good,  bad  or  indifferent,  must  come  out.  It  is  a  life  of 
action,  incessant  action.  Men  are  called  upon  to  think  quickly.  Often  there  is 
little  intervening  time  between  conception  and  performance.  Men  are  known 
by  what  they  do,  rather  than  by  what  they  say.  Practice  is  always  so  much 
better  than  theory.  In  the  wilderness,  men  cannot  afford  to  be  otherwise  than 
true  to  nature.  This  life  of  independence,  affixes  manhood  to  the  humblest  in 
dividual,  for  it  educates  him  as  to  a  knowledge  of  himself,  and  inspires  him  to 
depend  solely  upon  his  own  exertions  for  his  ultimate  success.  This  induces 
industry  and  energy  of  purpose.  Such  men  never  give  up — never  say  they 
"  cannot," — they  are  confident  in  all  they  undertake.  The  idea  of  failure  is 
never  contemplated.  Their  determination  never  flags,  the  greater  the  difficul 
ties,  the  more  they  are  resolved  to  overcome  them.  They  take  hold  of  a  work  to 
do  it — not  to  do  at  it.  Thus  we  find  them  pressing  into  new  and  unexplored 
tracts  of  country,  with  a  hardihood  and  resolution  to  be  admired  and  commen 
ded — planting  civilization  everywhere.  Here  is  a  type  of  that  character  which 
has  made  the  Pacific  side  of  our  continent  all  that  it  is;  that  same  unconquer 
able,  enterprising  spirit  which  will  yet  make  it  the  worthy  rival  of  the  Atlantic 
sea-board.  Alas,  that  so  many  of  those  indefatigable  spirits  should  have  been 


70        FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF    EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY. 

compelled  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  order  to  advance  the  success  of  the  great 
work  before  them.  Their  whitened  bones,  where  the  wolves  have  scattered 
them,  are  there  to  this  day  in  the  desert  and  the  mountain  land,  as  melancholy 
evidence  of  the  enterprise  and  courage  of  the  American  Pioneer. 

The  first  permanent  American  settlers  in  Oregon,  were  trappers  or  mountain- 
men,  so  called  from  their  occupation.  Of  these,  Mr.  Sol.  Smith,  who  came  in 
1832,  and  is  still  living  in  Clatsop  county,  is  our  oldest  American  Pioneer.  Jas. 
A.  O'Neil,  Thomas  Hubbard  and  others,  came  with  Capt.  Wyeth  of  Boston,  in 
1834.  The  brothers  Lee,  and  others  of  the  Methodist  Mission,  came  also  the 
same  year.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Whitman  and  Rev.  H.  H.  Spaulding,  with  their 
wives,  and  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Gray,  of  the  "American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions," 
arrived  in  1836.  Mrs.  Whitman  and  Mrs.  Spaulding  were  the  first  white  wo 
men  who  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Their  children  were  the  first  American 
children  born  in  Oregon. 

In  1840,  there  were  only  about  250  white  people  in  the  country,  of  which 
number,  140  were  Americans. 

An  attempt  was  made  in  1841,  to  form  a  government  without  an  executive, 
making  a  Supreme  Judge  the  highest  functionary,  with  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
New  York  as  the  law  of  the  land.  Rev.  Dr.  Babcock  of  the  Methodist  Mission, 
was  elected  to  that  position.  The  movement,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  popular,  and  a  copy  of  the  New  York  Statutes  not  being  convenient  per 
haps,  the  undertaking  proved  abortive. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1843,  a  meeting  of  the  settlers  of  the  Willamette  valley 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  determining  upon  some  method  to  protect  their  stock 
from  the  attacks  of  wild  animals.  This  gathering  not  inappropriately  has  been 
denominated  the  "  Wolf  Scalp  Meeting,"  and  has  become  noted  from  the  fact 
that  the  first  successful  measures  were  there  inaugurated  for  the  establishment 
of  a  government.  In  1846,  I  saw  the  original  record  of  the  proceedings  on  that 
occasion.  One  side  of  a  half  sheet  of  foolscap  contained  the  minutes  of  the 
Wolf  Scalp  Meeting,  and  the  other,  the  graver  doings  of  the  more  important  un 
dertaking.  A  committee  of  twelve  were  appointed  to  report  a  plan  of  govern 
ment,  who  did  their  duty  exceedingly  well,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  following, 
announced  in  mass  meeting  the  first  system  of  polity  for  the  North  Pacific  coast. 
It  placed  the  executive  power  in  three  persons,  the  law  making  power  in  a  corn^ 
mittee  composed  of  twelve  members,  and  the  judiciary  power  in  a  Supreme 
Judge,  with  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  various  districts.  The  first  two  branches  of 
authority  were  modestly  styled  "  Executive  Committee"  and  "  Legislative  Com 
mittee." 


FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY.         7 1 

W.  H.  Gray,  now  of  Astoria,  was  a  leading  spirit  throughout  the  whole  affair, 
and  doubtless  contributed  much  towards  its  success.  This  civil  authority  was 
to  control  a  mixed  population  composed  of  Americans,  English,  Scotch,  Cana 
dians  and  half-breed  Indians.  At  that  time,  there  were  three  religious  denom 
inations  represented  by  missionaries,  Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Catholic,  and 
there  were  manifestations  of  an  active  anti-mission  party.  The  first  Executive 
Committee  consisted  of  one  member  of  the  Methodist  Mission,  Alanson  Beers, 
and  two  farmers,  David  Hill  and  Joseph  Gale. 

Two  years  after,  in  1845,  this  frame  work  was  so  perfected  as  to  assume  the 
dignity  of  a  constitutional  government,  with  the  executive  power  lodged  in  a 
Governor  with  the  right  of  veto,  and  the  legislative  functions  in  a  House  of  Rep 
resentatives.  This  form  of  government  existed  until  March  3d,  1849,  when  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  Satates  was  extended  by  virtue  of  the  Act  of  Congress 
organizing  the  Territorial  Government  of  Oregon.  The  general  acceptance,  if 
not  the  entire  approval  by  our  people  of  the  Provisional  Government,  made  it 
strong,  and  enforced  its  authority.  Under  it,  life  and  property  were  protected, 
contracts  maintained,  and  the  people  were  prosperous  and  happy.  Coined  money 
being  scarce,  wheat  was  made  a  legal  tender  in  the  payment  of  all  demands. 
"War  was  vigorously  and  successfully  prosecuted.  In  the  winterof  1847  and  '48, 
over  300  men  were  kept  in  the  field  beyond  the  Cascade  mountains,  in  offensive 
operations  against  the  Cayuse  Indians.  In  thirteen  days  from  the  receipt  of  the 
information  at  the  seat  of  government,  Oregon  City,  of  the  massacre  of  the  mis 
sionaries  and  immigrants  at  Wa-il-at-pu,  a  force  of  fifty  armed  men  were  in  pos 
session  of  the  Mission  station  at  The  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  river,  having 
marched  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  There  were  no  steam  facil 
ities  for  travel  and  transportation  in  those  days  and  the  march  was  made  in  the 
inclement  month  of  December,  As  fast  as  the  companies  could  be  equipped, 
they  moved  to  the  front  by  the  old  pack  trail  up  the  Columbia.  The  two  fights 
at  the  canyon  of  the  Des  Chutes,  in  which  the  enemy  were  driven  each  time 
with  loss,  occurred  on  the  last  two  days  of  February.  The  battle  of  Umatilla, 
where  the  enemy  were  again  repulsed  with  serious  loss,  was  fought  on  the  2nd 
of  March.  On  the  4th,  the  advance  of  the  column  occupied  Wa-il-at-pu,  Whit 
man's  Mission,  now  Walla  Walla,  three  hundred  miles  away  from  the  seat  of 
government,  and  almost  the  same  distance  from  any  settlement  of  note.  All  this 
was  a  display  of  energy  and  power  which  would  be  regarded  as  remarkable  in 
the  operations  of  any  government;  but  in  one  so  new  and  inexperienced  as  that 
of  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon,  it  must  be  proof  eminently  satisfactory  as  to  the  abil 
ity  and  efficiency  of  it,  that  it  was  not  one  only  in  name,  but  a  government 
founded  in  the  esteem  and  sustained  by  the  will  and  majesty  of  the  people.  The 


72        FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY. 

highest  compliment  has  been  paid  to  the  integrity  and  patriotism  of  those  Amer 
icans  who  really  created  and  administered  this  early  organization,  in  the  simple 
circumstance  that  the  greater  part  of  those  of  foreign  birth,  who  shared  with 
them  the  fortunes  of  that  govenment,  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  was  afforded  them 
became  citizens  of  the  United  States.  It  is  indicative  of  the  good  faith  and 
honest  dealing  which  had  characterized  the  association. 

In  1846,  when  I  arrived  in  the  country,  I  found  an  intelligent,  virtuous  and 
industrious  community,  actuated  by  the  purest  motives,  and  the  highest  sense  of 
duty.  There  was  an  intense  anxiety — made  keener  by  suspense  and  the  defer 
ment  of  hope — for  the  time  to  come,  when  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Union  would 
be  extended  over  them,  and  they  could  realize  that,  though  far  off,  they  were 
still  at  home,  and  beneath  the  protection  of  the  glorious  banner  of  our  country. 
At  that  time  Oregon  comprised  six  counties,  north  of  the  Columbia  river  the 
two  counties  of  Lewis  and  Vancouver;  south  of  it  Clackamas,  Tuality,  Yamhill 
and  Champoeg,  now  Marion. 

To  the  Oregon  Pioneers  belongs  the  honor  of  having  established  the  first  news 
paper  press  on  the  Pacific  coast,  at  Oregon  City,  in  February,  1846.  The  paper 
was  called  the  Oregon  Spectator,  and  was  issued  semi-monthly.  The  Oregon 
Free  Press,  the  first  weekly  news  sheet  on  this  side  of  the  continent,  was  also 
published  at  that  place  in  March,  1848,  from  a  prebs  made  in  the  country,  and 
with  display  type  wrought  out  of  wood. 

The  first  coinage  of  gold  on  this  coast  took  place  at  Oregon  City  in  the  spring 
of  1849.  Our  people  returning  from  the  gold  mines  in  California,  could  get  but 
eleven  dollars  per  ounce  for  their  gold  dust  in  trade,  when  it  was  worth  from 
sixteen  to  eighteen  dollars  cash.  To  remedy  this,  the  Legislature  in  the  winter 
of  1848-9,  passed  an  act  authorizing  "  The  assaying,  melting  and  coining  of 
gold,"  but  the  advent  of  the  new  order  of  things  under  the  Federal  Government, 
precluded  the  carrying  out  of  the  law.  Private  enterprise  however,  within  a 
short  time  after,  issued  what  has  since  been  called  the  "  Beaver"  coin,  five  and 
ten  dollar  gold  pieces,  with  the  impression  of  the  beaver  on  one  side,  over  which 
appeared  the  innitial  letters  of  the  names  of  the  company,  Kilborn,  Magruder, 
Taylor,  Abernethy,  Wilson,  Rector,  Campbell,  Smith;  underneath,  "  O.  T. 
1849."  On  the  reverse,  was  "  Oregon  Exchange  Company,  130  grains  Native 
Gold,  5  D."  The  only  alteration  on  the  faces  of  the  $10  pieces  was,  "  10  pdwts 
20  grains,  Ten  D."  The  dies  for  this  coinage  were  made  by  Hamilton  Camp 
bell,  since  dead;  the  press  and  rolling  mill  were  made  by  Wm.  H.  Rector,  now 
removed  to  California.  The  intrinsic  worth  of  these  gold  pieces  was  some  eight 
per  cent,  more  than  their  representative  value,  and  therefore  they  were  readily 
interchanged  and  soon  passed  from  general  circulation. 


FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS    OF   EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY.         73 

In  concluding  this  brief  and  desultory  address  let  us  hope  that  the  coming  genera 
tions,  who  are  to  build  up  the  State  of  Oregon  to  a  scale  competing  with  the 
grandeur  and  power  of  other  States,  will  the  more  and  more  appreciate  the  work 
of  the  Pioneers,  as  in  the  performance  of  that  duty,  glimpses  after  glimpses  of 
the  grand  future  are  disclosed. 

No  doubt  a  high  regard  will  be  cherished  for  them  when  they  shall  have 
passed  away,  to  live  again  in  the  grateful  stories  of  the  thrilling  incidents  of 
frontier  and  wilderness  life.  Few  deeds  will  be  found  within  the  period  of  that 
pioneer  rule  which  any  one  will  care  to  have  disclaimed,  or  which  will  cause  the 
least  reproach.  The  Oregon  Pioneers  were  a  class  of  men  possessing  the  superior 
virtues  which  make  a  superior  manhood.  Already  they  have  been  distinguished 
by  the  higher  honors — in  the  pulpit,  on  the  bench,  at  the  bar,  as  Governors,  as 
Congressmen,  as  Senators.  They  did  their  work  unostentatiously,  but  did  it  well, 
in  leaving  a  broad  and  substantial  foundation,  at  least  for  the  more  complete 
and  perfect  work  of  those  who  were  to  come  after  them. 

The  world  with  laurel  garlands 

Victorious  warriors  crown, 
And  life-like  forms  in  marble, 

Proclaim  their  high  renown; 
On  crimsoned  fields  of  carnage, 

Where  desperate  deeds  are  done, 
Where  brother  strikes  a  brother  down, 
That  he  may  wear  the  victor's  crown, 

That  kind  of  fame  is  won. 

But,  Peace  in  her  achievements, 

No  pain,  or  ill,  imparts; 
How  grand  her  scope  of  usefulness, 

Her  wonder-work  of  arts! 
Our  hopes,  our  lives — the  homes  of  earth — 
All  that  makes  life  of  any  worth 

To  her  are  consecrate, 
Which  once  destroyed  in  war's  wild  wrath, 

War  cannot  re-create. 

Her  rule  developes  manhood, 

And  makes  a  people  great 
In  that  which  tends  to  human  good, 
In  all  that  links  a  brotherhood, 

And  glorifies  the  State. 


74        FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY. 

For  those  beneath  her  banner, 

Who  wrought  our  pleasant  ways, 
Who  toiled  and  suffered  to  the  end, 
That  man  might  be  his  own  best  friend, 

Be  honor  and  all  praise. 
Is  there  no  song  of  triumph? 

No  word  of  lofty  cheer? 
Now  that  the  Wilderness  is  ours, 

For  the  brave  Pioneer? 

What  was  there  so  enticing, 

That  charmed  him  to  his  fate? 
Was  he  to  win  a  hero's  name? 
To  fill  the  world  with  loud  acclaim? 

And  rank  among  the  great? 
There  was  no  sound  of  greeting, 

In  deserts  where  he  trod; 
With  a  stout  heart  to  do  and  dare, 
Hardships  and  perils  were  his  share, 

Far  off— alone  with  God! 

• 

On !  for  the  good  of  others, 

That  end  for  all  atones; 
To  fell  the  forest,  make  the  home — 
To  mark  the  path  for  them  to  come, 

If  need  be  with  his  bones. 
On  dreary  wastes,  in  mountain  pass, 

Mournful  mementoes  tell 
Of  sudden  strait — of  desperate  strife — 
Where  fiercely  fighting  for  his  life, 

A  brave  man  bravely  fell. 

At  length  he  wins  high  guerdon! 

His  star  of  fortune  shines! 
The  mountains  ope'  their  flinty  pores, 
Nature  reveals  her  precious  stores — 

The  gold  and  silver  mines; 
The  world  is  in  a  tumult! 

It  rushes  for  the  prize ! 
A  miracle  is  wrought — how  grand ! 
As  if  by  magic  through  the  land, 

See  towns  and  traffic  rise ! 

As  the  farmer  tills  his  broad  lands, 

And  gathers  in  his  grain; 
As  the  voices  of  the  homestead 

Swell  in  a  happy  strain; 
As  suoset  gives  it  grandeur, 

And  herds  come  home  to  rest; 
As  round  the  hearth-stone  each  loved  form 
Brings  wealth  of  an  affection  warm, 

The  Pioneer  is  blest. 


FIRST   ANNUAL   ADDRESS   OF   EX-GOV.    GEO.    L.    CURRY.         75 

The  noise  of  busy  labor 

With  music  fills  the  air, 
And  makes  the  song  of  triumph 

That  e«hoes  every  where; 
While  art  designs  the  honors 

Which  thriving  thrift  uprears, 
From  the  mountains  to  the  sea-side, 

For  the  brave  Pioneers. 


CAPTAIN  LEVEN  N.  ENGLISH. 


BORN  1792.   DIED  1876. 


Leven  Nelson  English  was  born  near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  March  25,  1792. 
When  quite  young,  his  parents  moved  to  the  then  Territory  of  Kentucky,  where 
he  resided  for  several  years  and  married.  When  the  war  with  England  was 
declared,  (1812),  he  volunteered  and  was  in  several  of  the  heaviest  battles  on 
the  frontiers  of  the  United  States  and  the  Canadas.  After  the  declaration  of 
peace,  he  immigrated  with  his  family  to  MaCoupin's  county,  Illinois,  where  he 
earnestly  set  himself  to  work  to  make  a  home  in  the  great  wilderness,  but  these 
operations  were  temporarily  suspended  by  the  commencement  of  the  Indian 
troubles  which  finally  culminated  in  the  Elack  Hawk  war.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war,  he  raised  and  was  elected  Captain  of  a  volunteer  company,  and  was 
so  commissioned  by  Governor  Reynolds. 

In  1836  he  again  determined  to  push  further  West,  and  moved  to  the  Ter 
ritory  of  Iowa,  where  he  settled  and  erected  a  mill  and  identified  himself  with 
the  progress  of  that  young  and  rising  population. 

In  1845,  he  again  pulled  "  up  stakes"  and  started  for  Oregon,  and  settled  in 
the  Willamette  valley  near  and  east  of  Salem,  after  a  toilsome  trip  across  the 
plains,  losing  one  of  his  sons  by  death  during  the  trip.  Capt.  English  built  the 
next  year,  what  was  once  widely  known  as  English's  mills,  which  contributed 
very  materially  to  the  better  class  of  dwelling  houses  in  Salem  and  the  surround 
ing  country. 

When  the  Cayuse  war  broke  out,  Capt.  English  and  several  of  his  sons  respon 
ded  to  the  call  for  volunteer  with  alacrity, thus  filling  his  place  creditably  in  three 
different  wars.  In  1869,  he  moved  with  his  family  to  California,  but  not  liking 
the  climate,  he  returned  and  settled  in  Salem,  in  1871,  where  he  resided  the 
remainder  of  his  life. 

Captain  English  was  married  twice;  with  his  first  wife  he  lived  39  years  up  to 
1851,  when  she  died,  and  being  the  mother  of  twelve  children.  By  his  second 
wife  he  had  seven,  making  a  total  of  nineteen  children. 

Capt.  English  died  March  5,  1875,  lacking  twenty  days  of  being  85  years  old. 
His  death  occured  after  the  publication  of  the  title  page  of  this  publication,  or 
it  would  have  appropriately  appeared  therein. 


COL.  JOSEPH  L.  MEEK 

I  81  0—  I  875. 
.A.GHE    G5. 

CAPT.  L.  N.  ENGLISH. 

i  792-1876. 

84. 


COL  JOSEPH  L  MEEK. 

BORN    l8lO.      DIED    1875. 


BY  MKS.   F.   F.   VICTOR. 

Joseph  L.  Meek  was  bom  in  Washington  county,  Virginia.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  planter,  and  his  mother  was  of  a  good  Virginia  family-^— one  of  the  Walker's 
— and  aunt  to  the  wife  of  President  Polk.  But  unfortunately  for  her  son,  this 
lady  died  early,  and  young  Joseph  was  left  very  much  to  his  own  devices,  on  a 
plantation  where  there  was  nothing  for  him  to  do,  and  little  to  learn,  except  such 
•out-door  sports  as  boys  delight  in.  These  he  enjoyed  in  the  most  unrestrained 
liberty,  having  for  his  companions  only  the  children  of  his  father's  slaves, 
towards  whom  he  stood  in  the  relation  of  master. 

Such  circumstances  would  be  inimical  to  habits  of  mental  industry  in  any  case; 
and  the  lad  found  his  temptations  to  a  busy  idleness  so  many  and  strong,  that 
he  refused  even  to  avail  himself  of  the  little  elementary  teaching  that  he  might 
have  had  on  the  plantation.  His  stepmother,  for  whom  he  seems  to  have  felt  a 
dislike,  either  did  not,  or  could  not  influence  him  in  the  direction  of  study;  and 
it  fell  out  that  when  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  he  was  a  tall, 
merry,  active  boy,  who  knew  hardly  as  much  of  spelling  and  reading  as  is  con 
tained  in  the  child's  first  primer.  Why  it  was  that  his  father  neglected  him  in 
so  culpable  a  manner  does  not  appear;  but  what  is  evident  is,  that  young  Meek 
was  not  happy  at  home,  and  that  his  not  being  so  was  the  cause  of  his  abandon 
ing  the  plantation  when  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  under 
taking  to  enter  upon  a  career  for  himself.  This  he  did  by  going  to  Kentucky, 
where  some  relations  of  his  father  resided;  and,  on  finding  things  not  to  his 
mind  in  the  new  place,  finally  pushing  on  to  St.  Louis,  then  a  mere  trading-post 
on  the  Missouri  frontier,  where  he  arrived  in  the  fall  of  1828. 

This  was  the  decisive  step  that  colored  all  his  after  life.  St.  Louis  was  the 
rendezvous  of  fur  traders,  who  yearly  enlisted  new  men  for  service  in  trapping 
beaver  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Young  Meek  offered  himself,  and  though 


8o  BIOGRAPHY   OF  COL.    JOSEPH  L.    MEEK. 

younger  than  the  other  recruits,  was  accepted,  on  his  assurance  that  he 
would  not  shrink  from  duty,  even  if  that  duty  should  be  to  fight  Indians.  The 
spring  of  1829  accordingly  found  him  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  "William  Sublette, 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  successful  of  the  fur  traders,  who  annually  led 
a  company  of  men  to  the  mountains,  and  through  them,  from  summer  to  winter 
rendezvous;  leaving  them  the  following  spring  to  go  to  St.  Louis  for  the  necessary 
Indian  goods  and  fresh  recruits. 

Little  did  the  boy  of  eighteen  realize  the  fateful  step  he  was  taking;  that  for 
eleven  years  he  should  roam  the  mountains  and  plains  like  an  Indian,  carrying 
his  life  in  his  hand  at  every  step;  that  he  should  marry  an  Indian  woman;  and 
leave  a  family  of  half- Indian  children  in  the  valley  of  that  far  off  Oregon,  of 
which  then  he  had  hardly  ever  heard  the  name.  But  a  man  once  entered  into 
the  service  of  the  fur  companies  found  it  nearly  impossible  to  abandon  the  service, 
unless  he  had  shown  himself  cowardly  and  unfit — in  which  case  he  was  permitted 
to  return  when  the  trading  partner  went  to  St.  Louis  for  goods.  A  brave  and 
active  man  was  sure  to  be  kept  in  the  Company's  debt,  or  in  some  other  way  in 
its  power;  so  that  no  opportunity  should  be  afforded  of  leaving  the  life  he  had 
entered  upon  however  thoughtlessly.  Letters  were  even  forbidden  to  be  written 
or  received;  lest  hearing  from  home  should  produce  homesickness  and  disaf-' 
fection.  The  service  was  so  full  of  dangers,  that  it  was  estimated  fully  one-fifth 
if  not  one-fourth  of  the  trappers  were  killed  by  the  Indians,  or  died  by  accident 
and  exposure  each  year. 

Yet,  with  all  these  chances  against  him,  Meek  lived  eleven  years  in  the  mount 
ains,  fighting  Indians  and  wild  beasts,  with  never  in  all  that  time  a  serious 
wound  from  Indian  arrow  or  paw  of  grizzly  bear;  a  fact  that  illustrates  better 
than  any  words,  the  address,  quickness  and  courage  of  the  man.  Though  often 
sportively  alluding  to  his  own  subterfuges  to  escape  from  danger,  it  still  remained 
evident  that  an  awkward,  slow  or  cowardly  man  could  never  have  resorted  to 
such  means.  An  unnsually  fine  physic,  a  sunny  temper  and  ready  wit,  made 
him  a  favorite  with  both  comrades  and  employers,  and  gave  him  influence  with 
such  Indian  tribes  as  the  mountain-men  held  in  friendly  relations. 

There  are  certain  seasons  of  the  year  when  either  the  beaver  cannot  be  taken 
on  account  of  cold,  or  when  its  fur  is  worth  little  on  account  of  hot  weather. 
At  these  seasons,  the  men  jiad  their  semi-annual  rendezvous — that  of  winter 
season  being  the  longest— all  of  the  men  going  into  camp  in  some  part  of  the 
country  where  they  could  best  subsist  themselves  and  their  horses.  During  some 
of  these  winter  vacations,  Meek  applied  himself  to  acquiring  some  knowledge  of 
reading:  and  as  the  only  authors  carried  about  with  the  Company's  goods,  were 
of  the  very  best — the  Bible,  Shakespeare,  and  the  standard  poets— the  effect 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COL.    JOSEPH   L.    MEEK.  8l 

was  to  store  a  mind  otherwise  empty  of  learning  with  some  of  the  finest  litera 
ture  in  the  English  language. 

Besides  this  advantage,  Meek  had  for  companions  men  who  had  in  their  youth 
been  educated  for  a  very  different  life  from  that  they  were  leading,  but  who,  for 
one  cause  and  another,  had  become  embittered  against  society  and  voluntarily 
exiled  themselves^  Others,  from  a  love  of  adventure  had  come  to  the  mountains. 
Only  a  small  proportion  were  really  illiterate  men.  Besides  his  companions  in 
camp,  Meek  quite  often  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  traveling  parties  of 
English  noblemen,  or  of  painters  and  natualists,  who  attached  themselves  for 
greater  safety  to  the  caravan  of  the  fur  companies.  In  this  way  he  was  enabled 
to  pick  up  a  fund  of  miscellaneous  knowledge  that  went  far  to  cover  the  defi 
ciency  of  his  early  education. 

f 

About  1839,  the  beaver  had  become  so  scarce  from  being  so  long  and  steadily 
hunted  by  the  several  companies,  that  it  was  thought  best  to  disband  them. 
Here  was  a  new  phase  of  the  life  into  which  Meek  had  so  thoughtlessly  been 
drawn.  At  twenty-nine,  in  the  very  flush  of  young  manhood,  to  be  deserted  in 
the  mountains  by  his  employers,  was  something  he  had  not  foreseen.  To  return 
to  Virginia  with  an  Indian  wife  and  children,  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  even  if 
it  were  possible,  as  it  was  not.  To  remain  in  the  mountains,  except  by  relin 
quishing  forever  all  thoughts  of  civilized  associations,  was  equally  impossible. 

At  this  juncture,  Meek,  with  several  more  mountain-men,  determined  to  cast 
their  lot  with  that  of  the  almost  unknown  Oregon,  then  virtually  in  possession 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company;  and  in  1840,  did  remove  with  their  families  to  the 
"Wallamet  valley,  where  at  that  time  very  few  Americans  were  living  except 
those  connected  with  the  Methodist  Mission — few  indeed,  in  all. 

In  the  winter  of  1840,  Meek  selected  a  land  claim  in  the  Tualatin  Plains, 
where  he  began  to  farm,  the  same  he  afterwards  lived  upon  and  where  he  died, 
in  June,  1875. 

From  the  time  that  he  came  to  Oregon,  until  Oregon  became  a  State,  Meek  was 
always  more  or  less  actively  concerned  in  her  affairs.  Well  acquainted  with 
Indian  character,  he  was  useful  in  maintaining  peace  with  the  native  tribes.  A 
staunch  American,  he  resisted  the  encroachments  of  British  authority  during  the 
period  of  joint  occupancy  of  the  country.  When  it  was  at  last  thought  best  to  move 
for  the  organization  of  a  Provisional  Government,  he  was  conspicuously  active  in 
calling  for  an  expression  of  sentiment,  heading  the  American  column  in  his  own 
person.  Being  made  Sheriff  under  the  new  government,  he  performed  his  duties, 
not  always  light  ones,  with  promptitude  and  spirit.  He  was  twice  elected  Assem 
blyman  from  Washington  county,  performing  his  duties  with  propriety  and  patri- 

5 


82  BIOGRAPHY   OF   COL.    JOSEPH   L.    MEEK. 

otism,  dashed  sometimes  with  the  wild  humor  for  which,  whether  as  a  moun 
taineer  or  a  legislator,  he  was  celebrated. 

When  the  massacre  of  the  missionaries  and  emigrants  at  Wailatpu,  startled 
all  Oregon  in  1847,  he  accepted  the  toilsome  and  dangerous  duty  of  messenger 
to  Congress;  having  to  perform  the  journey  overland  in  the  depth  of  winter,  with 
only  two  companions,  one  of  whom  gave  out  upon  the  way.  He  arrived  after 
much  hardship,  on  the  Missouri  frontier  early  in  March,  without  money  or  de 
cent  habiliments,  and  by  his  address  won  his  way  wherever  he  appeared  until 
he  presented  himself,  a  forlorn  messenger  indeed,  at  the  door  of  the  White 
House.  During  all  his  subsequent  life,  he  delighted  to  recall  the  sensation  he 
was  able  to  produce  on  being  presented  to  President  Polk.  No  other  man  in 
the  United  States  would  have  thought  of  standing  so  entirely  on  the  merits  of 
his  cause;  or  of  making  his  wretchedness  a  subject  of  such  self-railery  as  to  divert 
attention  from  its  pitifulness  and  make  it  seem  only  a  very  good  jest.  Such  was 
the  temperament  of  the  man,  that  when  he  chose  to  be  merry — and  at  his  own 
expense — there  was  universal  enjoyment  in  beholding  it. 

Meek  remained  in  Washington,  a  guest  of  President  Polk,  until  the  passage 
of  the  Organic  Act,  August  I4th,  1848.  Oregon  was  by  this  Act,  constituted  a 
Territory  of  the  United  States,  and  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  its  officers  as 
quickly  as  possible  in  order  that  they  might  reach  their  field  of  action  before  the 
expiration  of  Polk's  term  of  office.  A  commission  was  given  Meek  of  U.  S. 
Marshal;  and  he  was  entrusted  with  the  duty  of  conveying  to  Gen.  Joseph  Lane, 
his  commission  as  Governor  of  Oregon,  with  authority  to  take  an  escort  of  U.  S. 
dragoons  from  Fort  Leavenworth  in  the  Kansas  Territory,  for  their  safe  conduct 
across  the  plains.  This  was  a  very  different  order  of  travel  from  that  he  had 
pursued  six  months  previous,  when  he  had  skulked  through  a  thousand  miles  of 
Indian  country  almost  alone,  poor,  ragged  and  often  in  danger  of  starving,  to 
carry  news  to  the  government  of  the  awful  straight  in  which  the  little  American 
colony  in  Oregon  found  itself. 

By  taking  the  southern  route,  or  Sante  Fe  trail,  the  Oregon  Governor  and 
Marshal  arrived  in  California  in  February,  1849,  an^  m  Oregon  on  the  2d  of 
March,  just  in  time  for  Lane  to  be  proclaimed  Governor  of  the  new  territory 
before  the  expiration  of  Polk's  term.  They  found  the  Indians  in  a  state  of 
armed  tranquility,  waiting  to  see  what  the  whites  would  do  further  to  avenge  the 
the  murders  of  Wailatpu.  Lane  demanded  the  principal  murderers  from  their 
tribe,  and  had  them  hanged,  Meek  officiating  as  executioner — a  duty  which  he 
performed  with  less  reluctance  since  one  of  his  own  children  had  been  among 
the  victims. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  COL.  JOSEPH  L.  MEEK.  83 

Meek  was  now  at  his  prime,  being  about  forty  years  of  age;  gay,  handsome,  and 
of  a  dignified  carriage.  He  might  have  been  wealthy,  had  he  possessed  either 
the  avariciousness  or  the  business  acumen  necessary  to  the  accumulation  of  money. 
But  not  having  either,  the  money  that  qame  into  his  hands  slipped  easily  away. 
When  the  Territory  became  a  State,  offices  passed  into  other  hands,  and  the 
Pioneers  rarely  conducted  its  affairs.  Meek  thenceforth  lived  quietly  upon  his 
farm  near  Hillsboro,  laboring  little,  and  finding  occupation  in  riding  about  the 
country  or  visiting  the  towns  that  he  had  seen  grow  up  throughout  the  valley  of 
the  Wallamet.  Wherever  he  went,  a  crowd  of  curious  listeners  were  wont  to 
gather,  eager  to  hear,  over  and  over,  the  tales  of  mountain  adventure,  or  stories 
of  pioneer  times,  that  he  so  well  knew  how  to  make  interesting  or  diverting. 
To  those  who  knew  him  only  in  this  character,  he  appeared  simply  as  a  humorist 
who  could  paint  a  scene  as  broadly  as  his  audience  demanded.  But  there  was 
another  side  to  his  character  not  so  well  understood — that,  had  his  mother  lived 
to  cultivate  it,  or  had  he  married  a  refined  woman  of  his  own  race,  who  would 
have  developed  it,  would  have  been  conspicuous  for  its  gentleness,  generosity 
and  courtesy.  In  the  presence  of  women  he  was  courtly  and  gallant  to  a 
degree  very  remarkable  in  a  man  who  had  lived  so  adventurous  a  life.  Not 
withstanding  his  lively  temperament,  personal  beauty,  and  uncongenial  domestic 
relations,  it  was  never  reported  of  him  that  he  was  untrue  to  his  marriage -bond. 
The  blame  of  his  position  he  took  upon  himself;  though  in  reviewing  the  cir 
cumstances  of  his  life  there  seems  not  much  real  blame  attaching  to  it.  It  was 
unfortunate  rather  than  blameworthy. 

Many  are  the  humorous  sayings  that  will  long  be  remembered  in  Oregon  of 
which  Meek  was  the  author;  one  of  the  best  known  of  which  probably  is  his 
reply  to  a  young  Englishman,  who  in  rather  an  affected  manner,  was  inquiring 
of  him  concerning  the  changes  which  he,  still  a  young  man,  and  only  a  few  years 
a  resident  in  the  country,  had  seen  in  Oregon.  "Changes?"  said  Meek,  with 
great  animation,  "  Why,  when  /came  to  Oregon,  Mount  Hood  was  a  hole  in  the 
ground!" 

Concerning  his  indifference  to  money,  and  his  love  of  reputation,  Hon.  Jesse 
Applegate  relates  that  there  being  two  offices  at  his  disposal  under  the  Provis 
ional  Government,  one  with  some  emoluments,  and  the  other  with  only  glory, 
the  choice  was  offered  Meek,  who  quickly  responded — "  Give  me  the  one  with 
the  glory!" 

I,  myself,  once  asked  why  he  brought  his  Nez  Perce  wife  to  the  white  settle 
ments — why  he  did  not  leave  her  with  her  people?  "  I  could't  do  it,"  he 
replied,  "she  had  children,  and  I  could  not  take  them  away  from  her."  On 
my  suggesting  that  he  could  have  left  them  with  her,  and  cut  loose  entirely 


84  BIOGRAPHY   OF   COL.    JOSEPH   L.    MEEK. 

from  his  mountain  life,  he  replied,  tapping  his  breast  in  the  region  of  the  heart, 
"I  could  not  do  that,  it  hurt  here.1" 

He  was  a  kind  husband  and  father;  proud  of  his  children  and  ready  to  sacrifice 
himself  for  them.  His  family,  seven  int  number,  resided  with  the  mother,  near 
Hillsboro,  until  recently,  when  two  of  the  daughters  married  and  removed  to 
other  States.  Of  his  three  sons,  all  remain  upon  the  farm,  with  the  elder  and 
younger  sister,  and  all  are  devoted  to  the  Nez  Perce  mother,  who  sincerely 
mourns  her  widowhood. 

The  title  of  "Colonel"  which  attached  to  Meek,  was  altogether  honorary,  he  never 
having  held  a  commission.  But  his  military  air,  and  the  willingness  with  which 
he  performed  military  duty  when  called  upon,  his  Marshal's  costume,  decorated 
with  the  U.  S.  buttons,  and  similar  causes,  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  title  that 
seemed  so  naturally  to  belong  to  him.  His  horsemanship  was  perfect,  and  his 
appearance  upon  horseback  in  his  office  of  Marshal  extremely  imposing;  circum 
stances  that  inevitably  suggested  a  title. 

Such  are  some  of  the  characteristics,  and  such  some  of  the  circumstances 
belonging  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In  the  "  River  of  the  West,"  the  future 
historian  will  find  preserved  many  details  too  voluminous  for  the  purposes  of  this 
Association. 

Colonel  Meek  died  of  inflammation  of  the  stomach,  June  2oth,  1875,  after  an 
illness  of  two  weeks,  exhibiting  in  his  suffering  and  death  the  same  patience 
and  self-abnegation  which  had  always  distinguished  him.  Mourned  by  his 
family,  and  regretted  by  hundreds  of  neighbors  and  friends,  as  well  as  by  the 
members  of  the  Association. 


PIONEER   DAY. 


It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  suggestion  of  the  fifteenth  of  June  for  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Pioneers  was  a  good  one,  and  has  done  much  to  make  the 
meetings  a  success.  In  the  selection  of  this  day,  both  the  useful  and  beautiful 
are  promoted.  It  is  the  most  convenient  and  pleasant  season  of  the  year  for  an 
out  of  door  meeting;  and  is  the  leisure  season  of  the  farming  community,  who 
constitute  the  greater  portion  of  the  people  and  the  Pioneers.  It  also  serves  to 
commemorate  the  final  acknowledgment  by  Great  Britain  of  the  American  right 
to  the  country  and  the  triumph  of  the  Pioneer  in  the  race  for  the  pre-occupation 
of  it. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  letter,  a  copy  of  which  has  been  obtained 
from  Judge  Grim,  that  Hon.  Stephen  F.  Chadwick  is  the  author  of  the  suggestion 
and  that  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  this  happy  choice  of  what  we  venture  to 
call  PIONEER  DAY. 

SALEM.  Nov.  i9th,  1873. 
JUDGE  GRIM,  VICE  PRESIDENT  OF  O.  P.  A. 

DEAR  SIR. — Some  of  our  Pioneer's  feel  as  if  the  meeting  of  our  folks  should  be 
in  the  spring.  In  June  would  be  the  best  time  I  think .  I  would  call  your  attention 
to  the  I5th  of  June  as  a  very  appropriate  day  for  the  meeting.  In  1846,  June 
1 5th,  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  settling  the  boundary  of  Oregon  was  signed 
at  Washington,  by  James  Buchanan  on  our  part,  and  by  Richard  Pakenham  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain.  These  Plenipotentiaries  were  appointed  by  the 
respective  nations  to  settle  the  limits  of  Oregon  "  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mount 
ains,"  making  the  boundary  the  49th  parallel.  By  this  treaty,  all  those  con 
sidering  themselves  British  subjects  before,  or  nearly  all,  became  citizens  of 
the  United  States  and  recognized  the  American  government  over  them.  It  is  a 
fine  idea  connected  with  this  circumstance.  By  this  treaty,  all  those  hailing 
from  the  two  different  nations,  now  accepted  the  situation  and  became  American 
citizens  and  pioneers  of  one  great  people.  All  born  abroad,  all  from  different 


86  PIONEER     DAY. 

parts,  still  by  this  treaty  brought  under  one  flag,  one  government,  and  enabled 
to  work  in  harmony  for  their  common  interest.  The  event  is  a  good  one  and 
belongs  to  the  Pioneers.  It  is  true  this  treaty  was  not  proclaimed  until  the  5th 
of  August,  1846,  still  it  was  signed  and  became  the  law  on  the  I5th  of  June 
1846. 

If  a  change  is  made  to  spring,  the  I5th  of  June  is  the  best  time  for  the  meeting. 
The  5th  of  August  is  in  the  midst  of  harvest,  otherwise  that  would  do.  The 
I5th  of  June  is  a  season  of  rest,  if  there  is  such  a  thing  in  Oregon. 

You  will  find  this  treaty  in  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  9,  page  869; 
also  in  Judge  Deady's  Code,  page  55.  By  the  aid  of  this  letter  you  will  under 
stand  the  dates  therein  mentioned.  Please  get  the  Code  and  read  the  treaty 
and  let  me  know  what  you  think  of  the  idea. 

Yours  truly, 

S.  F.  CHADWICK. 


AURORA,  MARION  COUNTY,  OREGON,  \ 

November  23d,   1875.      } 
HON.  S.  F.  CHADWICK  : 

DEAR  SIR: — I  thank  you  for  your  suggestion  of  the  1 5th  of  June,  as  the  proper 
time  for  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers.  It  is  a  good  day,  and  it 
belongs  to  the  Pioneers.  I  have  written  to  President  F.  X.  Mathiew,  W.  H. 
Rees,  Dr.  Wm  Keil,  E.  C.  Cooley  and  others,  and  all  agree  with  you  that  the 
1 5th  of  June,  in  remembrance  of  that  day  in  1846,  when  the  final  settlement  of 
the  vexed  question  of  boundary  of  Oregon  was  brought  about  between  the  con 
tending  powers,  is  a  suitable  day  for  our  re-unions,  and  I  have  no  doubt  when 
the  Association  meets,  it  will  set  apart  the  1 5th  of  June  as  the  anniversary  day 
of  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon,  according  to  your  suggestion. 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.  W.  GRIM. 


SONG  OF  THE  PIONEERS. 


The  following  song  was  composed  by  Mr.  S.  A.  Clarke,  for 
the  occasion  and  sung  by  Prof.  T.  H.  Crawford,  who  was  assisted 
by  several  young  ladies,  at  the  re-union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer 
Association,  held  at  Salem,  June  15,  1875.  It  was  the  intention 
to  put  the  song  in  its  proper  place  in  the  proceedings  of  the  cele 
bration,  but  was  inadvertantly  omitted. 


Oh!  So  many  years  have  flown, 

Since  the  news  of  Oregon, 
Beached  our  homes  beyond  the  mountains  far  away; 

Since  we  harnessed  up  our  teams, 

When  the  Spring-time's  sunny  gleams, 
Showed  the  path  across  the  plains  and  mountains  grey. 


Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  trains  came  marching, 
Westward,  still  westward,  see  them  come! 

Sometimes  savage  tribes  they  fought, 

But  the  starry  flag  they  brought, 
While  beneath  its  folds  each  freeman  found  a  home. 

II 

Up  the  Kocky  Mountain'  height, 

Now  their  camp-fires  blaze  by  night; 
Or  upon  the  savage  plains  they  thickly  gleam; 

Now  the  weary  legions  pass, 

Where  the  frowning  canyons  mass, 
Or  they  swim  and  ford  the  swiftly  running  stream. 


Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  trains  came  marching; 
Westward,  still  westward,  day  by  day, 

Standing  guard  the  live-long  night; 

Ever  ready  for  the  fight; 
Here  to  plant  our  flag  three  thousand  miles  away. 


88  SONG   OF   THE   PIONEERS. 


in. 

Through  the  land  of  savage  foes, 

See,  the  long  procession  goes, 
Till  it  camps  upon  Columbia  of  the  West; 

Where  the  mountains  block  the  stream, 

And  the  Cascades  flash  and  gleam, 
As  the  sun  sinks  to  his  distant  ocean  rest . 

CHORUS. 

Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  trains  came  marching, 
At  length  the  deadly  plains  are  passed; 

But  there's  still  the  river  trail, 

Or  the  Cascade  Eange  to  scale,  • 

Then  the  fair  Willamette  homes  are  reached  at  last.    ' 

IV. 

And  'tis  well  that  Pioneers 

Should  thus  meet  with  passing  years, 
While  the  locks  that  once  were  dark  are  turning  snow, 

To  recall  the  olden  story, 

That  shall  be  their  children's  glory, 
How  we  crossed  the  plains  and  mountains  long  ago. 


Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  trains  came  marching, 
Singing  and  marching  to  the  West; 

Till  all  dangers  were  behind, 

And  the  homes  we  came  to  find, 
Smiled  upon  us  from  Willamette's  Vale  of  Eest. 


TRANSACTIONS 


FOURTH   ANNUAL  KE-UNION 


O1876;0 


AKEUAL   &M11SS  IIMfEIEl  BT  161,  B.  F.  B01SS, 


TOGETHER  WITH 


THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDBESS  BY  HON.  JOHN  MINTO  ;    POEM  BY  E.  EBEEHABDT, 
ESQ.,  AND  AN  ARTICLE  WRITTEN  BY  HON.  JESSE  APPLEGATE. 


PUBLISEEI   BT  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


SALEM,    OREGON  : 

E.   M.   WAITE,    STEAM  PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 
1877. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


SALEM,  OREGON,  May  4,   1876. 
Board  of  Directors  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

The  following  members  of  the  Board  and  Association  were 
present : 

Hon.  John  W.  Grim,  President. 

» 
Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke,  Vice  President. 

Joseph  Watt  and  W.  J.  Herren,  members  of  the  Board. 
J.  Henry  Brown,  Recording  Secretary. 
Willard  H.  Rees,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
Hon.  F.  X.   Mathieu,  and  several  other  gentlemen  took  part 
in  the  proceedings. 

Mr.  Rees  moved  that  the  re-union  be  extended  to  continue  for 
two  days, — i6th  and  i6th  of  June  next. 

On  motion,  Jos.  Watt  and  S*.  G.  Reed,  were  appointed  a  com 
mittee  of  arrangements  in  regard  to  fares  with  the  different  com 
panies.  Carried. 

The  subject  of  programme  was  taken  up  and  considered  in 
detail. 

Joseph  Holman,  of  Marion;  Amos  Cook,  of  Yam  bill;  A.  L. 
Lovejoy,  of  Clackamas;  and  Medoram  Crawford,  ofMultnomah, 
were  elected  standard  bearers. 

The  piece  of  music  known  as  Oregon,  (a  Quickstep)  composed 
by  A.  Metz,  in  1845,  the  only  copy  in  existence,  was  selected  to 
be  played  by  the  band  as  the  leading  piece  of  music. 


4  MEETING    OF   THE    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  to  appoint  the  floor  managers 
for  the  ball. 

Mr.  Cook  moved  that  the  ball  tickets  be  placed  at  $2.00,  with 
out  supper. 

After  considerable  discussion  in  regard  to  financial  matters,  the 
Board  adjourned  until  7  o'clock,  p.  M. 


EVENING   SESSION. 
The  Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

The  following  programme  for  the  Annual  Re-union  commenc 
ing  the  i$th  of  June,  was  taken  up  and  adopted: 

EXERCISES  AT  THE  FAIR  GROUNDS. 

The  procession  will  form  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief  Marshal,  Thomas 
C.  Shaw,  at  10%  o'clock,  A.  M.,  June  15,  1876,  on  the  plank  walk  extending 
east  from  the  railroad  track,  at  the  Fair  Grounds  in  the  following  order,  and 
march  to  the  stand  in  the  grove  : 

1st.     Northwest  Brass  Band — Oregon. 

2d.     Standard  Bearers. 

3d.     President  and  Vice  President. 

4th.     Chaplain  and  Orator. 

5th.     Essayist  and  Poet. 

6th.     Members  of  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  Oregon. 

7th.     Recording  and  Corresponding  Secretaries  and  Treasurer. 

8th.     Invited  guests,  male  and  female. 

9th.  Members  of  the  Society,  male  and  female,  who  came  into  the  Territory 
previous  to  January,  1841;  followed  by  the  13  divisions  to  January,  1854,  each 
division  with  appropriate  banner. 

loth.     Friends  of  the  Association,  male  and  female. 

nth.  March  as  the  Marshal  shall  direct,  to  the  Stand,  where  the  following 
Exercises  will  be  had. 


AT  THE  STAND. 
1st.     Music — Hail  Columbia. 


MEETING    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS,  5 

2d.  Prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.  W.  H.  Roberts. 

3th.  Annual  Address  by  Hon.  R.  P.  Boise. 

4th.  Music. 

5th.  Recess. 

AFTERNOON  EXERCISES. 

1st.     i  o'clock,  Picnic  Dinner. 

2d.  3  o'clock,  Essay  by  Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Dawne,  followed  by  a  Musical  Enter- 
tainment  in  the  Pavilion,  by  the  Pioneer  young  ladies  and  gentlemen. 

3d.     7  o'clock,  dancing  in  the  Pavilion. 

4th.  7  o'clock,  PIONEER  CAMP  FIRE.  Opening  address,  by  Hon.  S.  F. 
Chad  wick,  who  will  be  followed  by  others,  with  time  limited  to  15  minutes  to 
each  speaker. 

SECOND  DAY. 

1st.     9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  reports  and  election  of  officers  and  business  meeting. 

2d.  II  o'clock,  A.  M.,  form  procession  and  march  to  the  speakers'  stand, 
where  Hon.  John  Minlo  will  deliver  the  Descriptive  Address,  and  call  the  Roll 
of  1844. 

3d.     i  o'clock,  Picnic  Dinner. 

4th.     2  o'clock,  Poem  by  E.  Eberhardt. 

5th.     Singing  by  Students  of  Salem  under  direction  of  Prof.  T.  H.  Crawford. 


PORTLAND    CELEBRATION. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Rees  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolu 
tions,  which  were  adopted: 

WHEREAS,  An  invitation  has  been  extended  by  the  Centennial  Executive 
Committee,  in  the  name  of  the  citizens  of  Portland,  to  the  Pioneer  Association, 
requesting  its  members  to  be  present  and  join  in  celebrating  the  hundreth  anni 
versary  of  our  national  independence;  and 

WHEREAS,  Hon.  J.  W.  Grim,  President  of  the  Association,  has,  in  behalf  of 
its  members,  accepted  the  invitation  thus  extended;  wherefore,  the  following 
suggestions  are  respectfully  submitted  : 

1st.  That  the  Board  of  Directors  be,  requested  to  confer  with  the  Centennial 
Executive  Committee  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  suitable  hall  or  place  in  the 


6  MEETING    OF   THE    BOARD    OF   DIRECTORS. 

city,  to  be  used  as  headquarters  of  the  Pioneer  Association,  during  the  Centen 
nial  Celebration. 

2d.  That  the  meeting  designate  a  member  of  the  organization  to  perform  the 
duty  of  "  spokesman"  or  orator,  and  when  occasion  may  require  in  the  regular 
order  of  exercises,  to  respond  in  behalf  of  the  Pioneer  Association. 

3d.  That  a  Marshal  and  two  aids  be  selected  to  act  during  the  celebration 
under  the  general  orders  of  the  Chief  Marshal  of  the  Centennial  Jubilee. 

4th.  That  in  forming  the  Pioneers  in  procession,  the  same  order  used  at  the 
Annual  Re-union  shall  be  observed  and  the  National  flag,  the  Grand  and  Divis 
ion  banners  of  the  Association,  when  not  in  use,  shall  be  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Marshal  of  the  Association. 

5th.  That  the  Recording  Secretary  of  the  Association  be  authorized  to  keep 
the  Register  at  the  Pioneer  headquarters  in  Portland  during  the  Centennial  Cel 
ebration,  for  the  purpose  of  enrolling  the  names  of  those  who  may  choose  to 
become  members. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  as  Marshal  and  aids : 

R.  H.  Lamson,  of  Dayton,  Yamhill  county,  Chief  Marshal. 

Aids — Daniel  Clark,  of  Marion,  and  James  Elkins,  of  Linn. 

Association  Grand  Standard  Bearers: — Ben  Cornelius,  of 
Forest  Grove;  Hiram  Smith,  of  Harrisburg;  B.  F.  Shaw,  of  Van 
couver,  W.  T.;  B.  F.  Nichols,  of  Dallas. 

Division  Standard  Bearers : — 1840,  J.  L.  Parrish,  of  Marion; 
1841,  F.  Bernier,  of  Marion;  1842,  M.  Crawford,  of  Multnomah; 
1843,  W.  J.  Garrison,  McMinnville;  1844,  Wm.  M.  Case,  of 
Champoeg;  1845,  Greenberry  Smith,  of  Corvallis;  1846,  F.  M. 
Geer,  Butteville;  1847,  Chris.  Taylor,  Dayton;  1848,  Ahio  S. 
Watt,  Forest  Grove;  1849,  Capt.  Geo.  H.  Flanders,  Portland; 
1850,  Geo.  Comegyes,  Amity. 

On  motion,  adjourned. 

J.   W.   GRIM,  President. 

J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 


COMMITTEE  OF  ARRANGEMENTS. 


SALEM,  May  13,  1876. 

The  Committee  of  Arrangements  met  in  the  Senate  Chamber 
at  2  o'clock,  and  the  following  named  members  were  present: 
Mrs.  J.  F.  Miller,  Mrs.  John  Minto,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Clarke,  Mrs.  W. 
Breyman,  Mrs.  B.  H.  Bowman,  Misses  Clara  Watt,  Marie  E. 
Smith,  and  John  W.  Minto. 

On  motion,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Miller  was  elected  President. 

The  several  propositions  from  Brass  Bands  were  read,  and,  on 
motion,  the  Northwest  band,  Charles  Brey,  leader  was  selected. 

On  motion,  J.  A.  Baker  was  added  to  the  committee. 

On  motion,  Martin  &  Co.,  and  Peter  Emerson  were  author 
ized  to  open  restaurants  on  the  ground  during  the  Re-union. 

The  following  persons  were  appointed  as  Committee  on  Finance : 
Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick,.  C.  M.  Cartwright,  Misses  Clara  A.  Watt 
and  Marie  E.  Smith. 

The  following  committees  were  chosen  for  the  annual  ball : 

HONORARY  COMMITTEE. 

Hon.  M.  P.  Deady,— Portland. 
Hon.  L.  F.  Grover, — Salem. 
Dr.  J.  R.  Bayley— Corvallis. 
Col.  John  McCracken, — Portland. 
Hon.  Henry  Conn,  Sen., — Roseburg. 
Hon.  M.  Crawford, — La  Fayette. 
Capt.  A.  P.  Ankeny,— Portland. 
Joseph  Watt    Esq, — Forest  Grove. 
Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith,—  Dixie. 


COMMITTEE    OF    ARRANGEMENTS. 


Hon.  J.  C.  Tolman, — Jacksonville. 
Hon.  S.  F.  Chadwick,— Salem. 
John  Hobson,  Esq., — Astoria. 
Hon.  Henry  Klippell, — Jacksonville. 
Hon.  O.  S.  Savage,— The  Dalles. 
Col.  C.C.  Beekman, — Jacksonville. 


FLOOR    MANAGERS. 


Hon.  J.  B.  Lee,— Corvallis. 
Gen'l.  M.  V.  Brown, — Albany. 

D.  H.  Looney, — Jefferson. 
Benjamin  Strang, — Salem. 
John  W.  Minto, — Salem. 
W.  S.  Moss,— Oakland. 

E.  B.  Fellows, — Oregon  City. 
Hon.  Geo.  L.  Curry, — Portland. 
Ed.  Taylor,— Astoria. 

RECEPTION   COMMITTEE. 

Elijah  Livingstone, — Roseburg. 

E.  F.  Thompson,— Freeport,  W .  T. 
Byron  Grim, — Aurora. 

W.  S.  Eakin, — Eugene  City. 
J.  R.  Herren, — Albany. 
D.  H.  Murphy,— Salem. 

F.  C.  Geer.— Butteville. 

On  motion,  all  intoxicating  drinks  are  to  be  excluded  from  the 
grounds. 

On  motion,  adjourned. 

MRS.  J.   F.   MILLER,  President. 

J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Secretary. 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION. 


STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS, 

SALEM,  June  16,   1876. 

The  morning  of  the  i5th  of  June  was  greeted  with  a  balmy 
sun,  and  again  the  Pioneer  Association  of  Oregon  came  together 
around  its  common  alter  to  join  in  a  jubilee  over  the  completion 
of  the  toils  and  the  accomplishments  of  the  hopes  of  its  members. 
The  warm  greetings  of  those  who  had  not  met  for  years,  were 
exchanged,  old  acquaintances  renewed;  the  youths  of  different 
families  were  brought  face  to  face  with  the  companions  of  their 
parents  in  the  toils  and  privations  in  years  long  gone  by.  The 
scene  was  a  picturesque  one;  old  and  young  mingled  together 
with  a  cordiality  and  freedom  that  resembled  a  re-union  of  a  long 
separated  family.  Constantly  the  assembly  was  augmented,  and 
each  arrival  was  greeted  with  an  earnestness  and  cordiality  that 

was  assuring  that  they  were  expected  and  welcomed. 

\ 

The  procession  was  formed  by  the  Chief  Marshal,  Thomas  C. 
Shaw,  headed  by  a  large  American  flag,  borne  by  Mr.  W.  J. 
Herren,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Oliva  Smith,  one  of  the  pioneer 
ladies  of  Oregon.  Then  followed  the  magnificent  banner  of  the 
Association,  followed  by  the  officers  and  different  divisions  to 
January,  1853,  and  marched  over  the  designated  route,  halting  at 
the  Speaker's  stand,  where  the  assembly  was  seated.  After  music 
by  the  band,  Rev.  Wm.  Roberts  offered  a  fervent  prayer,  which 
was  listened  to  with  the  strictest  decorum. 

Hon.  John  W.  Grim,  President  of  the  Association,  then  de 
livered  the  following  opening  address : 


10  FOURTH    ANNUAL    RE-UN  I  ON*. 

FELLOW  CITIZENS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER 
ASSOCIATION: — In  compliance  with  the  Constitution  of  our  organization,  the 
ceremonies  of  your  fourth  Annual  Re-union  have  now  commenced.  The  I5th 
of  June  is  an  historical  day  in  the  annals  of  the  former  Territory  of  Oregon,  and 
by  your  organic  law'  has  been  set  apart  as  an  anniversary  for  the  re -union  of  her 
early  pioneers,  the  men  and  women  who  brought  from  their  far-off  Eastern 
homes  and  planted  by  their  own  unaided  exertions,  upon  this  western  shore, 
the  inestimable  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  While  we  cannot  but 
drop  a  silent  tear  at  the  tombs  of  John  Ford,  Col.  Joseph  L.  Meek,  Capt.  L.  N. 
English,  Samuel  Allen,  David  Weston  and  J.  J.  Mathoit — all  veteran  pioneers 
of  Oregon,  most  of  whom  were  present  with  us  upon  these  beautiful  grounds 
twelve  months  ago — and  remembering  that  those  who  are  gone  are  only  a  few 
camps  in  advance,  yet  we  have  cause  to  return  thanks  and  rejoice  with  an  honest 
joy,  springing  up  from  the  innermost  recesses  of  our  hearts,  that  so  many  of  the 
early  fathers  and  mothers  are  present  with  their  children,  children's  children, 
and  friends,  to  take  part  in  the  exercises  of  this  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  the 
day  we  commemorate. 

The  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  is  historical  and  social  in  character,  hence 
fellow-members,  you  have  a  high  and  responsible  duty  to  perform,  and  as  its 
founders,  will  in  due  time  be  rewarded  for  your  labors,  if  you  shall  faithfully 
continue  to  observe  your  high  trust. 

Your  historical  association  will  be  perpetuated  by  your  children.  It  will 
grow  with  their  growth,  and  strength.  The  geographical  boundaries  of  the 
country  over  which  historical  researches  may  extend  is  vast  indeed,  limited  on 
the  east  by  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  mountains;  on  the  west  by  the  Pacific  ocean, 
and  extending  from  the  42d  to  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  which  com 
prises  the  outline  of  the  original  Territory  of  Oregon.  I  can  not  but  congratu 
late  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Association,  upon  the  rapidity  with  which 
your  historical  collections,  published  and  unpublished,  are  accumulating.  But 
for  the  greater  part  of  this  valuable  labor,  the  Association  is  indebted  to  but 
comparatively  few  of  its  members.  Hence  permit  me  to  say,  if  it  is  our  inten 
tion  to  contribute  one  single  thought,  incident  or  historical  fact  to  our  archival 
collection,  that  good  intention  should  not  be  delayed,  for  each  returning  Pioneer 
day  will  find  our  ranks  more  and  more  decimated  by  the  ravages  of  ever-rolling 
time. 

It  is  hardly  necessary,  fellow-members,  for  me  to  remind  you  that  this  great 
nation  is  now  nearing  the  Centennial  anniversary  of  her  birth .  We  are  forty 
millions  of  people  united  in  a  great  and  invincible  Republic.  The  next  Centen 
nial  year  will  find  us  a  gigantic  nation  of  one  hundred  millions,  with  at  least 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION.  1 1 

thirty  millions  on  the  Pacific  coast.     And  let  us  hope  for  the  benefit  of  posterity, 
a  republic  still,  with  all  the  blessings  the  name  implies. 

Now  that  our  kindred  organization  all  over  this  broad  land  are  putting  forth 
their  best  energies  toward  the  consummation  of  the  special  objects  which  call 
them  into  life,  it  would  be  well  for  us  to  emulate'  their  praiseworthy  example. 

I  am  also  gratified  on  behalf  of  this  Association,  to  send  greeting  to  our  sister 
organization,  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  Oregon,  your  kindliest  re 
gards,  fully  impressed  in  the  belief  that  their  labors  will  add  many  valuable 
pages  to  the  historical  record  of  this  western  land. 

In  conclusion  permit  me,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  in  behalf  of  this  honored 
Association  to  bid  you  all  a  most  hearty  welcome  to  this,  the  Fourth  Annual 
Jubilee  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Opening  Address  by  the  President, 
Hon.  R.  P.  Boise  was  introduced  and  delivered  the  Annual  Ad 
dress*  and  for  an  hour  interested  the  audience  in  his  strong  and 
terse  style,  making  one  of  the  best  efforts;  relating  many  thrilling 
incidents  and  giving  many  details  of  the  early  history  of  Oregon. 

Judge  Boise  was  followed  by  Hon.  M.  P.  Deady,  who  read  an 
article  written  by  Hon.  Jesse  Applegate,  entitled  "  A  Day  with  the 
Cow  Column,"  that  had  been  published  in  the  Overland  Monthly. 

After  music  by  the  band,  the  audience  was  dismissed  and  soon 
scattered  through  the  beautiful  grove  of  oaks  and  partook  of  a 
repast  served  in  a  true  picnic  style. 

At  3  o'clock,  p.  M.,  Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Dawne  read  an  essay  in 
behalf  of  the  ladies  of  the  Association. 

In  the  evening,  the  younger  portion  of  the  Association  repaired 
to  the  pavilion  and  participated  in  the  Annual  Ball,  and  it  was 
noticed  that  quite  a  number  of  the  old  Pioneers  who  were  unable 
to  resist  the  influence  of  the  good  music  furnished  for  the  occasion, 
took  an  active  part  in  the  exhilarating  quadrille;  the  sexagenary 
joined  hands  with  his  rosy  cheeked  partner  in  her  teens.  The 
strictest  decorum  was  observed,  and  the  Managers  exerted  them 
selves,  and  succeeded  most  admirably,  in  making  the  ball  one  of 
the  most  enjoyable  that  could  be  found. 


12  FOURTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION. 

At  the  same  hour,  in  the  oak  grove  near  by,  there  was  a  large 
number  collected  around  the  camp-fire,  where  short  speeches 
were  made,  and  many  thrilling  anecdotes  of  life  upon  the  plains 
and  pioneering  in  Oregon  and  the  now  adjacent  Territories,  were 
related.  Many  of  these  anecdotes  were  of  mirth-provoking  char 
acter,  while  others  were  burdened  with  a  serious  cast,  but  they 
were  all  of  an  instructive  character  and  of  deep  interest  to  the 
audience. 


SECOND  DAY. 

At  ii  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  procession  was  formed  according  to 
programme  and  marched  to  the  Speaker's  stand,  where  they  were 
well  entertained  by  the  Occasional  Address  by  Hon.  John  Minto, 
reviewing  and  giving  a  historical  account  of  their  trials,  and  called 
the  roll  of  1844.  The  address  was  followed  by  several  impromptu 
speeches  by  those  who  had  come  to  this  coast  both  by  land  and 
water. 

As  a  re-union,  the  occasion  was  a  success;  all  who  took  part 
enjoyed  themselves  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  it  was  remarked  by 
a  visitor  that  the  collection  was  one  well  calculated  in  their 
younger  years  to  reclaim  a  country,  subdue  the  savages  and  build 
up  a  State  that  is  a  bright  star  in  the  galaxy  of  our  common 
country. 


ASSOCIATION    MEETING. 

STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,  j 

SALEM,  June,   16,   1876.      j 

At  9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  according  to  programme,  a  business  meet 
ing  of  the  Association  was  held,  and  the  Recording  Secretary 
submitted  the  following  report,  which  was  adopted : 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

At  this  the  fourth  Annual  Re-union  of  the  Association,  your  Secretary  would 
respectfully  beg  leave  to  report: 


FOURTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  13 

Since  our  last  Re-union  there  has  been  a  steady  increase  of  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Association,  and  quite  a  number  of  the  early  settlers  of  Oregon 
have  become  members,  while  others  have  evinced  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  Association. 

THE   DEATHS. 

Of  our  members  who  have  passed  away  since  our  last  Re-union,  the  first  was 
Joseph  L.  Meek,  who  resided  near  Hillsboro,  Washington  county.  Col.  Meek 
died  June  II,  1875,  aged  65  years,  4  months  and  4  days,  and  was  sick  at  the 
time  of  our  last  meeting.  For  a  more  extended  notice  and  biography,  the  mem 
bers  are  referred  to  an  article  furnished  by  the  gifted  pen  of  Mrs.  F.  F.  Victor, 
published  in  this  year's  Transactions. 

Capt.  Leven  N.  English,  a  member  of  the  class  of  1845,  died  in  Salem,  March 
6,  1876,  at  the  ripe  age  of  84  years,  n  months  and  10  days.  There  was  a  short 
notice  of  his  life  published  in  our  Transactions,  but  not  as  full  as  was  justly 
due,  on  account  of  the  near  completion  of  the  publication;  but  a  much  fuller 
biography  is  being  prepared  for  the  Association's  Biographical  book. 

Samuel  Allen,  a  member  of  the  class  of  1847,  died  in  Salem,  May  12,  1876, 
aged  71  years.  Uncle  Samuel  Allen,  as.  was  most  familiarly  known,  died  after 
our  Transactions  had  been  issued,  consequently  his  name  does  not  appear  on 
the  memorial  page. 

These  three  deaths  are  all  that  your  Secretary  has  been  informed  of;  but  there 
may  have  been  more,  and  I  would  suggest  that  when  a  member  of  this  Associa 
tion  has  passed  away,  that  information  be  furnished  to  the  Secretary,  with  name' 
date  and  age,  with  such  biographical  sketch  that  would  prove  of  interest  to  the 
Association  and  the  people  of  the  State. 

There  have  also  several  other  old  pioneers,  not  members  of  this  Association, 
died  during  the  year.  The  first,  I  believe,  was  Joseph  H.  Brown,  who  resided 
I  think,  in  Washington  county,  at  an  advanced  age;  also  a  Mr.  Nelson,  of  Polk 
county,  another  settler,  whose  name  I  did  not  obtain,  who  had  reached  nearly 
100  years  of  age. 

Jean  Jacque  Mathoit,  a  native  of  France  and  a  resident  of  Butteville,  Marion 
county,  who  died  May  23,  1876,  age  72  years  and  I  month. 

Walter  Montieth,  the  proprietor  of  Albany,  Oregon,  died  at  that  city  last  Sab 
bath,  June  it,  1876,  age  60  years. 

These  last  mentioned  deaths  most  probably  do  not  belong  to  this  report;  but 
it  shows  how  rapidly  the  pioneers  of  early  Oregon  are  passing  off  the  stage  of 
action,  after  a  life  of  toil  and  danger,  and  having  established  a  State  on  the  far 


14  FOURTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

off  Pacific  coast,  thousands  of  miles  from  the  homes  of  their  childhood  and  made 
the  wilderness  blossom  like  the  rose. 

AMENDMENTS. 

By  request  of  several  who  are  interested,  the  subject  of  striking  out  the  words: 
^Provided,  That  no  admission  fees  or  yearly  dues  be  exacted  from  female  mem 
bers  of  the  Association;"  in  Article  IX,  of  the  Constitution,  is  brought  to  your 
attention,  and  they  argue  that  they  wish  to  be  placed  upon  an  equal  footing 
with  male  members.  I  will  only  say  that  there  are  now  on  the  roll  ninety 
female  names,  which,  if  they  paid  one  dollar  a  year,  might  have  some  weight 
on  the  subject. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

For  the  purpose  of  having  uniformity,  and  to  obtain  as  many  members  as  pos 
sible,  I  printed  at  my  own  expense,  blanks  with  the  proper  headings,  as  adopted  by 
the  Association  at  its  organization,  adding  the  postoffice  address,  and  appointed 
agents  wherever  I  could  ascertain  that  a  person  would  act  and  take  interest  in 
the  same.  This  action  met  with  the  hearty  approval  of  the  Board  of  Directors, 
and  I  hope  the  Association  will  approve  of  the  same,  if  you  think  proper,  as  it 
was  thought  that  by  this  means  the  names  of  many  could  be  obtained  that  could 
not  have  been  otherwise. 

For  the  purpose  of  arranging  the  name  alphabetically,  I  manufactured  a  book 
and  copied  all  the  members'  names  into  the  same. 

To  keep  the  accounts,  had  printed  receipts  and  bound  into  books  with  proper 
stubs,  considering  it  the  easiest  and  most  acurate  way  of  keeping  the  accounts 
of  the  members,  giving  a  receipt  to  a  new  for  membership  or  dues  from  old, 
properly  noted  on  the  stub. 

FINANCE. 

This  is  a  subject  that  requires  careful  legislation,  and  it  has  been  suggested 
that  the  dues  be  raised  to  that  of  $1.50  or  $2.00  as  it  is  quite  evident  that  at  the 
present  amount  it  is  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessary  current  expenses.  The 
idea  has  been  advanced  that  there  be  a  subscription  paper  circulated  at  the  town 
or  city  where  it  has  been  determined  to  hold  the  Re-union,  but  it  is  a  very  un 
certain  way  of  raising  money,  especially  when  the  gathering  lasts  for  only  two 
days,  and  that  a  social  one.  If  ladies  should  be  allowed  to  pay  an  initiation 
fee  and  yearly  dues  as  male  members,  there  w«uld  most  probably  be  added 
from  $50  to  $100  per  annum.  Thera  should  be  a  fund  set  aside  each  year,  and 
allowed  to  accumulate  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  simple  monument  to  old 
pioneers  who  have  spent  the  energies  of.  their  lives  in  the  establishment  of  civil- 


FOURTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  1 5 

ization  on  this  coast,  or  for  the  especial  need  that  may  come  np  unprovided  for, 
or  purchase  of  books  for  a  library. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    BOOK. 

Early  in  July^last  I  issued  the  following  circular: 

OFFICE  OF  RECORDING  SECRETARY,         j 
SALEM,  Oregon,  July  5,  1875.  J 

To  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon: — The  undersigned,  Recording  Secretary  of  the 
Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  proposes  to  open  a  "Book  of  Autobiography,"  and 
will  record  in  the  same,  for  the  purpose  of  accumulating  all  the  information 
possible  in  regard  to  the  early  history  of  Oregon,  and  thus  rescuing  from  obliv 
ion  all  the  incidents  pertaining  to  Oregon's  history,  hardships  endured  by  those 
who  traversed  the  plains  or  arrived  by  water;  also,  all  scraps  of  history  or  inci 
dents  relating  to  persons  who  are  now  dead  or  still  living,  whether  in  this  State 
or  elsewhere;  incidents  of  Indian  wars;  accounts  of  trips  to  California  in  1849 
and  1850;  history  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  Southern  or  Eastern 
Oregon;  in  fact  everything  that  will  prove  interesting,  and  wish  to  have  the 
same  recorded;  no  matter  how  insignificant  or  trivial  you  may  think  the  incident 
is,  it  contributes  to  the  general  history  of  the  State  of  Oregon. 

I  suggest  the  following  as  a  general  plan  :  name  in  full ;  date  of  birth,  giving 
date  of  month  and  the  year ;  town,  county  and  State  or  Province,  giving  inci 
dents  of  early  life,  year  of  emigration  to  Oregon,  account  of  the  trip  and  arri 
val  and  where  first  settled,  with  as  complete  a  list  as  possible  of  those  who 
accompanied  you,  and  the  names  of  those  died  or  lost  their  lives  while  on  the 
journey.  You  are  also  requested  to  send  your  photograph,  with  name  distinctly 
written  on  the  back,  and  year  of  arrival,  in  ink. 

It  is  hoped  that  all  will  act  upon  this  suggestion,  as  every  person  who  came  to 
Oregon  up  to  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  railroad  across  the  plains,  can 
furnish  something  of  interest. 

In  reply  to  the  above  circular  I  have  received  a  few  sketches,  but  not  so 
many  as  I  had  hoped,  and  I  will  state  that  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  possess  more 
modesty  than  Lieutenant  General  Winfield  Scott,  who  wrote  his  own  autobiog 
raphy,  and  insisted  that  no  one  could  do  the  subject  justice  as  well  as  himself. 
I  have  conversed  with  several  who  thought  it  advisable  to  incorporate  in  the 
same  book  the  biographies  of  deceased  members.  If  the  above  scheme  should 
meet  with  your  approval  and  endorsement,  it  would  undoubtedly  go  far  toward 
forwarding  the  object. 

LIBRARY. 

As  a  commencement  toward  a  library  of  the  Association,  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Gray 


1 6  FOURTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

donated  two  volumes  of  his  "History  of  Oregon,"  and  the  thanks  of  the  Society 
is  due  that  gentleman  for  his  liberality.  This  is  a  subject  of  considerable  im 
portance  to  the  Association,  and  the  sooner  a  move  is  made  to  collect  books, 
journals,  manuscripts  and  newspapers  published  in  Oregon,  or  refers  to  the  early 
history  of  this  coast,  the  easier  and  the  more  complete  collection  can  be  obtained. 
In  fact  many  valuable  books  are  now  out  of  print,  and  it  would  most  probably 
be  next  to  impossible  to  obtain  them.  I  am  credibly  informed  that  there  is  but 
one  known  copy  in  existence  of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke's  journal  of  the  ex 
pedition  to  Oregon  in  1804,  and  that  is  in  the  Congressional  Library  at  Washing 
ton  City.  I  received  a  catalogue  of  old  works  for  sale  in  New  York  City  that 
mention  eight  works  on  Oregon  or  pertaining  to  this  coast,  that  can  be  purchased 
at  a  reasonable  price,  considering  their  scarcity. 

I  have  made  an  effort  to  make  a  collection  of  books  and  papers  published  in 
Oregon,  such  as  the  Oregon  Spectator  and  other  newspapers  ;  also  the  Archives 
and  other  pamphlets  and  books,  but  have  met  with  very  indifferent  success. 

NATIVITY. 

The  question  has  been  quite  frequently  asked,  "What  State  has  furnished  the 
most  Pioneers  ?  "  And,  as  an  answer,  I  have  compiled  the  following  from  the 
roll  of  the  Association : 

Where  from  to  Oregon — Arkansas,  5  ;  California,  8 ;  Connecticut,  3 ;  Geor 
gia,  i  ;  Illinois,  103  ;  Indiana,  29  ;  Iowa,  48 ;  Kentucky,  6 ;  Michigan,  6 ; 
Minnesota,  I  ;  Missouri,  164  ;  New  Hampshire,  I  ;  New  York,  23 ;  Ohio,  30 ; 
Oregon,  8  ;  Pennsylvania,  5  ;  Tennessee,  5  ;  Vermont,  I  ;  Virginia,  3 ;  Wiscon 
sin,  i .  Foreign  countries — England,  3  ;  Russia,  I ;  Canada,  I ;  Ireland,  I ; 
Sandwich  Islands,  3  ;  Scotland  2  ;  South  America,  i ;  New  Zealand,  i  ;  Mexi 
co,  i. 

Native  State  or  country — Alabama,  2  ;  Arkansas,  3  ;  Connecticut,  7  ;  Dela 
ware,  i;  Georgia,  i  ;  Illinois,  47;  Indiana,  31  ;  Iowa,  12;  Kentucky,  39; 
Maine,  5  ;  Maryland,  7  ;  Massachusetts,  15  ;  Michigan,  3  ;  Missouri,  68  ;  New 
Hampshire,  4 ;  New  Jersey,  i  ;  New  York,  55  ;  North  Carolina,  3 ;  Ohio,  50  ; 
Oregon,  13  ;  Pennsylvania,  21 ;  Tennessee,  33  ;  Vermont,  7 ;  Virginia,  29  ; 
West  Virginia,  5  ;  Wisconsin,  i.  Foreign  countries — England,  22;  Australia, 
I  ;  Bavaria,  3  ;  Germany,  7 ;  Rusia,  i ;  Canada,  6 ;  Ireland,  8  ;  Cuba,  i ;  Swit 
zerland,  i  ;  Van  Dieman's  Land,  i  ;  New  Brunswick,  4 ;  Scotland,  3  ;  Prussia, 
i  ;  Nova  Scotia,  i. 

Nearly  every  civilized  nation  on  earth  is  represented.  Truly  a  cosmopolitan 
people;  gathered  together  under  one  flag  and  government,  and  members  of  one 
association,  each  bringing  with  him  the  improvements  and  the  energy  of  his  race 


FOURTH    ANNUAL   RE-UNION.  17 

as  common  stock  in  reclaiming  a  wilderness  and  establishing  civilization  on  the 
far  away  Pacific  coast. 

FUTURE   PROSPECTS. 

The  out-look  for  our  future  prosperity  in  usefulness  and  numbers  is  very  flat 
tering,  and  the  interest  that  is  now  being  awakened  in  the  affairs  of  the  Associa 
tion  cannot  help  but  forward  our  prosperity. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  say  that  I  have  performed  my  duty  to  the  best  of  my  abil 
ity,  and  used  all  the  energy  I  possessed  in  forwarding  the  objects  of  the  Associa 
tion,  I  found  that  there  was  a  great  amount  of  work  to  do,  but  hope  it  has 
been  successfully  accomplished;  but  will  say  that  I  have  received  encourage 
ment  and  assistance  from  Hon.  John  W.  Grim,  our  venerable  president,  and 
Willard  H.  Rees,  Esq.,  the  energetic  and  acceptable  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Hoping  that  my  work  will  prove  satisfactory  as  submitted  to  you  for  inspec 
tion,  I  remain  yours,  etc., 

J.  HENRY  BROWN, 

Recording  Sec'y. 

The   Treasurer   submitted    the   following  report,  which  was 
adopted : 

TREASURER'S   REPORT. 

OREGON  CITY,  June  15,  1876. 
To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  O.  P.  A: 

GENTLEMEN:  I  herewith  submit  my  report  as  Treasurer  of  the  Association 
for  the  year  last  passed: 

1874.  RECEIPTS. 

From  ex-Treasurer,  June  16th $  79  20 

From  W.  H.  Rees 114  50 

Collected,  self 45  oo 

From  Mr.  Watt 2  oo 

From  the  ball  fund 333  50 

Subscriptions 260  oo 

Accounted  for  by  Reed  &  Wright 50  oo 

From  Mr.  Minto 16  oo 

Dues,  R.  S.  Steen,  J.  M.  Moore 2  oo 

Jan.  1 876 — Admission  fees  from  A.  R.  Shipley,  D.  D.  Tomp- 
kins,  C.  O.  Boynton,  J.  P.  Blanchard,  J.  N.  Meldrum,  Peter 


1 8  FOURTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

Paquet,  E.  L.  Eastham,  W.  C.  Johnson,  W.  H.  Pope,  Z.  S. 
Dotson  (dues),  J.  M.  Moore,  C.  W.  Pope,  W.  J.  Whitlock,  H. 
Straight,  R.  L.  Warsham,  J.  Athey,  J.  M.  Bacon  (dues),  one 

dollar  each 17  oo 

$919  25 

EXPENDITURES. 

June  16,  1876 — Paid  order  No.  I $  10  50 

Refunded  to  Rev.  E.  Walker i  oo 

Paid  bank  as  per  receipts 100  oo 

Coin  on  bill 30  oo 

Coin  on  Wright's  bill 20  oo 

Order  No.  2 130  oo 

Order  No.  6 288  oo 

Order  No.  6 t 17  oo 

W.  J.  Herren,  as  per  receipt 1 70  oo 

Orders  7  and  10 15  oo 

Order  No.  8 7000 

Order  No.  1 1 50  10 

$  902  50 


To  balance  on  hand $     1675 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  M.  BACON,   Treasurer. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  by  acclamation : 
President,  Hon.  John  Minto. 
Vice  President,  Hon.  E.  N.  Cooke. 
Recording  Secretary,  J.  Henry  Brown. 
Corresponding  Secretary,  Willard  H.  Rees. 
Treasurer,  John  M.  Bacon. 

Three  Directors,  Wm.  J.  Herren,  Chris.  Taylor  and  Joseph 
Watt. 

On  motion,  Daniel  Clark  was  elected  Chief  Marshal. 

On  motion,  three  delegates  were  elected  to  represent  the  Asso 
ciation,  at  the  National   Historical   Association  to  convene  at 


FOURTH    ANNUAL   RE-UNION.  19 

Philadelphia.     Rev.  Wm.  Roberts,  R.  R.  Thompson  and  A.  J. 
Dufur. 

The  subject  of  Membership  dues  was  called  up,  and  after  con 
siderable  discussion  the  amount  retained  as  heretofore — $1.00. 
On  motion,  the  Association  adjourned. 

JOHN  W  GRIM,  President. 
J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 


MEETING  OF  BOARD  DIRECTORS. 


SALEM,  April  9,  1877. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  met 
in  the  parlor  of  the  Chemeketa  Hotel.  Present,  Hon.  J.  Minto, 
President;  Wm.  J.  Herren,  Joseph  Watt  and  Chris.  Taylor, 
Directors;  J.  Henry  Brown,  Secretary;  W.  H.  Rees,  Correspond 
ing  Secretary;  Hons.  J.  W.  Grim,  F.  X.  Mathieu,  R.  C.  Geer, 
Col.  Jennings  and  others,  who  participated  in  the  proceedings. 

Mr.  Rees  introduced  some  Order  of  Business,  which  were 
adopted. 

As  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Oregon  State  Agricultural 
Society  had  granted  the  use  of  their  grounds,  on  motion  they 
were  selected. 

On  motion,  the  the  time  of  closing  the  next  Re-union  was  fixed 
at  Saturday  noon,  June  i6th,  1877. 

Rev.  L.  H.  Judson  was  chosen  as  Chaplain. 

On  motion,  Hon.  Elwood  Evans,  of  Olympia,  W.  T.,  was 
elected  to  deliver  the  Annual  Address,  and  Hon.  Wm.  Strong, 
as  alternate. 

On  motion,  Gen.  Joel  Palmer,  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  Oc 
casional  Address,  in  relation  to  the  immigration,  and  call  the  roll 
of  1845,  and  Hon.  Stephen  Staats,  as  alternate. 

The  following  were  appointed  as  Financial  Committee:  Wm. 
J.  Herren,  Jos.  Holman  and  Werner  Breyman. 

Committee  of  Arrangements:  E.  M.  Waite,  Wm.  J.  Herren, 
John  W.  Minto,  Mrs.  Mary  Minto  and  Mrs.  S.  A.  Clarke. 


MEETING    OF   THE    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS.  21 

Mr.  'Geer  moved  that  the  grand  march  of  the  Association  be 
held  at  i  :3o  o'clock,  p.  M.,  on  the  first  day  of  the  Re-union. 

Mr.  Rees  introduced  the  following  resolution  for  action  at  the 
evening  session : 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Directors  present  for  the  consideration  of  this 
meeting,  a  plan  for  assessment  upon  its  members  or  otherwise,  as  to  the  Board 
may  seem  best,  which  will  free  the  Association  of  its  present  indebtedness. 

Hon.  A.  L.  Lovejoy  was  chosen  to  deliver  an  address  on  the 
immigration  of  1842,  and  Hon.  Medorum  Crawford,  alternate. 

On  motion,  the  old  committee  on  Printing  was  re-elected. 
On  motion,  adjourned  until  7:30  o'clock,  p.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

Daniel  Clark  resigned  as  Chief  Marshal,  and  on  motion,  Hon. 
R.  C.  Geer  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  James  Elkins, 
of  Linn  county,  assistant. 

Moved  and  carried,  that  an  admittance  fee  of  fifty  cents  be 
charged  to  all  male  adults  who  are  not  members,  and  all  members 
who  pay  their  membership  dues  pass  free. 

On  motion,  the  ball  tickets  were  placed  at  $2.00, without  supper. 

On  motion,  the  Recording  Secretary  was  authorized  to  file  away 
100  copies  of  each  year's  Transactions  of  the  Association,  in  his 
office,  as  archives. 

On  motion,  E.  M.  Waite  was  authorized  to  print  1,000  copies 
of  the  Transactions  of  1876. 

Moved  and  carried  that  the  members  of  the  press  be  invited  by 
the  Secretary  to  attend  the  Re-union. 

Moved  that  a  resolution  of  thanks  be  tendered  to  the  State  Ag 
ricultural  Society  for  the  use  of  the  Fair  Grounds. 


22  MEETING    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS. 

The  President,  Vice  President,  Recording  Secretary,  Wm.  J. 
Herren  and  E.  M.  Waite,  were  appointed  a  Committee  on  Pro 
gramme. 

A  resolution  was  passed  requesting  the  different  newspapers  of 
the  State  to  print  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting. 

Moved  and  carried  that  Col.  J.  McCraken,  A.  P.  Ankeny  and 
C.  H.  Lewis,  be  appointed  a  committee  to  secure  a  reduction  of 
fare  on  the  different  lines  of  transportation. 

On  motion,  adjourned. 

JOHN  MINTO,  President. 

J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Secretary. 


THE  ANNUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY   HON.    R.    P.    BOISE. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  : 

I  had  hoped  that  an  older  Pioneer  than  I  am,  our  esteemed  an  honored  friend 

Jesse  Applegate,  would  address  us  on  this  our  Annual  Re-union,  for  I  know  he 

is  much  better  able  to  do  justice  to  the  occasion. 

Though  we  are  in  what  we  call  a  new  country,  still  in  the  history  of  our 

planet  it  is  old.     These  rocks  and  hills  are  old  and  grey  with  age. 

The  history  of  a  country  is  written  first  by  those  natural  forces  which  formed 

and  fashioned  the  land,  and  dates  back  to  a  period  before  the  mountains  were 

raised  up  or  the  plains  stretched  out  to  form  the  face  of  the  landscape. 

This  history  is  registered  on  the  rocks  on  the  mountain  sides,  and  in  the  de 
posits  of  the  rivers  and  lakes;  in  periods,  reaching  for  back  before  the  advent  of 
man  on  the  earth,  and  in  those  facts  which  have  been  preserved  here  and  there 
to  testify  of  the  passed  wonderous  works  of  the  Creator. 

But  the  history  of  the  people  of  a  country,  is  the  record  of  the  lives  and 
actions  of  her  men  and  women. 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  in  proportion  as  the  people  were  intelligent, 
virtuous  and  enterprising.  In  proportion  as  their  history  excites  our  sympathy 
by  their  deprivations  and  sufferings,  or  their  joys  and  exultations;  and  to  feel 
for  them  and  be  interested  in  them,  we  must  be  able  to  penetrate  to  the  feelings 
and  every  day  excitements  and  pursuits  of  their  lives. 

And  as  we  would  desire  to  preserve  our  early  history  in  this  country,  which 
we  have  by  our  enterprise  and  industry,  searched  out  and  settled,  and  redeemed 
from  the  wilderness,  fresh  in  the  annals  of  future  years,  we  must  be  particular 
in  preserving  and  recording  the  incidents  and  traditions  of  our  early  pioneer  life. 

Those  of  us  who  saw  Oregon  twenty-five  years  ago,  can  see  the  changes 
which  advancing  enterprise  and  civilization  have  wrought,  not  only  in  the  phys 
ical  appearence  of  the  country,  but  in  the  habits  and  every-day  thoughts  and 
actions  of  the  people. 


24  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

If  at  that  day  you  traveled  through  this  valley,  the  usual  and  almost  only 
mode  of  conveyance  was  on  horseback,  on  the  native  Indian  horse.  If  you 
came  to  a  river  you  must  swim  or  ford  it,  except  at  a  few  points;  where  ferries 
were  established  by  private  enterprise.  But  few  fences  turned  the  traveler  aside. 
You  could  go  from  point  to  point  straight  across  the  open  prairie,  then  fresh 
with  luxuriant  grass  and  fragrant  with  flowers. 

The  settlers  then  in  the  country  were  scattered  at  considerable  distances  from 
each  other.  They  lived  in  log  houses — and  on  summer  evenings  sat  in  their 
rude  chairs  on  the  outside  about  the  door.  They  were  kind  to  one  another  and 
uniformly  hospitable  to  strangers.  It  was  the  period  of  our  history  which  pre 
ceded  the  establishment  of  hotels,  and  was  unadorned  with  fashion  and  the 
corruptions  of  stylish  living.  It  was  not,  however,  an  unhappy  period  of  our 
history,  for  though  none  were  rich,  all  seemed  well  to  do,  and  abundance,  social 
equality,  peace  and  good  will  reigned  in  the  land. 

We  were  then  a  pastoral  people  and  lived  on  the  range,  and  the  range  was 
indeed  good  in  those  days — better,  I  imagine,  and  more  inviting  to  the  herds 
men  than  was  the  plains  of  Jordon,  when  it  is  recorded  that  separating  his  herds 
from  those  of  Abraham,  "Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  beheld  all  the  plain  of 
Jordan  that  it  was  well  watered  everywhere,"  "  and  he  pitched  his  tent  in  it, 
towards  Sodom." 

Cattle  were  then  abundant  and  constituted  the  principal  staple  commercial 
wealth  of  the  people.  Ox  teams  which  had  hauled  their  owners  across  the  plains 
were  then  used  to  do  the  freighting  of  the  country,  and  instead  of  horses  served 
to  take  the  family  of  the  pioneer  a  visiting,  to  church,  and  campmeeting,  where 
natural  orators  with  fervent  souls  officiated  as  acceptable  and  successful  min- 
esters  of  our  Holy  Religion. 

These  slow  but  sure  teams  made  long  journies  to  take  our  unground  wheat 
to  the  then  distant  mills,  and  were  the  only  means  of  commercial  intercourse, 
between  the  interior  of  the  valley  and  Portland,  then  a  small  village  anchored 
in  the  mud,  with  the  Willamette  in  front  and  a  gigantic  forest  in  the  rear. 

Portland  then  as  now,  was  a  place  of  supply,  and  contained  abundance  of 
sugar  and  coffee,  and  some  whiskey,  which  latter  •  as  often  purchased  by  the 
hardy  pioneer  in  moderate  quantities,  just  to  keep  out  the  wet  in  returning  home 
on  his  slow,  long  journey,  while  he  slept  by  his  wagon,  often  covered  by  a 
cloudy  sky  and  exposed  to  the  Oregon  mist. 

When  with  a  number  of  other  Pioneers,  I  arrived  in  the  Columbia  river  on  the 
2;th  of  November,  1850,  I  found  Astoria  very  much  the  place  I  contemplated. 
For  from  what  I  had  read  of  the  country,  and  its  early  settlements,  Astoria  was 


THE     ANNUAL   ADDRESS,  25 

pictured  on  my  mind  as  little  more  than  a  rude  fort,  sheltered  and  shaded  by 
gigantic  pines  and  spruces  growing  on  the  jagged  edges  of  rocky  precipices. 

But  the  Columbia,  or  famed  Oregon,  was  more  grand  than  I  had  conceived. 
Its  mouth  opening  into  the  sea  five  miles  in  width,  stretched  across  by  a  row  of 
breakers  that  looked  like  an  impassable  wall  between  the  restless,  surging  ocean, 
and  the  calm  waters  of  the  bay,  inspired  me  with  awe  at  the  terrific  power  and 
grandeur  of  the  winds  and  the  waters. 

When  we  approached  the  river  to  enter  from  the  sea,  it  was  a  clear  day  with 
a  strong  wind  that  occasionally  dashed  the  spray  over  the  wheel-house  and  wet 
the  decks  of  the  steamer  California.  As  we  crossed  the  bar,  riding  over  the  long 
surges  of  the  ocean,  that  rocked  us  with  no  very  gentle  motion,  we  could  seethe 
grand  panorama  of  the  wild  Columbia  region.  It  surpassed  all  I  had  ever 
seen  in  grandeur  and  sublimity .  It  looked  as  though  God  had  thrown  together 
here  in  wild  confusion  the  huge  refuse  and  rubbish  that  had  been  left  and  cleaned 
off  in  the  creation  of  smoother  lands. 

Wherever  you  could  look,  it  was  the  broad  river  issuing  from  vast  mountains, 
clothed  and  crowned  with  sombre  green  forests,  which  looked  as  though  they 
would  never  be  tenable  by  men,  and  were  only  fit  for  the  habitations  of  wild 
beasts  and  the  birds  of  heaven.  Away  in  the  distance  were  to  be  seen  Mounts 
Hood  and  St.  Helens,  just  covered  with  fresh  snows  of  the  late  autumn,  setting 
like  glittering  gems  in  the  dark  green  of  the  distant  mountain  pines. 

Those  who  have  never  before  seen  snow  capped  mountains  and  hundreds  of 
miles  of  evergreen  forests  at  a  single  sight,  will  never  forget  the  impression 
made  on  the  mind  when  approaching  the  Columbia  bar  from  sea  on  a  clear  day. 

As  we  neared  the  breakers,  our  Captain  said  to  us,  make  everything  fast  and 
hold  on  to  something  solid,  or  you  will  be  unable  to  stand.  And  it  was  well 
we  heeded  his  admonition,  for  the  ship  rolled  in  the  waters  like  a  floating  cork. 

Astoria  was  then  almost  without  hotel  accommodations,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  sleep  on  the  floor  and  provide  our  own  blankets  and  pay  a  dollar  for  lodging. 

We  concluded  not  to  tarry  longer  than  one  night  at  this  seaport,  even  then 
being  a  port  of  entry  with  custom  house,  and  claiming  that  it  was  to  be  in  time 
the  emporium  of  the  future  commerce  of  the  Columbia  region. 

We  started  up  the  Columbia  for  Portland  in  an  open  boat,  and  after  a,  very 
disagreeable  voyage  of  three  days,  arrived  at  St.  Helens,  then  as  now,  a  small 
village,  and  claiming  to  be  the  most  favorable  point  for  the  location  of  the  future 
emporium  of  trade. 

Having  become  very  tired  of  this  river  travel  where  we  had  been  exposed  to 
cold  snow  and  rain,  and  learning  that  Rev.  Gushing  Eels,  who  was  from  my 


26  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

native  town  in  Massachusetts,  was  living  at  Forest  Grove  about  twenty-five  miles 
from  St.  Helens,  and  that  I  could  reach  him  by  leaving  our  craft  and  taking  a 
new  road  across  the  mountains  to  the  Tualatin  plains,  I  bid  a  due  to  my  compan 
ions  on  the  river  voyage  and  started  on  foot  for  Forest  Grove,  where  I  arrived 
in  two  days  without  particular  adventure.  I  found  Mr.  Eels  living  in  a  com 
fortable  log  house  near  where  now  stands  the  Pacific  University.  I  knew  him, 
though  he  did  not  know  me,  for  I  was  a  boy  when  he  left  our  native  place  on 
his  mission  to  the  Indians  in  Oregon.  I  had  seen  him  ordained  for  his  holy 
office,  and  remember  now  as  though  it  were  yesterday  of  seeing  Dr.  Davis  and 
other  Divines  lay  their  hands  upon  his  head  in  the  old  church  at  Blandford, 
and  consecrate  him  to  God  and  the  church,  and  of  the  singing  on  that  occasion 
of  that  grand  old  missionary  hymn: 

"  Go  messenger  of  peace  and  love, 
To  people  plunged  in  shades  of  night; 
Like  angels  sent  from  fields  above 
Be  thine  to  shed  celestial  light." 

He  received  me  as  a  friend  and  a  brother  and  gave  me  much  valuable  infor 
mation  relative  to  the  country  and  its  prospects.  He  had  lived  for  many  years 
in  the  Spokane  country  in  Eastern  Oregon,  as  a  missionary  among  the  Indians 
and  had  traveled  much  in  both  Eastern  and  Western  Oregon  and  was  then  well 
acquainted  with  the  geography  of  the  country  and  its  resources. 

And  though  it  has  been  said  of  some  of  the  early  missionaries,  that  they 
thought  and  said  this  country  was  of  little  value,  such  was  not  the  opinion  of 
Mr.  Eels,  who  was  then  earnestly  projecting  and  laboring  for  the  planting  and 
nurturing  of  religious  and  educational  institutions  in  the  country  on  a  scale  that 
contemplated  a  populous  and  wealthy  commonwealth  of  intelligent  Americans 
He  then  predicted  a  grand  future  for  the  country  and  was  impressed  with  the 
value  of  both  Eastern  and  Western  Oregon. 

He  was  impressed  with  the  opinion  that  it  was  impossible  to  tame  into  civili 
zation  the  wild  Indians  and  educate  from  them  the  barbarism  of  their  nature. 

Though  he  regarded  his  mission  to  the  Indians  as  a  practical  failure  so  far  as 
gathering  them  from  barbarism  to  Christianity,  he  thought  God  had  guided  here 
the  feet  of  the  missionaries  as  the  forerunners  of  American  civilization.  That 
had  they  not  been  here  in  those  early  days  and  advised  the  United  States  gov 
ernment  of  the  value  of  the  country,  it  would  have  passed  under  the  sway  of 
the  British  crown,  and  the  flag  of  the  Union  never  floated  over  it. 

And  history  will  record  that  these  holy  men  were  the  nucleus  around  which 
has  been  formed  and  built  the  State  of  Oregon.  They  builded  well,  for  they 
laid  their  foundation  on  that  rock  which  bears  up  and  sustains  the  superstructure 


THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

of  the  civilization  of  the  last  eighteen  hundred  years.  And  fortunate  indeed  is 
it  that  such  men  were  here  in  that  early  time,  men  who  knew  the  wants  of  a 
Christian  community.  Men  who  were  learned  in  the  sciences  and  literature  as 
well  as  in  theology!  and  knew  and  appreciated  the  value  of  labor  and  industry, 
and  who  were  willing  to  and  did  build  with  their  own  hands. 

Men  who  knew  how  to  plant  in  the  virgin  soil  the  seeds  of  virtue  and  knowl 
edge  and  cultivate  them,  as  they  germinated  and  grew  into  churches,  schools 
and  colleges. 

They  founded  the  Willamette  University  at  Salem;  the  Pacific  University  at 
Forest  Grove,  and  other  institutions  of  religion  and  learning  throughout  the  land, 
which  are  of  more  value  to  the  future  prosperity  and  glory  of  the  State,  than  all 
the  gold  of  California  or  the  wealth  of  the  Indies. 

In  December,  1850,  the  Territorial  Legislature  was  in  session  at  Oregon  City, 
then  the  Capitol  of  the  Territory;  it  consisted  of  nine  Councilmen  and  twenty- 
five  Representatives.  There  had  been  one  Territorial  Legislature  before  this, 
but,  agitated  by  the  gold  excitement  of  California  and  anxious  to  hasten  to  the 
gold  fields,  little  was  done  towards  putting  the  Territorial  government  in  run 
ning  order.  The  laws  were  meagre  and]  uncertain  and  almost  passed  finding 
out. 

There  was  what  was  called  the  Steamboat  Code,  which  was  in  manuscript, 
and  contained  a  mere  referance  to  various  laws  of  Iowa  of  1843;  which  had 
been  adopted  as  the  laws  of  Oregon.  The  printed  Statute  of  Iowa,  being 
adopted  without  being  rewritten  or  reprinted.  These  Statutes  of  Iowa  were 
used  for  several  years  and  until  June,  1853,  as  the  laws  of  Oregon;  and  was 
then  and  still  is  known  as  the  Blue  Book;  not  because  the  laws  were  blue,  but 
because  the  book  was  under  a  blue  cover. 

In  that  Legislature  were  many  men  who  have  since  been  prominent  and  con 
tributed  much  to  the  political  history  of  Oaegon,  and  done  much  to  form  its  so 
ciety  and  shape  its  destiny. 

Then  I  first  saw  Fred  Waymire,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Council  from  Polk 
county.  He  was  afterwards  in  the  Legislature  and  Constitutional  Convention. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  strong  impulse.  As  a  legislator,  he  was 
ever  opposed  to  extravagance  in  public  affairs  and  well  earned  the  name  "of 
bull  dog  of  the  treasury"  in  Oregon.  For  many  years  he  was  prominent  in  pol 
itics  and  was  called  the  "  Old  Apostle  of  Democracy,"  of  this  appellation  he  was 
always  proud.  In  1850,  he  was  a  young  man  in  appearance,  showing  in  every 
lineament  and  feature,  the  strong,  impulsive  vehemance  of  his  nature.  He  was 
then  to  outward  appearances  a  man  of  the  world,  without  much  regard  to  the 


28  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

teachings  and  ordinances  of  religion.  But  when  he  wrote  (as  he  sometimes  did 
for  the  Statesman,  then  the  oracle  of  Democracy,)  or  spoke  in  public,  his  writ 
ings  and  speeches  betrayed  his  strong  religious  tendencies.  In  his  library  were 
religious  works,  and  among  them  the  writings  of  Dr.  Adam  Smith;  and  he  named 
his  residence  on  the  Luckimute,  "  Hayden  Hall,"  after  the  name  of  the  resi 
dence  of  that  great  author.  And  Uncle  Fred,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  after 
wandering  for  a  few  years  from  the  communion  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  which  he  had  been  a  member  in  Missouri,  returned  again  to  its  disci 
pline  and  observances.  Almost  the  last  time  I  saw  him,  he  was  at  a  camp- 
meeting  on  the  banks  of  the  La  Creole,  standing  with  the  Elders  within  the 
alter.  He  had  then  become  old  and  gray  with  the  lapse  of  seventy  years,  and 
declared  with  the  courage  of  a  veteran  who  had  met  with  fidelity  and  patriotism 
the  duties  of  life,  that  he  was  ready  to  make  his  exit  from  life's  stage  whenever 
his  Master  should  call  him. 

And  nothing  truer  or  better  can  be  said  of  this  old  pioneer  than  that  he  was  a 
true  friend,  a  patriotic  citizen,  an  honest  man,  and  a  Christian  gentleman;  who, 
with  resignation  and  an  earnest  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  human  soul, 
and  hoped  that  he  would  live  again  beyond  the  grave,  died  in  the  bosom  of 
the  church  he  loved,  honored  and  mourned  by  his  brethren. 

B.  F.  Harding  was  a  member  of  this  same  Legislature,,  and  a  young  lawyer 
from  the  then  little  town  of  Salem,  which  was  then  aspiring  to  be  made  the 
Capital  of  the  Territory  and  finally  succeeded  in  securing  its  location  there  be 
fore  the  session  closed.  Mr.  Harding  has  been  from  that  time  on  a  prominent 
and  leading  man  in  Oregon — having  been  Secretary  of  the  Territory,  and  United 
States  Senator.  His  practical  knowledge  and  strong  comon  sense  has  rendered 
him  at  all  times  a  safe  counselor  in  public  and  private  affairs. 

After  his  return  from  the  United  States  Senate,  in  1866,  he  did  not  return  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  but  like  the  statesman  and  philosopher  of  the 
olden  time,  chose  the  calmer  pursuits  of  agriculture.  He  has  a  fine  and  exten 
sive  tract  of  land  near  Fairfield,  in  this  county,  where,  by  his  industry  and  en 
terprise,  he  has  cleared  away  the  brush  and  timber  and  extended  fresh  fields  and 
pastures  into  the  forest,  and  made  broader  and  more  extensive  grain  fields.  He  has 
changed  the  former  unthrift  of  an  old  French  ranche,  into  a  beautiful,  attractive 
and  profitable  estate,  where  abundant  harvests  greet  the  eye  and  blooded  stock 
graze  on  the  rich  pastures.  This  is  the  fitest  life  of  a  true  nobleman.  He  has 
no  care  for  others  strifes,  nor  is  vexed  by  legal  quibbles,  which  strain  the  nerves 
and  rack  the  brains  of  those  who  live  by  espousing  the  quarrels  of  others,  and 
leading  the  contentions  of  the  forum.  Of  all  the  persons  whom  I  know,  he  is 
among  the  most  fortunate  in  his  circumstances  and  surroundings.  He  is  yet  in 


THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  29 

the  prime  of  life,  and  we  may  hope  to  meet  him  at  many  future  re-unions  of  this 
Society. 

George  L.  Curry  was  a  clerk  of  the  Legislature  of  1850.  He  was  from 
Clackamas  county,  and  was  even  then  an  old  settler.  He  was  a  jeweler  by 
trade,  had  then  been  an  editor  and  published  the  first  newspaper  in  Oregon,  and 
knew  well  all  the  men  of  the  olden  time. 

He  was  then  as  now,  a  man  of  energy  and  enterprise.  He  has  since  been 
Secretary  of  the  Territory,  and  Governor,  and  contributed  much  to  the  formation 
of  its  laws  and  the  developement  and  management  of  politics.  He  has  of  late 
been  much  engaged  in  politics  as  editor  of  political  newspapers.  He  is  no\\^ 
living  in  the  city  of  Portland,  and  is  still  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  has 
the  virtue  of  physical  endurance  and  the  power  not  to  grow  old  in  appearance. 

M.  P.  Deady  was  also  in  the  Legislature  of  1850,  as  a  member  of  the  House 
from  Yamhill  county,  a  county  somewhat  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  country, 
as  the  early  home  and  foster  field  of  many  men  who  have  been  prominent  in 
Oregon  politics.  His  career  and  history  so  far  as  it  is  yet  accomplished,  is  so 
well  known  and  so  intimately  connected  with  the  formation  of  the  laws  and 
social  and  educational  development  of  the  country,  that  anything  I  could  say 
on  this  occasion  would  not  make  him  more  prominent.  He  was  afterwards  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Territory,  was  President  of  the  convention  of 
delegates  who  framed  the  Constitution  of  Oregon,  and  was  elected  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  which  position  he  resigned  on  being 
appointed  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court  of  Oregon— which  office  he  now 
holds.  Judge  Deady  has  contributed  more  than  any  other  man,  towards  shape- 
ing  our  statutes  and  developing  our  jurisprudence.  He  is  still  in  the  prime  of 
mature  manhood,  and  will  as  we  may  all  reasonably  hope,  contribute 
much  more  to  the  legal,  historical  and  literary  advancement  of  the  State.  His 
history  is  yet  to  be  written. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1850,  I  first  saw  Col.  Wm.  M.  King,  who  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  House  from  Portland,  then  a  part  of  Washington  county.  He  was 
even  then  advanced  to  the  prime  of  life,  and  was  a  veteran  politician,  who  had 
done  service  as  a  legislator  and  lobyist  before  he  came  to  Oregon,  and  knew 
well  the  various  evolutions  of  Legislative  tactics.  He  was  a  ready  debater  and 
could  use  with  equal  earnestness  sound  argument  or  sophistry,  and  could  mar 
shal  the  selfish  desires,  interests  and  prejudices  of  men  with  consummate  slcill; 
and,  like  most  men  who  aim  at  carrying  a  point,  he  was  not  over  scrupulous  as 
to  the  means  by  which  it  was  attained. 

He  was  a  firm  and  faithful  friend  and  a  bitter  enemy.     He  had  his  Jaults 


30  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

which  caused  him  much  trouble  and  suffering.  But  who  has  not  faults.  He 
was  generous  and  kind,  and  possessed  a  keen,  penetrating  mind;  and  much  in 
telligence,  what  would  have  made  him  a  marked  and  prominent  man  in  com 
munity.  He  died  some  years  ago  in  the  city  of  Portland,  which  had  grown  up 
under  his  eye  from  a  small  village  to  be  a  rich  city,  and  he  now  rests  from 
his  exciting,  turbulent  labors,  in  an  adorned  and  beautiful  cemetery,  where  in 
1850,  the  dense  solemn  towering  pins  were  still  singing  the  requim  of  departed 
ages  of  solitude. 

Dr.  Ralph  Wilcox  was  also  a  member  of  this  Legislature  from  Washington 
county.  He  was  then  a  practicing  physician  living  at  Hillsboro.  He  after- 
Vards  quit  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  was  appointed  Register  of  the 
Land  Office  at  Oregon  City,  then  County  Judge  of  Washington  county,  and  then 
Clerk  of  the  United  States  Circuit  and  District  Courts  for  Oregon,  which  office 
he  now  holds.  He  is  possessed  of  fine  clerical  ability  and  is  a  capable  and 
efficient  officer.  • 

H.  N.  V.  Holmes  was  also  in  this  Legislature  as  a  member  of  the  House  from 
Polk  county.  He  then  was  and  has  ever  since  continued  to  be,  a  farmer  and 
trader  in  stock,  and  has  a  picturesque  and  productive  farm  at  what  is  known  as 
Holmes'  Gap,  a  place  which  nature  opened  as  a  thoroughfare  from  the  Yamhill 
to  the  LaCreole,  and  through  which  the  West  Side  railroad  is  destined  to  psss. 
Mr.  Holmes  is  a  man  of  energy  and  enterprise,  and  for  many  years  has  been 
prominent  in  aiding  the  development  of  the  agriculture  of  the  country.  He  has 
also  been  prominent  in  politics,  and  several  times  a  member  of  the  Legislature. 
He  is  still  living  and  in  business,  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  abundance  which  has 
been  the  result  of  industry  and  thrift.  He  is  a  true  gentleman,  of  the  old  Ken 
tucky  school,  and  may  we  often  in  the  future  be  allowed  to  greet  him  at  the 
reunions  of  this  Society. 

There  were  many  other  members  of  the  Legislature  of  1850  who  are  no  less 
worthy  of  mention  than  those  I  have  named,  and  who  have  borne  a  prominent 
part  in  the  affairs  of  the  country.  As  a  whole,  that  Legislature  was  a  body  of 
able  and  patriotic  men,  whose  favor  could  not  be  bought  with  money;  and  dur 
ing  all  the  time  we  were  a  Territory  I  never  heard  it  charged  that  offices  or 
legislation  was  procured  by  bribery.  That  despicable  and  criminal  practice 
has  been  since  imported  here  from  our  neighboring  State,  where  inferior  men 
have  become  suddenly  rich  by  accident,  and,  intoxicated  by  temporary  success, 
are  riding  the  flood  tide  of  fickle  fortune  whose  ebb  will  surely  land  them  where 
their  mental  and  intellectual  inferiority  will  certainly  find  an  equilibrium — 
in  disgrace  and  infamy.  Thank  God  the  time  is  passed  when  men  can  publicly 
boast  that  they  have  purchased  public  favor  with  money,  and  that  golden  coins 
can  bify  high  position  and  an  honorable  name. 


THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  31 

The  country  as  we  found  it  twenty-five  years  ago  was  new  and  its  capacities 
untried.  It  lay  before  us  an  almost  unbroken  stretch  of  grass  and  forests;  the 
level  lands  were  one  vast  pasture,  and  the  mountain  regions  one  vast  forest. 
We  then  speculated  as  to  its  value;  it  was  then  known  that  these  open  lands 
would  produce  good  wheat  and  all  the  cereals,  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  tem 
perate  zones,  in  great  variety,  abundance  and  perfection.  But  our  markets  were 
then  limited  to  the  mines,  and  we  looked  to  California  for  a  market  for  our  sur 
plus  grain.  This  soon  proved  a  delusion,  for  California  soon  become  an  ex 
porter  of  wheat,  and  we  were  compelled  to  look  to  distant  Europe  as  our  mar 
ket. 

The  actual  value  of  this  country  then  was  but  little  appreciated,  or  its  re 
sources  comprehended.  One  mining  excitement  followed  another,  and  steady 
industry  was  for  a  time  neglected.  And  that  knowledge  of  the  capacities  and 
resources  of  the  country  which  actually  determines  the  commercial  value  of  the 
land,  was  exceedingly  imperfect.  Men  who  settle  a  new  country  can  not  tell 
what  the  land  will  produce  until  they  plant  the  seed  and  observe  the  growth 
and  maturity  of  the  plants.  Experience  alone  can  teach  us  the  regularity  of  the 
seasons.  In  California  it  is  said  that  two  years  in  every  seven  are  dry,  and 
crops  fail  for  want  of  rain.  Our  experience  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  now 
teaches  us  that  the  former  and  latter  rains  have  come  with  each  returning  sea 
son  almost  as  regularly  as  the  sun  returns  to  the  summer  solstice,  and  brings 
with  it  warm  breezes,  green  landscapes,  fragrant  flowers,  and  the  sheen  of  the 
glad  spring  time.  And  these  years  have  proven  that  the  wet  and  the  dry  sea 
son,  and  seed  time  and  harvest  will  not  fail  in  Oregon. 

A  short  time  ago,  I  was  at  the  house  of  an  old  friend  and  pioneer,  who  to 
day  honors  us  with  his  presence  and  sympathy.  About  his  mansion  I  saw  grow 
ing  the  silver  beal  and  other  exotic  shade  trees,  which  already  reach  the  hight 
of  fifty  feet.  His  orchards  of  apples,  pears  and  plums  looked  as  though  they 
had  stood  doing  service  for  half  a  century.  There  I  saw  one  mammoth  grape 
vine  that  had  gone  unpruned  and  allowed  to  take  its  way,  luxurient  with  foilage 
and  bloom,  it  had  clambered  over  arbor,  porch,  and  on  to  trees  fifty  feet  from 
its  parent  roots,  and  would  do  honor  to  an  ancient  castle  on  the  Rhine.  He 
told  me  his  grain  fields  as  yet  gave  no  sign  of  exhaustion,  but  continued  to  re 
turn  the  same  rich  harvests  as  twenty  years  ago. 

The  Willamette  Valley,  now  the  center  of  Oregon  in  population,  was  famous 
twenty-five  years  ago  as  the  best  part  of  the  country;  and  it  has  been  able  to 
maintain  its  credit  as  a  good  country,  and  is  perhaps  the  largest  continuous  ex 
tent  of  good  land  in  Oregon.  Its  climate,  though  mild,  is  not  quick  in  stimu 
lating  the  growth  of  vegetation;  it  is  tempered  by  the  cool  breezes  of  the  .ocean, 


32  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

and  our  grain  and  fruits  require  a  long  season  to  mature,  but  grow  to  great  per 
fection.  Learned  geologists  who  have  fathomed  the  deep  mysteries  of  the  dis 
tant  periods,  tell  us  that  nature,  far  back  in  the  annals  of  time,  before  the  ocean 
beds  were  finally  adjusted,  formed  the  soil  of  this  valley  during  periods  of 
thousands  of  years  while  the  waters  of  the  ocean  still  extended  over  it,  and  that 
these  rich  prairies  were  then  the  bottom  of  what  Prof.  Condon  calls  the  ancient 
Willamette  Sound,  whose  waters  stretched  from  Spencer  Butte  to  beyond  where 
the  Columbia  now  flows,  and  those  green  hills  over  in  Polk  County  were  then 
beautiful  islands  standing  in  this  grand  panorama  of  waters.  Then  no  ships 
carrying  the  trade  of  nations  riffled  its  placid  bosom,  or  human  voice  disturbed 
its  vast  solitudes.  It  was  then  that  God  was  forming  these  rich  lands  and  pre 
paring  the  earth  for  the  advent  of  man. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  it  was  thought  by  many  that  Oregon  was  of  too  limited 
an  extent  in  available  lands  to  ever  become  a  prominent  State  in  the  Union. 
And  indeed  to  those  who  came  here  from  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
such  a  suggestion  was  very  natural.  There,  one  vast  plain,  extending  from  the 
Alleghany  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  large  enough  for  an  empire,  impressed 
them  with  its  magnitude. 

Here  is  a  little  valley  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long  by  forty  or  fifty  broad, 
apparently  cut  off  from  any  other  country.  On  the  west,  the  lofty  wooded  hills 
of  the  Coast  mountains  then,  as  now,  offered  little  inducement  to  settlement, 
and  seemed  destined  to  lie  waste  for  all  time  to  come.  On  the  east,  the  Cascade 
mountains  stretched  a  wall  of  snow  and  ice,  where  fierce  winter  reigns  for  eight 
months  in  the  year,  rendering  them  as  impassable  during  that  time  as  though 
the  arch  of  heaven  rested  on  their  frozen  hights.  No  wonder  that  men  whose 
vision  had  been  enlarged  by  the  great  Father  of  Waters  and  the  vast  countries 
it  drains,  should  have  thought  the  Willamette  Valley  but  a  small  part  of  the 
great  republic.  But  these  contracted  views  have  greatly  enlarged  in  this  quar 
ter  of  a  century.  Whoever  looks  on  the  Columbia  mver  when  the  floods  of 
spring  are  on,  must  know  that  far  inland  on  its  tributaries  are  vast  tracts  of 
available  land,  for  no  river  on  the  globe  of  its  magnitude,  that  reaches  the 
ocean  in  the  temperate  zone,  where  fertilizing  rains  are  sure  to  come  to  fructify 
the  land,  but  drains  fertile  provinces  of  vast  extent.  You  may  almost  measure 
the  agricultural  and  commercial  resources  of  a  country  by  the  waters  of  its 
rivers.  And  now  it  is  well  proven  that  through  the  whole  vast  area  of  the 
Columbia  country  are  rich  tracts  of  good  agricultural  land,  which  only  need 
cheap  transportation  to  bring  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat  annually  to  the  sea. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  we  knew  that  salmon  abounded  in  our  rivers,  but  we 
did  not  then  know  that  within  the  period  that  has  since  elapsed,  fishing  for  them 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  33 

would  be  one  of  the  prominent  industries  of  the  country,  yielding  millions  of 
dollars  annually. 

Our  early  surveyors  were  aware  that  the  magnetic  needle  was  restless  and  un 
certain  whenever  set  in  the  hills  west  of  Portland,  and  predicted  that  iron  ore 
would  be  found  in  that  vicinity.  It  is  now  known  that  iron  of  superior  quality 
is  abundant  in  all  the  hilly  c«untry  west  of  Portland,  from  the  Chehalem  valley 
to  St.  Helens.  These  rich  mines  are  already  being  worked  and  will  eventually 
develop  into  a  vast  business  that  will  make  Oregon  to  the  Pacific  States  what 
Pennsylvania  is  to  the  States  on  the  Atlantic. 

Every  year  is  proving  to  us  that  in  choosing  this  country  as  a  home,  whether 
it  was  by  chance  or  otherwise,  we  were  fortunate,  and  have  now  and  in  prospect 
one  of  the  best  portions  of  the  Republic.  The  ocean,  the  highway  of  nations, 
rolls  at  our  feet  and  invites  our  people  to  enter  every  legitimate  commercial  en 
terprise,  and  many  there  are  which  will  bring  wealth  to  our  shores.  We  have 
abundant  timber  and  iron  for  ships,  and  before  many  years  they  will  be  built 
here  as  cheap  as  in  England  or  Maine,  ready  for  an  outgoing  cargo  of  wheat. 
But  we  are  to-day  dwelling  with  the  past,  rather  than  the  future. 

The  centennial  year  of  the  Republic  is  come,  and  more  than  one  quarter  of 
that  century  we  have  spent  in  building  up  Oregon;  we  have  founded  her  indus 
tries  and  began  her  history,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  her  future  political 
and  educational  career.  As  the  foundation  is,  so  the  superstructure  must  be; 
and  to  our  wisdom  are  our  children  in  a  great  degree  to  be  indebted  for  what 
they  will  achieve;  so  let  us  build  with  care  and  caution,  seeing  well  to  the 
materials  we  use,  and  that  our  corner  stones  are  securely  laid  and  capable  of 
sustaining  the  grand  superstructure  which  is  to  rise  on  the  foundation  we  have 
laid  as  pioneers. 

Friends  and  fellow  Pioneers,  we  have  long  been  associated  as  neighbors  and 
friends;  we  have  together  felt  the  privations  and  the  joys  of  a  pioneer  life,  for 
indeed  pioneer  life  is  not  without  its  compensations  and  its  joys.  Twenty-five 
years  ago  every  man  met  his  neighbor  as  a  friend  and  a  brother;  the  distinctions 
of  wealth  had  not  then  estranged  us,  and  I  trust  never  will.  Then  we  saw  this 
valley  one  vast  pasture;  now  it  is  one  vast  wheat  field,  dotted  here  and  there 
with  gardens  and  orchards.  Then  everywhere  the  log  house  of  the  settler 
greeted  the  eye;  now  the  glitter  of  bright  white  houses  enliven  and  adorn  the 
landscape.  Then  there  were  no  cities  or  towns  of  importance;  now  cities  and 
towns  have  arisen  at  convenient  distances  all  over  the  valley,  and  the  dashing 
of  water  wheels  and  the  hum  of  machinery  is  grown  familiar  to  us  all  in  places 
that  then  were  solitudes. 

3 


34  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

As  time  glides  on  and  we  grow  old,  let  us  not  forget  the  olden  time.  Let  the 
warm  sunshine  of  younger  days  linger  in  our  memories,  when  with  stout  hearts 
and  hands  we  fenced  and  plowed  up  these  virgin  lands,  and  planted  orchards 
and  vineyards  which  have  utilized  and  beautified  our  horn  s  and  made  them  a 
goodly  heritage  for  our  children. 

Having  many  of  us  passed  the  meridian  of  our  days,  as  we  step  up  on  the 
summit  of  life's  stage  and  look  back  on  the  young  and  ardent  throng  who  with 
various  success  are  toiling  up  the  path  of  life,  may  we  be  able  to  say  that  we 
have  seen  life's  joys  and  follies  in  a  manner  to  add  something  to  our  knowledge 
and  wisdom,  and  that  we  are  wiser  and  better  for  having  lived  in  this  good 
country  for  this  quarter  of  a  century ;  and  when  the  time  shall  come  for  us  to 
step  forth  on  the  frozen  fields  which  lie  in  life's  decline,  and  join  the  great  cara 
van  that  is  traveling  to  the  mysterious  realm,  and  come  to  the  shore  of  the 
famed  river  which  divides  the  life  that  now  is  from  that  which  is  to  come,  may 
we  all  with  the  courage  and  equanimity  of  the  ancient  sage,  boldly  step  into 
old  Charon's  boat,  cheered  with  the  hope  of  a  safe  passage  to.  a  new  and  still 
better  land. 


THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS, 


BY    HON.    JOHN    MINTO. 


Members  and  Friends  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

In  my  efforts  to  entertain  you  on  this  occasion,  I  shall  omit  all  allusion  to  the 
history  of  the  discovery  of  that  portion  ot  the  Northwest  coast  that  for  many 
years  was  known  as  Oregon;  that  portion  of  the  subject  having  been  better 
set  forth  to  you  by  those  who  have  preceded  me  at  this  and  former  re-unions, 
than  I  could  hope  to  set  it  before  you.  It  shall  be  my  endeavor  to  describe  to 
you  as  well  as  I  may,  the  motive,  the  men,  the  actions  and  experiences  of  the 
immigration  of  1844. 

You  all  know  the  public  motive  was  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  the 
country  in  order  to  make  good  the  claims  of  our  government  to  it,  as  against 
the  claims  of  Great  Britain,  whose  claims  up  to  near  this  time  may  be  fairly 
stated  to  be  second  only  to  those  of  the  United  States  as  an  abstract  right,  and 
better,  so  far  as  such  claims  could  be  strengthened  by  organized  power  in  occu 
pation  of  the  land. 

Those  interested  in  the  question  as  to  which  of  the  nationalities  had  the  best 
right,  had  before  1844  began  to  discern  the  fact  that  without  actual  occupation 
and  use,  the  claims  of  neither  party  amounted  to  much,  either  as  against  each 
other,  or  as  beneficial  to  mankind. 

To  plant  ''30,000  rifles  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia,"  had  been  for  many 
years  advocated  by  Senator  Benton  of  Missouri,  and  a  few  other  American 
statesmen,  as  the  surest  ground  of  title. 

The  settlement  in  Oregon  of  a  few  American  free  trappers  and  sailors,  and  by 
the  American  missionaries,  had  shown  the  leading  minds  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  the  necessity  of  something  more  than  an  organization  to  collect  furs 
and  peltries,  in  order  to  secure  the  British  title.  Members  of  that  company,  as 
shown  you  by  those  who  addressed  you  last  year,  had  organized  themselve 


36  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

into  an  agricultural  company,  and  a  colony  of  fanners  had  been  brought  into 
the  countiy  north  of  the  Columbia,  from  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  This 
attempt  to  colonize  proved  a  failure.  The  cause  of  its  failure  was  shortly  after 
ward  indicated  in  an  ably  written  article  published  in  a  leading  North  British 
Review  for  September,  1844,  wherein  the  writer  (evidently  well  acquainted 
with  his  subject)  earnestly  called  the  attention  of  his  countrymen  to  the  impera 
tive  necessity  of  prompt  organized  efforts  to  colonize  Oregon,  and  thus  secure 
the  title  to  the  country.  He  claimed  there  was  yet  time,  and  only  time,  for  the 
necessary  action,  as  the  Americans  were  beginning  to  adopt  the  only  (to  him) 
feasible  method  of  coming  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  by  ships.  The  idea 
prominently  put  forth  in  the  paper  of  the  impossibility  of  colonization  by  over 
land  immigration,  indicates  the  writer  was  probably  a  member  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  that  being  a  delusion  under  which  many  of  that  company  labored. 
But  of  the  class  of  immigrants  required  from  Great  Britian  to  successfully  cope 
with  the  Americans,  the  conception  was  vivid  and  true,  stated  in  about  these 
words:  "  "What  is  wanted  to  occupy  Oregon  is  something  more  than  the  ordinary 
class  of  emigrants  from  Britain,  men  capable  of  self  direction,  for  be  it  under- 
stood  these  Yankees  (the  citizens  of  the  United  States  settling  in  Oregon)  are 
different  from  the  ordinary  British  colonists,  who  generally  move  in  obedience 
to  a  few  leading  minds.  All  the  Americans  use  the  rifle  and  the  axe,  and  all 
of  them  can  calculate." 

Being  myself  at  that  time  but  recently  an  emigrant  from  North  Britain,  I  trust 
it  will  not  seem  invidious  for  me  to  say  it  was  not  then,  nor  do  T  believe  it  now 
possible  to  get  a  class  of  immigrants  from  .there  that  would  be  able  to  cope  with 
those  that  were,  even  while  the  article  in  question  was  passing  through  the  press, 
making  their  way  down  the  valley  of  the  Columbia,  with  intent  to  make  their 
homes  and  establish  civil  government  around  its  mouth,  thence  to  spread,  as 
it  has  since  done,  north,  •  outh  and  east,  until  it  reaches  the  frozen  regions  of  the 
north,  the  arid  plains  of  the  south,  and  the  advancing  communities  of  the  At 
lantic  slope  meet  and  mingle  with  its  returning  wave  from  the  Pacific,  around 
the  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  thus  the  whole  habitable  domain  of  the 
United  States  filled  with  law-restrained,  orderly,  industry  and  consequent  hap 
piness. 

This  difference  between  the  two  classes  of  colonists  is  shown  in  the  different 
circumstances  and  the  results  of  the  attempts  of  each  to  colonize  on  Puget  Sound. 
Under  the  guidance  and  fostering  care  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  hardy 
Scotch  and  Canadians  failed.  As  they  were  slowly  abandoning  the  enterprise, 
a  few  citizens  of  the  United  States,  against  the  almost  hostile  opposition  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company;  agaicsf  the  earnest  advice  and  with  the  express  state- 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  37 

raent  of  Dr.  McLoughlin,  the  Chief  Factor,  that  they  (the  company  he  repre 
sented)  could  give  them  no  aid,  not  even  employment,  went  there  and  main 
tained  themselves,  and  in  a  few  years  were  holding  public  meetings  and  passing 
resolutions  calling  on  their  government  to  remove  the  (to  them)  foreign  element 
out  of  their  way.  I  may  here  remark  that  it  is  one  of  the  notable  features  of 
the  immigration  of  1844,  that  it  furnished  the  nucleus  of  this  successful  settle 
ment  on  Puget  Sound.  To  Michael  T.  Simmons  has  been  ascribed  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  American  settler  in  that  region,  and  he  possessed  in  a  high  de 
gree  the  natural  qualifications  for  the  enterprise,  as  previous  to  his  immigration  to 
Oregon  he  had,  by  literally  spelling  his  way  to  the  meaning  of  a  work  on  mechanics 
succeeded  in  constructing  himself  an  excellent  grist  mill  by  the  rule  of  "cut  and 
fit,"  on  the  waters  of  the  hundred  and  two  branch  of  the  Missouri.  This  prop 
erty  he  sold  in  order  to  make  his  fit-out  for  crossing  the  plains.  He  was,  from 
an  outside  view,  the  leader  of  the  Puget  Sound  settlement,  if  it  could  be  said  to 
have  a  leader.  But  there  was  another  man  in  that  little  band  who,  I  think,  if 
all  were  known,  would  out-rank  Mr.  Simmons  in  that  respect.  I  mean  George 
W.  Bush,  a  mulatto,  who  had  been  a  neighbor  of  Simmons'  in  Missouri,  and 
was  his  intimate  friend  and  traveling  companion  from  thence.  A  man  of  con 
siderable  substance,  who  used  it  at  that  time  to  help  several  white  families  to 
make  their  fit-out  to  come  to  Oregon  along  with  him.  This  man  Bush  had,  in 
addition  to  his  tact  for  getting  and  holding  property,  a  strong  love  of  liberty, 
and  long  before  he  got  to  Oregon  I  learned  from  him  personally  that  he  would 
watch  with  care  the  indications  of  public  sentiment  in  the  new  settlement  of 
Oregon  in  regard  to  people  of  color,  and  so  place  himself  that  he  could  defend 
himself  and  interests  against  it  if  it  proved  unfriendly.  That  man's  interests 
and  determination,  in  my  judgment,  was  the  secret  spring  to  Col.  Simmons'  de 
termination  to  place  himself  outside  of  the  Willamette  Valley  settlements  and 
on  the  Puget  Sound,  so  that  if  necessary  Bush  could  have  placed  himself  under 
the  protection  of  British  and  Canadian  law.  It  is  creditable  to  the  good  sense 
of  the  first  Oregon  legislature  that  convened  after  the  planting  of  the  Puget 
Sound  colony,  that  in  spite  of  his  color,  it  recognized  the  worth  of  this  man 
Bush  by  exempting  him  from  the  general  law  against  negroes  and  mulattos  com 
ing  here.  And  there  is  no  act  of  Col.  Simmons'  life  does  him  more  credit  than 
that  of  asking,  as  a  member  of  the  legislature,  that  his  friend  and  co-laborer 
should  be  so  far  recognized  as  to  be  permitted  to  live  unmolested  in  the  colony 
he  had  helped  to  establish.  It  is  pleasant,  now  after  the  whirlwind  of  passion 
through  which  we  as  a  people  have  passed,  that  embraced  in  its  sweep  the 
strong  prejudice  of  the  white  against  the  colored  race,  to  reflect  that  when  this 
prejudice  was  strongest  the  pioneers  of  Oregon  could  rise  above  it  and  recognize 
that  the  manly  .qualities  of  activity,  courage,  vigilance  and  discretion  were  ele- 


38  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

ments  they  could  not  afford  to  banish;  and  such,  in  an  eminent  degree,  were 
interwoven  in  the  character  of  Geo.  W.  Bush. 

The  general  character  of  the  immigration  of  1844  did  not  differ  materially 
from  that  of  the  preceding  and  subsequent  years.  It  was  composed  for  the 
most  part  of  frontiersmen  who  kept  in  advance  of  the  settlements,  emanating 
from  the  Southern  rather  than  the  Eastern  States;  there  were  men  in  it  from  all 
the  States  East  and  North  perhaps,  and  individuals  from  nearly  all  the  coun 
tries  of  Western  Europe,  but  the  largest  number  traced  their  orign  to  the  Scotch 
covenanters  who  had  settled  in  Virginia,  Georgia  and  North  Carolinia,"  bringing 
with  them  traditions  of  such  battle  fields  as  that  of  King's  Mountain.  As  pio 
neers  of  the  settlements  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Missouri,  they  now  de 
tailed  these  traditions  around  the  camp  fire,  intermixed  with  stories  of  New 
Orleans  and  wars  with  the  Indians.  The  men  of  these  families  were  of  such  as 
Daniel  Boon  and  David  Crockett  furnish  prominent  types;  men  who  from  choice 
would  rather  struggle  with  and  overcome  natural  obstacles  than  jostle  with  men. 
Their  pride,  and  they  had  pride,  was  to  be  on  the  western  edge  of  the  most  ad 
vanced  wave  of  frontier  settlements.  They,  in  many  cases,  were  the  sons  of  sons 
of  frontiersmen  for  many  generations  back,  bred  and  inured  to  tl.e  shifts,  priva 
tions  and  dangers  of  frontier  life.  In  their  hands,  the  limited  instrumentalities 
of  the  rifle,  the  axe,  and  ox  goad  were  vastly  more  efficient  than  things  of  the 
same  name  in  the  hands  of  the  settlers  introduced  from  Rupert's  Land,  and 
much  more  so  than  any  that  immigrants  fresh  from  Britain  would  be  likely  to 
yield.  The  women  of  these  pioneers  were  such  as  were  fitted  to  be  the  wives 
of  such  men.  Though  reared  under  the  same  influences  and  possessing  less  of 
acquired  accomplishments  than  their  fathers,  husbands  or  brothers,  if  such 
could  be,  they  used  language  and  the  smaller  proprieties  of  life  with  more  grace 
and  tact.  I  can  now  cast  my  memory  back  to  individuals  amongst  them  like 
Aunt  Sallie  Shaw — now  gone  to  her  reward — who  in  times  of  severe  trial  showed 
forth  the  delicacy  of  true  ladyhood,  combined  with  the  courage  of  brave  man 
hood.  There  were  few  of  these  women  who  would  have  been  immigrants  of 
their  own  desire,  but  they  showed  a  fortitude  in  enduring  the  trials  and  priva 
tions  their  devotion  to  their  families  entailed,  in  the  highest  degree  commend 
able.  Their  just  fears  and  anxieties  as  wives  and  mothers  I  feel  incapable  of 
describing. 

Such,  from  my  point  of  view,  were  the  qualities  of  the  immigrants  of  1844. 
Self-reliant,  determined  men  ;  devoted,  loyal,  bravely  enduring  women.  Of 
course  these  noble  traits  were  lodged  in  various  degrees  in  difierent  individuals, 
and  as  every  prominent  object  cast  some  shadow,  that  in  these  men's  character 
most  prominent,  was  an  opinion  of  the  Indian  race  very  different  from  Eenimore 


THE    OCCASIONAL  'ADDRESS.  39 

Cooper's  ideal.  Indeed,  as  a  rule,  they  were  not  believers  in  good  Indians, 
which,  considering  the  position  of  the  two  races  towards  each  other  upon  the 
frontier,  is  no  matter  of  wonder.  The  trait  I  now  note  of  the  immigrant  of 
1844,  was  that  the  fear  of  danger  was  not  sufficient  to  conquer  his  love  for  per* 
sonal  freedom,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  constrain  the  different  companies  into  one 
organization  for  the  purpose  of  their  journey.  They  started  from  different 
points  under  different  leaders,  and  never  united,  but,  on  the  contrary,  divided 
up  still  more  as  they  traveled,  a  single  man  sometimes  separating  himself  from 
an  entire  company,  under  the  settled  conviction  that  they  were  all  too  contrary 
for  him  to  keep  company  with  any  longer. 

The  main  companies  started  from  three  different  points :  One  party  from  In* 
dependence,  one  from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  river,  and  one  from  Capler's 
Landing,  12  miles  above  St.  Joseph,  Missouri.  To  the  last  mentioned,  I  had 
attached  myself.  TheJ^united  company  comprised  a  train  of  over  80 
wagons,  and  at  an  attempted  military  organization,  Cornelius  Gilliam  was  chosen 
General;  M.  T.  Simmons,  Colonel;  Messrs.  R.  W.  Morrison,  \Vm.  Shaw  and 
Richard  Woodcock,  Captains.  The  company  of  Woodcock  separated  them 
selves  from  the  others  in  a  few  days — and  the  rest  of  the  organization  was  badly 
demoralized  by  the  shock  of  our  attack  upon  the  buffalo,  when  we  came  to 
them,  "Uncle  Neal "  himself  setting  the  example  of  losing  self  control,  by 
throwing  himself  on  the  first  horse  of  his  own  that  he  could  lay  his  hands  on, 
and  rifle  in  hand,  cried  over  his  shoulder,  "  Tell  the  boys  to  camp  when  there  is 
wood  and  water  ;"  away  he  went  after  the  movirfg  mass  of  fat  beef,  leading  the 
onslaught  of  all  such  as  could  mount  and  follow,  leaving  the  "boys,"  that  is 
such  as  were  in  charge  of  the  teams  and  cattle,  in  a  very  unenviable  plight,  for 
they  all  felt  a  God-given  right  to  be  in  that  first  buffalo  hunt.  The  result  was, 
discontent  and  insubordination  of  those  who  were  not  in  the  hunt.  The  next 
day  speeches  were  made,  and  rules  for  hunting  prescribed — rules  utterly  disre 
garded  the  next  day,  and  from  that  time  forth  such  generalship  as  we  had,  was 
exercised  by  the  combined  minds  of  Captains  Morrison  and  Shaw.  General 
Gilliam  was  a  man  generous  and  brave,  in  the  full  meaning  of  those  words 
among  western  men,  but  had  not,  I  think,  the  measure  of  discretion  that  would 
enable  him  to  control  all  the  elements  of  his  company,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  any 
other  man  had.  The  men  Avho  traveled  with  him  yielded  only  to  circumstances, 
and  it  required  strong  circumstances  to  control  them.  Mr.  Gilliam  had  served 
one  term  in  the  Legislature  of  Missouri,  and  as  a  captain  of  volunteers  in  the 
Seminole  war.  had  made  a  good  record  ;  Captain  Shaw  was  also  in  the  Florida 
war,  and  had  been  a  soldier  of  1812,  under  Jackson.  Both  of  them  and  Captain 
Morrison  placed  themselves  under  the  orders  of  Gov.  Abernethy  during  the  war 
arising  out  of  the  W7hitman  massacre.  The  two  former  were  actively  engaged 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 


in  the  field,  whence  returning,  Gilliam  lost  his  life  by  the  accidental  discharge  of 
a  gun.  Captain  Morrison  was  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Wascopum,  at  the 
Dalles,  then  as  now,  deemed  the  most  important  military  point  of  the  interior 
Columbia  valley. 

Col.  Nathaniel  Ford,  chosen  Captain  of  the  company  that  started  from 
Independence,  was  a  man  of  consideration  and  influence  after  his  arrival  here, 
and  served  one  term  in  the  Legislature.  Major  Thorp  led  the  company  which 
gathered  near  the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  and  came  up  the  north  side  of  that 
stream. 

Owing  to  the  fact  of  the  various  companies  starting  from  these  different  points 
and  keeping  separate,  the  difficulty  of  making  up  a  perfect  roll  of  the  names  is 
enhanced.  The  one  I  am  about  to  call  has  been  formed  by  Joseph  Watt,  assisted 
by  your  Secretary,  Willard  H.  Rees,  and  Wm.  M.  Case.  This  roll  as  so 
furnished,  contains  the  following  names  : 

THE  ROLL  OP  1844. 


Alanson  Hinman, 

Elisha  McDaniel, 

Samuel  Goff, 

KGeo.  Waunch, 

Fleming  Hill, 

Marion  Goff, 

Jackson  Shelton, 

Geo.  Neal, 

Clemens, 

\Vm.  Sebring, 

Attey  Neal, 

*Mrs.  McDaniel. 

Wm.  Morgan, 

Calvin  Neal, 

McMahan, 

Sebrin  Thornton,               i    Robert  Neal, 

*  Alderman, 

"Theophilus  McGruder,  j    Alex  Neal, 

*Geo.  W.  Bush, 

Ed.  McGruder,                  '•    Peter  Neal, 

*David  Kindred, 

Blakely,                    I    Geo.  Nelson, 

Bart.  Kindred, 

Dougherty,                   Cyrus  Nelson, 

*John  Kindred, 

1.  N.  Gilbert,                    ;    *Joel  Perkins,  Sen., 

*James  McAllister, 

David  Crawford,               \    John  Perkins, 

R.  W.  Morrison, 

Daniel  Clark,                        James  Johnson, 

James  Welsh, 

John  Minto,                        '•    Daniel  Johnson, 

Jacob  Hoover, 

T.  S.  Hedges,                      Joel  Perkins,  Jr., 

Michael  Moor, 

Springer,                   •    *Nehemiah  Martin, 

J.  S.  Smith, 

Williams,                  i    "Nathaniel  Ford, 

Charles  Smith, 

Jacob  Hutton,                    j    C.  Emery, 

*David  Parker, 

Harrison  Wright, 

*David  Goff, 

*John  Jackson, 

Richard  Woodcock, 

Samuel  McSwain, 

"Peter  Smith, 

*John  Fleming, 

*J.  C.  Hawley, 

*James  Cave, 

Joshua  McDaniel, 

'Mark  Ford, 

O.  S.  Thomas, 

•Deceased. 

THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 
THE  ROLL  OE  1844.— Continued. 


T.  Roland, 

Abe  Inyard, 

James  Davenport, 

*Henry  Saffron  > 

Peter  Inyard, 

Joshua  "Sheep"  Shaw, 

*Barton  Lee, 

John  Lousenaute, 

A.  R.  C.  Shaw, 

Priest, 

E.  E.  Parrish, 

Wash.  Shaw, 

T.  Holt, 

Gabriel  Parrrish, 

Thomas  Shaw, 

*James  Marshall, 

James  Stewart, 

B.  F.  Shaw, 

*Big  Sis, 

C.  Everman, 

Capt.  William  Shaw, 

James  Harper, 

*Noyes  Smith, 

David  Jenkins, 

James  Fruit, 

W.  H. 

Goodwin, 

Charles  Buieh, 

"Doc"  Fruit, 

Westly 

Mulky, 

Martin  Gillahan, 

*Thomas  Boggs, 

John  Eades, 

Wm.  Gillahan, 

Mountain  Robinson, 

William  Gilliam, 

*Capt.  C.  Bennett, 

*Fatty  Robinson, 

Porter  Gilliam, 

James  Stephens, 

Ben  Robinson, 

i    Gillespie, 

Parton  Rice, 

Joel  Crisman, 

!    Abr.  Eades, 

Mac  Rice, 

Gabriel  Crisman, 

Henry 

Eades, 

Wm.  Jenkins, 

Wm.  Crisman, 

;    Clark 

Eades, 

Charles  Lewis, 

*Lafe  Moreland, 

*Solomon  Eades, 

Henry  Jenkins, 

*Ruel  Owless, 

Elijah 

Bunton, 

Robert  Eddy, 

Wm.  Smith, 

Joseph 

Bunton, 

Texas  Smith, 

*Joseph  Parrot, 

Wm.  Bunton, 

James  Hunt, 

David  Grant, 

Jos  .  Holman, 

Henry  Willamson, 

John  Nichols, 

j    Patrick 

Conner, 

Willard  H.  Rees, 

Frank  Nichols, 

Henry 

Owens, 

Joseph  Watt, 

^Benjamin  Nichols, 

James  Owens, 

*  James  Johnson, 

Mitchell  Gilliam, 

i    John  Owens, 

Old  Man  Rice, 

Neil  Gilliam, 

Wm.  Saunders, 

*  Sager,  died  on  the 

Smith  Gilliam, 

i    S.  Packwood, 

way,  at  Green  river. 

Wm.  Gage, 

T.  Paekwood, 

Warmbough, 

Jesse  Gage, 

James 

Walker,  Sen., 

Norris  Humphrey, 

*Wm.  Bowman,  Sen., 

:    James  Walker,  Jr., 

Charles  Saxton, 

Wm.  Bowman,  Jr., 

i    Robert 

Walker, 

Mortimer  Thorp, 

Ira  Bowman, 

i    *Samuel  B.  Crockett, 

Milton  Thorp, 

John  Thorp, 

*R.  K. 

Payne, 

Benjamin  Tucker, 

Alvin  Thorp, 

Luke  Mulkey, 

David  Johnson, 

Theodore  Thorp, 

Cooper 

Y.  Trues, 

Wm.  M.  Case, 

Wm.  Johnson, 

|    Murray, 

Daniel  Kinmey, 

*Aaron  Chamberlain, 

;    Mudgett, 

Thomas  Vance,  died  on 

*Moses  Edes. 

i    *James  Gavish, 

the  Platte. 

*John  Inyard, 

John  Gavish, 

Jacob  Hammer, 

^Deceased. 

THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 
THE  ROLL  OF  IMi.— Concluded. 


Wm.  Clemens, 

Chas.  Gilmore, 

'    Scott,     )       Colored  men 

Francis  Bordran, 

Poe  Williams, 

Robbing  with  Col.  Ford, 

Joseph  Bartrough, 

Thos.  Werner, 

Mrs.    W.  M.  Case  fur^ 

Herman  Higgins, 

Edward  Dupuis, 

nished  the  following  list 

Wm.  Higgins, 

,    Eaben  Pettie, 

of  ladies   who    came   in 

Wm.  Bray, 

Amab  Pettie, 

Major  Thorp's  Co.: 

Wm.  Prater, 

•  Peter  Bonnin. 

Mrs.  D.  Johnson, 

Theodore  Prater, 

The    following  turned 

Mrs.  Joshua  Shaw, 

John  Owens, 

off  and  went  to  Califor* 

Mrs.  Jacob  Hammer, 

•  Ramsey, 

;    nia  : 

Mrs.  Herman  Higgins, 

Vincent  Snelling, 

Jackson, 

Mrs.  Vincent  Snelling, 

Benjamin  Snelling, 

Stephens, 

Mrs.  Wm.  M.  Case, 

Long  Tucker, 

Murphy  and  four  sons, 

Mrs.  Benjamin  Tucker, 

Daniel  Durbin, 

Martin  and  John, 

Miss  Amanda  Thorp, 

Jenny  Fuller, 

Dennis  Martin, 

Miss  Eliza  Snelling, 

Ramsdell, 

John  Sullivan  &  brother, 

Eliza,  a  mulato  girl, 

Dennis  Clark, 

Dr.  Townsend, 

Aunt  Hannah,  a  negress, 

Geo.  Hibler, 

;    James  Montgomery, 

Horace  Holden  and  May 

Lewis  Crawford, 

John  Greenwood. 

his   wife,    arrrived    in 

Nathan  Bayard, 

Greenwood, 

April  of  this  year  from 

John  Ellick, 

Britain  Greenwood, 

the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Adam  Brown, 

The  total  number  of  young  and  old  is  supposed  to  be  about  800  persons  of  both 
sexes. 

Of  heads  of  families  and  youth  able  to  bear  arms,  the  number  was  was  235, 
of  which  two  died  on  the  way  and  17  turned  off  and  went  to  California,  leaving 
216.  who  arrived  in  Oregon.  Of  this  number  I  can  now  think  of  nine  who  were  sub 
sequently  called  to  serve  the  State  as  legislators  :  They  were  Capt.  Wm.  Shaw 
(twice),  R.  W.  Morrison,  Willard  H.  Rees,  Nathaniel  P'ord.  M.  T.  Simmons, 
(B.  F.  Shaw  in  W.  T.  Legislature),  Cyrus  Nelson,  John  Minto,  and  J.  S.  Smith 
as  M.  C.  All  these,  unless  Col.  Ford  be  excepted,  were  what  is  termed  "self 
made  men,"  men  but  little  indebted  to  schools  for  their  acquirements.  In  fact, 
that  is  characteristic  of  most  pioneers — so  that  when  we  observe  so  large  a  pro 
portion  of  them  still  standing  in  the  front  ranks  of  those  who  influence  public 
affairs  and  business,  while  men  of  trained  faculties  have  become  so  numerous, 
we  find  reason  for  the  belief  that  first  men  will  be  first  men,  and  pioneers  are 
God-made. 

These  are  the  immigrants  of  1844,  who,  together  with  those  who  preceded 
or  carne  after  them  within  a  few  years,  attained  their  public  object,  and  secured 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  43 

to  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  vast  domain  then  known  as  Oregon. 
They  were  all  pioneers  in  a  general  sense.  I  trust  it  will  not  be  considered  in 
vidious  to  mention  a  few  who  were  pioneers  in  a  particular  sense:  As  Simmons 
and  Bush,  the  first  colonists  on  Puget  Sound,  and  pioneers  there  in  the  lumber 
trade;  John  Fleming,  the  printer  of  the  first  newspaper  published  in  Oregon; 
James  Marshall,  the  first  discoverer  of  gold  in  California — which  discovery  soon 
reached  Oregon  ;  Joshua  Shaw,  who  brought  the  first  .sheep  across  the  plains  ; 
Joseph  Watt,  who  beame  the  pioneer  in  the  improvement  of  sheep  for  wool 
growing  purposes  in  a  few  years  subsequent,  and  was  the  originator  of  the  pro 
ject  for  building  the  first  woolen  factory  on  this  coast,  and  was  the  first  to  send 
a  cargo  of  wheat  around  Cape  Horn . 

To  do  these  things,  they  crossed  an  unsettled  country  covering  28  degrees  of 
longitude,  every  part  of  the  way  liable  to  attacks  from  savage  foes ;  the  whole 
route  of  meandering  travel  of  2,000  miles,  opposed  by  every  natural  obstacle 
nature  places  in  the  way  of  man,  three  thousand  three  hundred  (3,300)  miles 
from  their  seat  of  government,  with  the  administration  of  that  government  rather 
opposed  to  their  object  than  otherwise,  leaving  behind  them  a  fruitful  soil,  the 
ownership  of  which  was  easily  attained,  and  homes  in  which,  as  Col.  Nesmith, 
at  your  last  reunion,  very  truthfully  said:  "  No  monarhical  or  arbitrary  govern 
ment  oppressed  them;  no  religious  zealots  persecuted  them.  They  fled  from 
no  such  evils  as  brought  either  the  pilgrims  or  cavaliers  to  the  new  world;  nor 
was  their  avarice  tempted  by  the  inducements  which  sent  Cortez  and  his  com 
panions  to  Mexico,  or  Pizarro  to  Peru — for  the  existence  of  precious  metals  in 
this  region  was  then  unknown."  They,  as  their  own  priests  and  their  own  kings, 
moved  in  the  freedom  of  American  citizenship — after  calculating  the  journey, 
they  came  conquering  and  to  conquer 

Your  other  eminent  speaker  of  last  year  (Judge  Deady)  said  the  parallel  to 
this  journey  is  the  famous  retreat  of  the  ten  thousand;  but  the  cases  were  not 
similar.  The  ten  thousand  Greek  soldiers  were  as  well  disciplined  as  they 
were  brave,  and  the  retreat  is  handed  down  to  us  as  an  illustration  of  that  dis 
cipline  rather  than  the  bravery  of  the  Greeks.  As  a  feat  of  war,  the  retreat  of 
Xenophon  was  out-done  by  the  march  throngh  Mexico  of  Doniphan,  at  the 
head  of  a  body  of  Missouri  volunteers,  corn-patriots  of  the  men  who  performed 
this  journey  to  Oregon,  some  of  whom  made  the  journey  afterwards,  and  are 
here  today  as  Oregon  pioneers;  Col.  John  F.  Miller,  of  Salem,  and  Andrew 
Carter,  of  Coos  Bay,  were  of  the  number. 

The  journey  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  offers  a  closer  parallel, 
they  being  encumbered  with  their  families;  but  there  the  distance  traveled  was 
hundreds  of  miles  where  this  was  thousands,  and  they  moved  in  a  body  of  near 


44  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

3,000,000  as  compact  as  such  a  multitude  could  move,  guarded  in  front,  flanks, 
and  rear  by  an  organized  army  of  over  600,000  men,  takiiig  40  years  to  move 
over  one-tenth  the  distance  of  your  journey.  The  nearest  parallel  that  I  can 
find  is  in  the  movement  of  the  people  during  the  period  of  the  great  emigration 
from  the  north  to  the  south  of  Europe,  when  the  various  German  tribes  were  all 
moving  in  one  general  direction,  tribe  pressing  tribe,  in  search  of  land  whereon 
to  feed  their  increasing  numbers,  with  such  violence  that  the  two  comparatively 
weak  tribes  of  Angles  and  Saxons  confederated,  that  by  uniting  their  strength 
they  might  maintain  themselves  in  their  chosen  locality  in  central  Germany, 
whence  part  of  them  migrated  to  Britain  600  years  later,  gave  part  of  the  coun- 
tryone  of  their  tribal  names  of  Angle-land  (England),  whence  part  of  the  same 
people  migrated  to  the  east  sid,e  of  the  American  continent  in  the  beginning  of 
the  1 7th  century,  and  their  descendants  are  now  here  celebrating  their  occupation 
of  the  west  side  of  the  continent  between  the  years  1840  and  1853. 

If  we  may  credit  the  German  historian,  Kohlraus,  who  claims  to  follow  Tac 
itus,  the  manner  of  the  travel  of  these  emigrants  of  2000  years  ago  must  have 
been  similar  to  that  we  adopted — in  wagons  drawn  by  oxen  so  leisurely  that 
these  women  wove  their  clothing  as  they  went,  much  as  we  have  seen 
women  knitting  as  they  crossed  the  plains.  The  men  placed  them 
selves  under  military  captains  of  their  own  election,  and  their  civil 
judges  distinct  from  their  military  leaders,  were  chosen  in  the  same 
way — that  also  was  our  method.  A  description  of  one  these  German  em 
igrants  at  the  time  the  Cimbri  threatened  Rome  is  givln.  "A  stoutly  built  man 
with  fair  hair  and  florid  face,  dressed  uncouthly,  armed  with  a  rude  strong  sword 
or  lance  and  shield,  so  reckless  of  danger  that  he  would  place  his  shield  under 
him,  slide  down  the  declivities  of  the  Apenines,  and  at  the  foot  rise  to  his  feet, 
ready  for  battle  with  the  Romans."  With  a  little  change,  and  allowing  for  hy 
perbole,  the  description  might  apply  to  an  immigrant  of  1844,  given  the  rifle 
instead  of  the  sword,  and  having  no  shield,  he  did  not  slide  down  the  decliv 
ities  of  the  Cascades  upon  one,  but  he  shot  down  the  lower  Cascade  rapids  in  a 
canoe.  Arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver,  where  he  saw  the  first  ship  he  remembered 
to  have  seen.  He  went  on  board  and  examined  the  strange  construction,  and 
without  thinking  he  might  be  intruding,  he  soon  found  himself  face  to  face  with 
the  Captain  in  his  cabin,  who  being  busy  with  his  log  or  his  ship's  accounts, 
looked  up  in  surprise  at  the  intruder,  and  addressed  him  in  words  to  this  effect: 
"Young  man,  who  are  you  and  what  do  yon  want  here?"  The  man  answered, 
"  Sir,  I  am  an  immigrant  just  come  down  the  river.  I  do  not  wish  to  intrude, 
but  I  wanted  to  see  the  ship,  as  I  never  saw  one  before  to  recollect."  The  Cap 
tain  examined  his  strange  visitor  a  few  moments  in  silence,  and  said:  "Where 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  45 

do  you  come  from,  and  why  do  you  come  here?"  He  was  answered,  "  We've 
come  from  Missouri  across  the  Rocky  Mountains — we've  come  to  settle  in  Ore 
gon  and  rule  this  country ."  The  Captain  took  another  silent  stare  at  the  man, 
and  then  replied:  "Well,  young  man,  I  have  sailed  into  every  quarter  of  this 
globe,  and  seen  most  of  the  people  on  it,  but  a  more  uncouth,  at  the  same  time  a 
bolder  set  of  men  than  you  Americans,  I  never  saw  before."  This  conversation 
I  received  a  few  days  after  it  occurred,  from  my  traveling  comrade.  We  had 
parted  at  the  Dalles,  he  to  come  down  the  river  in  company  with  Gen.  Mc- 
Carver,  I  to  bring  our  horses  across  the  mountains  via  the  Indian  trail  on  the 
north  side  of  Mt.  Hood,  and  to  meet  him  at  McCarver's  farm,  where  we  did 
meet  Oct.  2Oth.  Recanting  to  each  other  the  incidents  of  our  several  trips,  he 
repeated  to  me  his  interview  with  the  ship  Captain.  I  do  not  think  he  himself 
fully  appreciated  the  words  he  used  at  the  time,  and  they  only  struck  me  as  a 
very  brief  statement  of  the  object  of  our  journey,  but  I  have  often  reflected  upon 
them  since. 

As  he  stood  in  that  ship's  cabin  and  answered  the  curt  question  of  conscious 
power,  in  words  that  might  have  well  become  a  soldier  of  Sparta  or  of  Rome, 
asserting  the  sovereignty  of  American  citizenship  over  the  soil  he  had  as  yet 
scarcely  touched — he  showed  himself  a  soldier,  not  of  the  retreat  of  the  ten 
thousand  Greeks,  but  of  the  advance  of  the  30,000  free  Americans  following  in 
his  foot-steps,  now  fast  swelling  to  300,000,  soon  to  &?  3,000.000,  and  before  the 
next  centennial  year  to  number  30,000,000  of  people  who  will  inhabit  the  land 
redeemed  from  the  wilderness  by  the  pioneers  of  Oregon,  of  whom  he  was — is 
yet — a  representative  man. 

And  as  I  in  fancy  contemplate  him  standing  there  in  the  simple  dignity  of 
American  citizenship,  I  think  I  see  more  than  national  interests  around  and  be 
hind  him.  The  interests  of  the  homeless  and  landless  of  the  race,  as  opposed 
to  and  by  the  interests  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  which  would  have  continued 
this  delightful  country  a  breeding  ground  for  the  beaver  and  the  otter.  For,  in 
the  footsteps  of  the  American  citizen,  follow  tens  of  thousands  from  the  various 
nations  of  Western  Europe,  seeking  lands  and  homes  for  themselves  and 
offspring,  not  by  making  war  upon  each  other  in  tribal  strife,  as  in  the  past,  but 
working  together  in  the  patient  labors  of  fellow-citizenship  that  tends  to  estab 
lish  "peace  upon  earth  and  good  will  to  men" — hastening  the  day  when 
"  Man  to  man,  the  world  ow'r,  shall  brothers  be,  and  a'  that." 

And  now,  Brother  and  Sister  Pioneers,  after  our  exertions  have  been  crowned 
with  such  glorious  results,  can  we  not  afford  to  let  the  remark  of  the  worthy 
British  Captain  upon  our  "  uncouth  "  appearance  pass  for  all  it  was  worth?  For. 


46  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

••  What  though  on  homely  fare  we"  dined 

Wore  "  hodden  grey  and  a'  that, 
(ri'e  fools  their  silks  and  knaves  their  wine, 

A.  man's  a  man  for  a'  that." 

Yea  !  "  For  a'  that  and  a'  that, 

And  twice  as  muckle  as  a'  that. 

The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp, 

The  man's  the  man  for  a'  that." 

The  spring  of  1844  might  well  be  called  a  wet  season,  for  during  the  first  two 
months  after  leaving  the  Missouri  river  there  were  only  eight  days  on  which  it 
did  not  rain.  Of  course  the  margins  of  all  the  streams  were  marshy,  and  some- 
times  our  wagons  cut  through  the  sod  and  sank  to  the  axle  on  the  highest  land 
we  could  find.  Nearly  every  stream  larger  than  a  brook  we  had  either  to 
bridge  or  swim  and  ferry  until  we  reached  the  Platte.  To  ferry  the  wagons 
over,  two  large  trees  were  cut  and  hollowed  out  with  axes  in  the  shape  of  rude 
canoes,  and  secured  together  the  right  distance  apart,  the  wagon  was  run  into 
the  canoes  so  that  different  sides  of  the  wagon  occupied  separate  canoes;  this 
was  found  to  be  a  more  expeditious  mode  than  to  depend  on  tight  wagon  beds 
as  boats.  While  the  wagons,  chattels  and  families,  were  crossed  in  this  manner, 
the  teams  and  loose  stock  were  made  to  swim;  generally  by  selecting  a  point 
on  the  bank  we  were  leaving  that  projected  towards  the  one  we  desired  to 
attain.  A  few  of  the  most  experienced  oxen  were  then  forced  in,  and  then  a 
young  man  jumped  in  with  each  one  of  the  first  five  or  six  oxen  to  guide  them 
to  the  best  part  of  the  bank  to  get  out  at,  the  landing  being  the  important  mat 
ter.  The  man  usually  placed  himself  on  the  lower  side  of  the  animal  and 
placed  his  right  hand  on  the  neck  or  withers,  and  swam  with  hfs  left,  unless  it 
happened  (which  was  rare)  that  the  brute  inclined  to  go  too  much  up  stream. 
This  portion  of  the  labor  fell  to  the  "boys,"  all  the  unmarried  men  being  in 
that  rank.  I  was  one  of  them  at  that  time,  and  I  can  tell  my  young  friends 
here  it  was  rare  good  fun,  not  always  free  from  danger,  which  with  boys  gives 
a  zest  to  fun.  If  we  consider  that  in  all  probability  the  danger  of  the  enterprise 
of  crossing  the  plains  at  that  clay  formed  a  strong,  though  perhaps  an  undefined 
reason  why  many  of  the  heads  of  families  were  engaged  in  the  journey,  it  will 
not  be  wondered  at  that  their  sons  loved  the  excitement  of  a  little  danger.  I 
once  was  placed  near  two  young  men  during  exercises  one  Sunday,  when  the 
late  Rev.  E.  E.  Parrish  prayed  God  "  to  remove  the  wild  beasts  and  savage  men 
from  our  pathway;"  one  of  the  boys  whispered  to  his  comrade,  he  "hoped  God 
would  not  hear  all  that  prayer,"  for  he  was  "  bound  to  kill  a  buffalo,  and  he 
would  like  to  see  a  grizzly  bear." 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  47 

These  religious  exercises  were  had  on  a  day  when,  after  many  wet  days,  we 
stopped  so  that  the  clothing  could  be  placed  in  the  sun  to  dry.  We  were  yet 
not  over  60  miles  from  the  Missouri  river,  and  from  this  point  one  man  went 
back  discouraged  with  the  rate  of  our  journey.  Yet  after  he  left  we  were  de 
tained  1 6  days  on  the  east  bank  of  Vermillion  creek,  on  14  of  which,  the  rain 
came  down  so  that  on  the  3d  day  we  were  forced  to  move  the  camp  to  the  foot 
hills,  the  bottom  lands  being  all  overflowed.  With  such  stoppages  it  was  the 
4th  of  July,  and  we  were  yet  on  the  west  fork  of  Blue  river  some  days'  journey 
east  of  the  Platte.  The  day  was  a  bright  one,  and  consequently  another  drying 
day  for  the  women.  The  men  spending  it  in  hunting,  doing  any  little  necessary 
job  of  rearranging  things,  or  chatting  around  the  camp  fires  about  Oregon.  In 
a  conversation  on  that  subject,  I  happened  to  express  the  opinion  that  there 
would  be  no  money,  and  we  would  have  no  use  for  money,  when  we  got  there, 
Oregon  having,  as  I  thought,  no  commerce  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  Mike 
Simmons  and  Gabriel  Jones  both  protested  against  that  view.  Uncle  Gabriel 
said:  "No  money  there?  why  man  alive,  John!  money  grows  out  there!" 
And  Mike  added  with  a  smile  of  superior  intelligence:  "Yes,  and  feather  beds 
grow  upon  the  bushes."  I  doubt  whether  Mr.  Jones  could  spell  his  own  name, 
but  his  faith  in  Oregon  wealth  seems  almost  intuition  when  we  reflect  that  one 
of  our  traveling  companions — James  Marshall — should,  a  short  time  afterwards, 
find  the  shining  metal  in  Sutler's  mill  race,  "  like  pebbles  in  the  brook,"  for 
plenteousness,  causing  further  search  and  discovery,  whtch  proved  Jones'  faith, 
preceded  a  development  of  mineral  and  other  natural  wealth  that  has  influenced 
business  and  social  life  over  a  large  portion  of  the  civilized  world. 

From  this  west  fork  of  Blue  river,  the  trains  proceeded  without  hindrance  of 
water-courses  or  rain  until  they  reached  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  where  the 
wagons  were  left,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  drive  the  cattle  across  the 
mountains  to  the  Willamette  Valley  via  a  trail  passing  north  of  Mount  Hood.  If 
any  succeeded,  I  am  not  informed  of  it.  The  attempt  was  made  by  Capt.  Mor 
rison  in  behalf  of  his  own  and  Capt.  Shaw's  trains;  but  the  rain  had  set 
in  on  the  i8th  of  October,  and  came  down  so  constantly  and  copiouslv  that  by 
the  3d  of  November,  the  Willamette  river  was  higher  than  it  has  been  since  ex 
cept  in  the  winter  of  i86i-'62.  These  rains  in  the  valleys  represented  snow 
storms  whirling  around  the  base  of  Mount  Hood,  and  great  suffering  was  en 
dured  both  by  the  poor,  toil  worn  cattle  and  their  drivers;  some  of  the  stock 
perished,  some  had  to  be  killed  to  save  the  party  from  perishing,  but  most  of 
them  were  got  back  to  the  Dalles,  where  they  were  kept  until  spring  and  driven 
down  the  Columbia  river  valley  trail,  crossing  to  the  north  side  by  swimming  a 
little  below  the  mouth  of  Hood  river  and  back  to  the  south  bank  below  the 
mouth  of  Sandy.  The  families  and  wagons  were  brought  down  the  Columbia 


48  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

by  boats  loaned  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  by  their  then  chief  factor,  Dr. 
John  McLoughlin.  Daniel  Clark,  S.  B.  Crocket  and  myself,  had  left  our  trains 
at  Fort  Howard  and  made  our  way  down  the  valjey  of  the  Columbia,  and  while 
working  fora  little  means  to  return  with,  applied  to  Dr.  McLoughlin  for  the  use 
of  a  batteau  of  the  H.  B.  Co.'s  with  which  to  go  up  and  assist  our  friends  down 
the  river.  This  we  received  from  the  good  man.  He  also  caused  our  orders 
we  had  on  the  Company  for  the  little  supplies  our  earnings  in  the  settlement 
would  command,  to  be  respected,  more  for  the  sake  of  the  object  of  our  enter 
prise  than  from  any  obligation  to  fill  them.  Indeed,  he  set  aside  their  rules  of 
trade  to  do  so,  and  I  noticed  a  difference  between  his  manner  and  that  of  Mr, 
James  Douglass,  in  their  intercourse  with  us.  Mr.  Douglass  was  an  urbane, 
civil  and  gentlemanly  man  in  his  dealings  with  us;  but  honest  to  himself  and 
his  sovereign — he  could  not  disguise  his  chagrin  at- each  addition  to  the  number 
of  American  settlers,  and  if  ever  man,  by  loyalty  to  his  sovereign's  interests, 
earned  honors,  James  Douglass  deserved  his  knighthood.  But  John  McLoughlin 
"held  the  patent  for  his  honors  immediately  from  Almighty  God."  He  filled 
our  orders — wished -us  success  in  our  enterprise,  and  said  of  his  own  volition, 
that  a  messenger  would  leave  that  evening  with  the  last  dispatches  to  a  vessel 
about  to  sail  out  of  the  Columbia  river,  which  afforded  us,  if  we  would  like  to 
take  it,  an  opportunity  to  write  to  our  friends  in  the  East,  we  might  not  get 
again  for  six  months.  We  thanked  him,  but  said  we  could  not,  for  we  had  no 
writing  material  with  us.  He  immediately  ordered  us  furnished  with  every 
thing  necessary.  After  writing,  we  proceeded  up  the  river  and  found  the  fami 
lies  in  scattered  bands  making  their  way  down  as  best  they  could — some  in 
canoes,  some  on  rafts,  and  most  by  batteau,  suffering  wet,  cold  and  hunger,  to 
an  extent  pitiable  to  see.  I  found  the  mother  of  the  family  with  whom  I  had 
left  Missouri  at  the  Cascade  falls.  She  had  traded  the  best  dress  she  had  the 
evening  before  to  an  Indian  for  about  a  peck  of  potatoes;  these  were  now  eaten 
by  her  family  and  famishing  neighbors.  Her  husband,  Capt.  R.  W.  Morrison, 
was  in  the  Cascades  with  the  snow  bound  cattle,  so  near  famished  that  some 
who  were  in  the  same  situation  had  eaten  their  only  dog.  My  portion  of  our 
purchase  at  Vancouver  was  immediately  handed  over  to  Mrs.  Morrison's  care, 
and  it  soon  was  in  use,  making  glad  the  faces  of  other  families  besides  her  own. 
It  being  deemed  best,  we  took  our  boat  above  the  Cascades  and  plied  it  till  the 
last  of  our  immigration  that  desired  to  come,  were  down. 

I  cannot  well  leave  this  part  of  my  subject  without  an  attempt  to  describe  an 
incident  to  which  I  feel  myself  altogether  unable  to  do  justice  to,  yet  in  casting 
my  memory  back  to  scenes  of  danger,  both  by  field  and  flood,  I  select 
this  one  as  best  worthy  of  introduction  here.  Most  of  you  have  heard 
of  Cape  Horn  on  the  Columbia  river,  and  many  of  you  passed  it.  In  the 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  49 

last  boat  load  I  have  mentioned,  a  batteau  capable  of  carrying  three  tons; 
the  crew,  instead  of  the  six  Canadian  voyagers  the  H.  B.  Co.  usually  had  to 
man  her,  was  Samuel  B.  Crocket,  Daniel  Clark  and  myself — Mr.  Clark  at  the 
helm .  There  were  the  running  gears  of  a  number  of  wagons  in  the  boat,  and 
on  top  of  these  about  16  persons.  We  were  just  entering  the  gorge  of  Cape 
Horn  at  the  east  end  and  close  to  the  Oregon  shore,  when  we  saw  a  storm  of 
wind  and  cloud  coming  into  it  from  the  west.  The  wind  was  so  strong  that  it 
literally  lifted  the  water  from  the  river  and  took  it  upward  as  spray,  and  still 
upward  as  dense  fog  cloud.  In  front  of  this  mass  of  fog  and  spray,  five  or  six 
bald  eagles  circled,  whirled  and  dove  seemingly  in  fierce  delight — now  high 
in  the  air,  even  above  the  cloud,  and  anon  swift  as  an  arrow  down  to  the  white 
surface  of  the  river.  I  had  read  of  the  swiftness  of  the  eagle's  flight,  but  never 
saw  before,  and  never  have  since,  such  proofs  of  it.  With  that  and  the  sight  of 
the  approaching  storm,  I  was  fascinated  so  as  to  temporarily  forget  the  swift 
approaching  danger,  but  that  soon  became  the  engrossing  subject.  There  were 
but  three  of  us  to  man  the  top-heavy,  three-ton  batteau;  we  having  left  the 
two  Indians  who  had  assisted  us,  while  we  plied  between  the  Cascade  falls  and 
the  Dalles,  at  their  homes  at  that  place .  Mr.  Crocket  proposed  we  land  as  soon 
as  possible  on  a  little  sand  spot  on  the  south  side,  which  we  were  then  very 
near;  to  this  Clark,  who  had  the  steering  oar,  and  consequently,  control  of  the 
boat,  objected,  he  being  determined  the  boat  should  go  to  the  north  side 
of  the  river;  over  this  the  three  of  us  wrangled  and  might  have  got  to  blows  if 
we  had  had  either  time  or  room  to  move,  but  we  had  not,  for  our  top-heavy 
load  of  people  left  no  space  for  by-play,  and  the  storm  was  so  near  by  this  time 
that  the  preceding  swell  began  to  rock  the  boat.  She  had  to  have  motion  or 
she  would  surely  go  down  before  the  onset  of  the  storm.  We  bent  to  our  oars 
with  all  our  strength,  just  in  time  to  avoid  that  result,  though  she  shipped  consid 
erable  water.  We  were  now  enveloped  in  the  spray,  it  shutting  us  from  the 
sight  of  some  Indians  in  a  canoe  that  were  preceding  us  and  hugging  the  (now) 
Oregon  shore.  These  went  on  their  way  and  carried  the  news  to  our  friends, 
who  were  camped  at  Linton,  a  canvas  town  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Willamette 
six  miles  below  where  Portland  now  is,  that  we  were  all  certainly  drowned  as 
they  had  seen  us  go  down  in  the  "skookum  chuck"  (strong  water),  and  so  no 
doubt  it  appeared  to  them.  But  the  first  shock  of  the  storm  proved  the  worst, 
and  we  managed  to  reach  the  north  bank  of  the  river  and  landed,  where  if  we 
should  be  weather  bound  by  water  we  could  proceed  to  Vancouver  by  the  trail. 

This  incident  furnished  a  strong  proof  of  the  courage  and  self-control  of  the 
pioneer  matron.     There  was  with  us  a  Mrs.  McAllister,  with  a  family  of  five 
small  children.     This  lady  sat  perfectly  mute  during  the  fearful  onset  of  the 
4 


50  .        THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

storm — she  said  no  word  to  indicate  that  she  felt  apprehension  during  the  time 
we  plowed  through  the  troubled  waters  the  strong  wind  raised  around  us;  but  as 
she  placed  her  children  safely  on  the  land,  she  turned  her  face  blanched  with 
the  intensity  of  her  emotion,  to  Clark,  and  said,  "  Dan.  Clark,  I  have  been  your 
good  friend  (he  had  come  a  portion  of  the  way  as  a  member  of  her  family),  but 
you  have  just  jeopardized  the  lives  of  my  children  without  reason,  and  I  can 
never  feel  friendly  to  you  again." 

We  struck  camp  and  started  a  fire  from  the  damp  drift  and  dead  wood  within 
reach,  cooked  and  ate  supper,  lay  down  with  the  lowering  dark  sky  for  a  cur 
tain,  and  waked  up  next  morning  with  a  cover  of  soft,  damp  snow  upon  our 
blankets.  Up  and  out  amongst  it,  some  of  us  bare-footed,  got  together  enough 
dead  wood  to  cook  a  hasty  breakfast  similar  to  our  supper,  and  pushed  off  our 
boat.  This  was  the  2gih  of  December,  and  on  the  3ist  we  arrived  at  the  camps 
at  Linton. 

We  had  left  the  Missouri  river  the  last  of  April,  and  the  Agency  of  the  Iowa 
Indians  on  the  I5th  of  May.  Some  of  the  families  were  eight  months  living  in 
tents  before,  and  endured  the  latter  rains  of  an  exceedingly  wet  summer  in  the 
Missouri  valley  and  the  early  raius  of  an  Oregon  winter,  yet  the  general  health 
of  the  people  was  good. 


JOSEPH  C.  AVERY. 

BORN  1817.    DIED  1876. 


JOSEPH  COX. 

BORN  1811.      DIED  1876. 


CEO.  ABERNETHY. 

BORN  1807.    DIED  1877. 


Finis  coronat  opus. 


THE  OCCASIONAL  POEM. 

BY   B.    EBERHARD. 

The  following  poem  was  read  by  the  author  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  Annual  Address,  by  Hon.  R.  P.  Boise,  and  was  well 
received.  Mr.  Eberhard  is  a  young  man  cf  acknowledged  poet 
ical  genius: 

PROLOGUE. 

We  stand  on  the  verge  of  a  century's  grave, 

And  gaze  at  the  temple  of  fame; 
A  monument  grand,  'tis  the  gift  of  the  brave — 

Erected  in  Liberty's  name. 

We  stand  in  amazement,  and  call  back  the  train 

Of  years  that  have  glided  away; 
When  clouds  of  oppression  o'er-spread  the  domain, 

And  hope,  had  nigh  vanished  away. 

We  see  in  the  front,  the  proud  Briton  invade — 

The  savage  beseiging  the  rear, 
The  cities  and  hamlets  in  ruins  are  laid, 

The  screams  of  the  fleeing  we  hear. 

The  dark  wreaths  of  smoke  slowly  curling  on  high, 

Are  drifting — fast  drifting  away — 
The  bright  sun  of  Justice  now  shines  in  the  sky, 

And  Liberty  glows  in  its  ray. 

The  column  oppression  had  reared  to  decay, 

Has  fallen  a  century  ago; 
And  over  its  ruins,  environed  to-day, 

The  flowers  of  harmony  grow. 


54  THE   OCCASIONAL   POEM, 

Tis  morn  in  the  land,  and  the  nations  of  earth 
Are  grasping  Columbia's  hand, 

And  rejoice  on  the  day  of  America's  birth, 
That  took  'mong  the  nations,-  her  stand, 


OREGON.. 

Why  should  I  sing  of  foreign  lands 
Beyond  the  bitter  moon-mad  brine? 

While  richer  theme  by  far,  commands 
This  happy,  fertile  shore  of  mine. 

What  tho'  they  boast  of  Pyramids 
By  slaves  erected,  vasty  sublime^ 

Huge,  gaudy  structures,  that  have  hid 
'Neath  wonder's  garb,  vast  seas  of  crime. 

Of  a  Collegium,  crumbling  fast 
Before  time's  great  erosive  shrine; 

A  relic  of  bright  ages  past, 
Of  vanished  glory  but  a  sign . 

What,  tho'  they  boast  of  long  ago, 

Of  men  of  valor  and  renown; 
How  Sparta  met  her  haughty  foe 

And  slew  a  myriad  Persians  dowtt, 

Or  great  deeds  heroes  have  done 
On  other  bloody  ghastly  fields ; 

And  of  their  thousand  victories  won 
While  others  were  compelled  to  yield. 

Of  heritage  we  boast  more  grand; 

Of  happy  homes,  of  freedom's  tree, 
Of  peace  and  plenty — fertile  land, 

A  people  generous,  brave  and  free. 

We  boast  of  land  by  blood  unstained, 

We  boast  of  liberty  and  peace, 
For  dearer  boons  than  e'er  were  gained 

By  Egypt,  Rome  or  sunny  Greece. 


THE   OCCASIONAL    POEM.  55 

Of  wide-spread  fertile  harvest  fields, 

Where  wave  the  bounteous  grains  of  gold, 
Which  to  INDUSTRY'S  hand  will  yield 

A  rich  reward,  "  an  hundred  fold." 

We  boast  of  Pioneers  who  crossed 

The  rugged  mountain — sultry  plain; 
And  on  this  bright  Pacific  coast 

To  Freedom  gave  a  new  domain. 

While  others  strove  in  distant  lands 

Thro'  blood,  to  gain  an  envied  crown; 
Our  soldiers  marched  with  ax  in  hand 

And  hewed  the  giant  forests  down. 

With  trusty  plow  and  honest  spade, 

They  turned  the  grassy,  stubborn  sod; 
That  had  for  ages  dormant  laid, 

By  naught  but  beast  and  savage  trod. 

With  hearts  united,  quickly  tore 

Away  that  ray  less  ebon  cloud, 
That  veiled  so  long  this  western  shore, 

Of  which  to-day,  thank  God,  we're  proud. 

The  praises  of  the  sunny  South 

Let  others  tune  their  harps  and  sing; 
New  England's  praise  with  open  mouth 

Let  others  shout,  till  woodlands  ring. 

Of  Oregon,  we'll  sing  the  praise, 

Columbia's  bright  hesperian  star; 
Kissed  by  the  sun's  last  lingering  rays, 

We'll  sound  her  praises,  near  and  far. 

We'll  sing  of  rivers  deep  and  wide, 

Of  snow-capped  mountains — grassy  plains, 
Of  scenes  romantic,  not  out  vied 

By  any  State  in  Union's  chain. 

O  Oregon!  my  State — my  Land! 

Long  hast  thy  lyre  laid  unstrung; 
But  thanks  to  God,  thou'lt  henceforth  stand 

Columbia's  brightest  stars  among. 


56  THE    OCCASIONAL    POEM. 

A  hundred  nation's  here  go  forth 
To  sow  and  gather  in  the  grain, 

From  out  the  North — from  out  the  South, 
All  scattered  over  hill  and  plain . 

Thy  loyalty,  we  proudly  claim 
By  any  State  is  not  surpassed ; 

Contention,  never  soiled  her  fame 
Or  blew  here  e're  her  deadly  blast. 

Thy  soil  by  slaves  was  never  trod — 

Here  "Blue  Laws"  never  found  a  home; 

Here  royal  feet  ne'er  stained  the  sod, 
Here  treason  never  dared  to  come. 

When  war's  dark  clouds  began  to  rain 
On  sunny  South  their  sanguine  flood, 

The  tempest  came  not  here,  to  stain 
Thy  soil  with  fratricidal  blood. 

Then  roll  thou  broad  Willamette  on, 
Gaze  on  Mt.  Hood,  serenly,  long; 

March  on  thy  lovely  Oregon, 
And  I'll  record  thy  deeds  in  song. 


A  DAY  WITH  THE  COW  COLUMN  IN  1843. 


BY   HON.    JESSE    APPLEGATE. 


The  Hon.  Jesse  Appleg  te,  a  pioneer  in  the  immigraticn  of 
1843,  and  ever  s  nee  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Oregon,  not  be 
ing  able  to  be  present  as  was  expected,  Judge  Deady  read  for  him 
the  following  article,  entit'ed  "A  Day  with  the  Cow  Column  in 
1843,"  as  ms  contribution  to  ths  p-oceedings  of  the  day  and  the 
preservation  of  the  memory  of  the  trials  and  incidents  of  the 
journey  across  the  plains  to  Oregon: 

The  migration  of  a  large  body  of  men,  women  and  children  across  the  Con 
tinent  to  Oregon  was,  in  the  year  1843,  strictly  an  experiment  not  only  in  respect 
to  the  numbers,  but  to  the  outfit  of  the  migrating  party. 

Before  that  date,  two  or  three  missionaries  had  performed  the  journey  on  horse 
back,  driving  a  few  cows  with  them.  Three  or  four  wagons  drawn  by  oxen  had 
reached  Fort  Hall,  on  Snake  river,  but  it  was  the  honest  opinion  of  the  most  of 
those  who  had  traveled  the  route  down  Snake  river,  that  no  large  number  of 
cattle  could  be  subsisted  on  its  scanty  pasturage,  or  wagons  taken  over  a  route 
so  rugged  and  mountainous. 

The  emigrants  were  also  assured  that  the  Sioux  would  be  much  opposed  to 
the  passage  of  so  large  a  body  through  their  country,  and  would  probably  resist 
it  on  account  of  the  emigrants  destroying  and  frightening  away  the  buffaloes, 
which  were  then  diminishing  in  numbers. 

The  migrating  body  numbered  over  one  thousand  souls,  with  about  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  wagons,  drawn  by  six  ox  teams,  averaging  about  six  yokes 
to  the  team,  and  several  thousand  loose  horses  and  cattle. 

The  emigrants  first  organized  and  attempted  to  travel  in  one  body,  but  it  was 
soon  found  that  no  progress  could  be  made  with  a  body  so  cumbrous,  and  as 


58  A    DAY    WITH   THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843. 

yet  so  averse  to  all  discipline.  And  at  the  crossing  of  the  "Big  Blue,"  it  divi 
ded  into  two  columns,  which  traveled  in  supporting  distance  of  each  other  as 
far  as  Independence  Rock,  on  the  Sweet  Water.  * 

From  this  point,  all  danger  from  Indians  being  over,  the  emigrants  separated 
into  small  parties  better  suited  to  the  narrow  mountain  paths  and  small  pastures 
in  their  front. 

Before  the  division  on  the  Blue  river,  there  was  some  just  cause  for  discontent 
in  respect  to  loose  cattle.  Some  of  the  emigrants  had  only  their  teams,  while 
others  had  large  herds  in  addition  which  must  share  the  pastures  and  be  guarded 
and  driven  by  the  whole  body, 

This  discontent  had  its  effect  in  the  division  on  the  Blue,  those  not  encum 
bered  with  or  having  but  few  loose  cattle  attached  themselves  to  the  light  column, 
those  having  more  than  four  or  five  cows  had  of  necessity  to  join  the  heavy  or 
cow  column.  Hence  the  cow  column,  being  much  larger  than  the  other  and 
encumbered  with  its  large  herds,  had  to  use  greater  exertion  and  observe  a  more 
rigid  discipline  to  keep  pace  with  the  more  agile  consort. 

It  is  with  the  cow  or  more  clumsy  column  that  I  propose  to  journey  with  the 
reader  for  a  single  day. 

It  is  four  o'clock,  A.  M. ;  the  sentinels  on  duty  have  discharged  their  rifles — the 
signal  that  the  hours  of  sleep  are  over;  and  every  wagon  and  tent  is  pouring 
forth  its  night  tenants,  and  slow-kindling  smokes  begin  largely  to  rise  and  float 
away  on  the  morning  air.  Sixty  men  start  from  the  corral,  spreading  as  they 
make  through  the  vast  herd  of  cattle  and  horses  that  form  a  semi-circle  around 
the  encampment,  the  most  distant  perhaps  two  miles  away. 

The  herders  pass  to  the  extreme  verge  and  carefully  examine  for  trails  beyond, 
to  see  that  none  of  the  animals  have  strayed  or  been  stolen  miring  the  night. 
This  morning  no  trails  lead  beyond  the  outside  animals  in  sight,  and  by  five 
o'clock  the  herders  begin  to  contract  the  great  moving  circle,  and  the  well-trained 
animals  move  slowly  towards  camp,  clipping  here  and  there  a  thistle  or  templ 
ing  bunch  of  grass  on  the  way.  In  ab^ut  an  hour,  five  thousand  animals  are 
close  up  to  the  encampment,  and  the  teamsters  are  busy  selecting  their  teums 
and  driving  them  inside  the  "  corral  "  to  be  yoked.  The  corral  is  a  circle  one 
hundred  yards  deep,  formed  with  wagons  connected  strongly  with  each  other; 
the  wagon  in  the  rear  being  connected  with  the  wagon  in  front  by  its  tongue  and  ox 
chains.  It  is  a  strong  barrier  that  the  most  vicious  ox  cannot  break,  and  in  case 
of  an  attack  of  the  Sioux  would  be  no  contemptible  entrenchment. 

From  six  to  seven  o'clock  is  a  busy  time  ;  breakfast  is  to  be  eaten,  the  tents 
struck,  the  wagons  loaded,  and  the  teams  yoked  and  brought  up  in  readiness  to 


A   DAY    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843.  59 

be  attached  to  their  respective  wagons  All  know  when,  at  seven  o'clock,  the 
signal  to  march  sounds,  that  those  not  ready  to  take  their  proper  places  in  the 
line  of  march  must  fall  into  the  dusty  rear  for  the  day, 

There  are  sixty  wagons.  They  have  been  divided  into  fifteen  divisions  or 
platoons  of  four  wagons  each,  and  each  platoon  is  entitled  to  lead  in  its  turn. 
The  leading  platoon  of  to-day  will  be  the  fear  one  of  to-morrow,  and  will  bring 
up  the  rear  unless  some  teamster,  through  indolence  or  negligence,  has  lost  his 
place  in  the  line,  and  is  condemned  to  that  uncomfortable  post.  It  is  within 
ten  minutes  of  seven;  the  corral  but  now  a  strong  barricade  is  everywhere  broken, 
the  teams  being  attached  to  the  wagons.  The  woman  and  children  have  taken 
their  places  in  them.  The  pilot  (a  borderer  who  has  passed  his  life  on  the  verge  of 
civilization,  and  has  been  chosen  to  the  post  of  leader  from  his  knowledge  of  the 
savage  and  his  experience  in  travel  through  roadless  wastes)  stands  ready  in 
the  midst  of  his  pioneers,  and  aids  to  mount  and  lead  the  way.  Ten  or  fifteen 
young  men,  not  to-day  on  duty,  form  another  cluster.  They  are  ready  to  start 
on  a  buffalo  hunt,  are  well  mounted  and  well  armed  as  they  need  be,  for  the 
unfriendly  Sioux  have  driven  the  buffalo  out  of  the  Platte,  and  the  hunters  must 
ride  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  to  reach  them.  The  cow-drivers  are  hastening,  as 
they  get  ready,  to  the  rear  of  their  charge,  to  collect  and  prepare  them  for  the 
day's  march. 

It  is  on  the  stroke  of  seven;  the  rushing  to  and  fro,  the  cracking  of  whips, 
the  loud  command  to  oxeiij  and  what  seemed  to  be  the  inextricable  confusion  of 
the  last  ten  minutes  has  ceased.  Fortunately  every  one  has  been  found  and 
every  teamster  is  at  his  post.  The  clear  notes  of  a  trumpet  sound  in  the  front; 
the  pilot  and  his  guards  mount  their  horses;  the  leading  division  of  wagons  move 
out  of  the  encampment  >  and  take  up  the  line  of  march;  the  rest  fall  into  their 
places  with  the  precision  of  clockwork,  until  the  spot  so  lately  full  of  life  sinks 
back  into  that  solitude  that  seems  to  reign  over  the  broad  plain  and  rushing 
river  as  the  caravan  draws  its  lazy  length  towards  the  distant  El  Dorado.  It  is 
with  the  hunters  we  will  briskly  canter  towards  the  bold  but  smooth  and  grassy 
bluffs  that  bound  the  broad  valley,  for  we  are  not  yet  in  sight  of  the  grander  but 
less  beautiful  scenery  (of  the  Chimney  Rock,  Court  House,  and  other  bluffs,  so 
nearly  resembling  giant  castles  and  palaces)  made  by  the  passage  of  the  Platte 
through  the  Highlands  near  Laramie.  We  have  been  traveling  briskly  for  more 
than  an  hour.  We  have  reached  the  top  of  the  bluff,  and  now  have  turned  to 
view  the  wonderful  panorama  spread  before  us.  To  those  who  have  not  been  on 
the  Platte  my  powers  of  description  are  wholly  inadequate  to  convey  an  idea  of 
the  vast  extent  and  grandeur  of  the  picture,  and  the  rare  beauty  and  distinctness 
of  its  detail.  No  haze  or  fog  obscures  objects  in  the  pure  and  transparent  at- 


60  A    DAY    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843. 

mosphere  of  this  lofty  region.  To  those  accustomed  only  to  the  murky  air  of 
the  sea-board,  no  correct  judgment  of  distance  can  be  formed  by  sight,  and  ob 
jects  which  they  they  think  they  can  reach  in  a  two  hours'  walk  may  be  a  day's 
travel  away;  and  though  the  evening  air  is  a  better  conductor  of  sound,  on  the 
high  plain  during  the  day  the  report  of  the  loudest  rifle  sounds  little  louder  than 
the  bursting  of  a  cap;  and  while  the  report  can  be  heard  but  a  few  hundred 
yards,  the  smoke  of  the  discharge  may  be  seen  for  miles.  So  extended  is  the 
view  from  the  bluff  on  which  the  hunters  stand,  that  the  broad  river  glowing 
under  the  morning  sun  like  a  sheet  of  silver,  and  the  broader  emerald  valley 
that  borders  it,  stretch  away  in  the  distance  until  they  narrow  at  almost  two  points 
in  the  horizon,  and  when  first  seen,  the  vast  pile  of  the  Wind  river  mountain, 
though  hundreds  of  miles  away,  looks  clear  and  distinct  as  a  white  cottage  on 
the  plain. 

We  are  full  six  miles  away  from  the  line  of  march;  though  everything  is 
dwarfed  by  distance,  it  is  seen  distinctly.  The  caravan  has  been  about  two 
hours  in  motion  and  is  now  extended  as  widely  as  a  prudent  regard  for  safety 
will  permit.  First,  near  the  bank  of  the  shining  river,  is  a  company  of  horse 
men;  they  seem  to  have  found  an  obstruction,  for  the  main  body  has  halted 
while  three  or  four  ride  rapidly  along  the  bank  of  a  creek  or  slough. x  They  are 
hunting  a  favorable  crossing  for  the  wagons;  while  we  look  they  have  succeeded; 
it  has  apparently  required  no  work  to  make  it  passable,  for  all  but  one  of  the 
party  have  passed  on,  and  he  has  raised  a  flag,  no  doubt  a  signal  to  the  wagons 
to  steer  their  course  to  where  he  stands.  The  leading  teamster  sees  him,  though 
he  is  yet  two  miles  off,  and  steers  his  course  directly  towards  him,  all  the  wagons 
following  in  his  track.  They  (the  wagons)  form  a  line  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in 
length;  some  of  the  teamsters  ride  upon  the  front  of  their  wagons,  some  march  beside 
their  teams;  scattered  along  the  line  companies  of  women  and  children  are  tak 
ing  exercise  on  foot;  they  gather  bouquets  of  rare  and  beautiful  flowers  that  line 
the  way;  near  them  stalks  a  stately  grey  hound  or  an  Irish  wolf  dog,  apparently 
proud  of  keeping  watch  and  ward  over  his  master's  wife  and  children.  Next 
comes  a  band  of  horses;  two  or  three  men  or  boys  follow  them,  the  docile  and 
sagacious  animals  scarce  needing  this  attention,  for  they  have  learned  to  follow  in 
the  rear  of  the  wagons,  and  know  that  at  noon  they  will  be  allowed  to  graze  and  rest. 
Their  knowledge  of  time  seems  as  accurate  as  of  the  place  they  are  to  occupy 
in  the  line,  and  even  a  full-blown  thistle  will  scarce  tempt  them  to  straggle  or  halt 
until  the  dinner  hour  has  arrived.  Not  so  with  the  large  herd  of  horned  beasts 
that  bring  up  the  rear;  lazy,  selfish  and  unsocial,  it  has  been  a  task  to  get  them 
in  motion,  the  strong  always  ready  to  domineer  over  the  weak,  halt  in  the  front 
and  forbid  the  weaker  to  pass  them.  They  seem  to  move  only  in  fear  of  the 


A    DAY    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843.  6 1 

driver's  whip;  though  in  the  morning  full  to  repletion,  they  have  not  been  driven 
an  hour,  before  their  hunger  and  thirst  seem  to  indicate  a  fast  of  days'  duration. 
Through  all  the  long  day  their  greed  is  never  sated  nor  their  thirst  quenched, 
nor  is  there  a  moment  of  relaxation  of  the  tedious  and  vexatious  labors  of  their 
drivers,  although  to  all  others  the  march  furnishes  some  season  of  relaxation  or 
enjoyment.  For  the  cow-drivers  there  is  none. 

But  from  the  stand-point  of  the  hunters  the  vexations  are  not  apparent;  the 
crack  of  whips  and  loud  objurgations  are  lost  in  the  distance.  Nothing  of  the 
moving  panorama,  smooth  and  orderly  as  it  appears,  has  more  attractions  for 
the  eye  than  that  vast  square  column  in  which  all  colors  are  mingled,  moving 
here  slowly  and  there  briskly,  as  impelled  by  horsemen  riding  furiously  in  front 
and  rear. 

But  the  picture,  in  its  grandeur,  its  wonderful  mingling  of  colors  and  dis 
tinctness  of  detail,  is  forgotten  in  contemplation  of  the  singular  people  who 
give  it  life  and  animation.  No  other  race  of  men  with  the  means  at  their  com 
mand  would  undertake  so  great  a  journey  ;  none  save  these  could  successfully 
perform  it,  with  no  previous  preparation,  relying  only  on  the  fertility  of  their 
invention  to  devise  the  means  to  overcome  each  danger  and  difficulty  as  it  arose. 
They  have  undertaken  to  perform,  with  slow-moving  oxen,  a  journey  of  two 
thousand  miles.  The  way  lies  over  trackless  wastes,  wide  and  deep  rivers, 
rugged  and  lofty  mountains,  and  is  beset  with  hostile  savages.  Yet,  whether  it 
were  a  deep  river  with  no  tree  upon  its  banks,  a  rugged  defile  where  even  a 
loose  horse  could  not  pass,  a  hill  too  steep  for  him  to  climb,  or  a  threatened 
attack  of  an  enemy,  they  are  always  found  ready  and  equal  to  the  occasion,  and 
always  conquerors.  May  we  not  call  them  men  of  destiny?  They  are  people 
changed  in  no  essential  particulars  from  their  ancestors,  whe  have  followed 
closely  on  the  footsteps  of  the  receding  savage,  from  the  Atlantic  sea-board  to 
the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi . 

But  while  we  have  been  gazing  at  the  picture  in  the  valley,  the  hunters  have 
been  examining  the  high  plain  in  the  other  direction.  Some  dark  moving  ob 
jects  have  been  discovered  in  the  distance,  and  all  are  closely  watching  them 
to  discover  what  they  are,  for  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  plains  a  flock  of  crows 
marching  miles  away,  or  a  band  of  buffaloes  or  Indians  at  ten  times  the  dis 
tance  look  alike,  and  many  ludicrous  mistakes  occur.  But  these  are  buffaloes, 
for  two  have  struck  their  heads  together  and  are,  alternately,  pushing  each 
other  back.  The  hunters  mount  and  away  in  pursuit,  and  I,  a  poor  cow-driver, 
must  hurry  back  to  my  daily  toil,  and  take  a  scolding  from  my  fellow  herders 
for  so  long  playing  truant. 

The  pilot,  by  measuring  the  ground  and  timing  the  speed  of  the  wagons  and 


62  A    DAY    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843. 

the  walk  of  his  horses,  has  determined  the  rate  of  each,  so  as  to  enable  him  to 
select  the  nooning  place,  as  nearly  as  the  requisite  grass  and  water  can  be  had 
at  the  end  of  five  hours'  travel  of  the  wagons.  To-day,  the  ground  being  favor 
able,  little  time  has  been  lost  in  preparing  the  road,  so  that  he  and  his  pioneers 
are  at  the  nooning  place  an  hour  in  advance  of  the  wagons,  which  time  is  spent 
in  preparing  convenient  watering  places  for  the  animals,  and  digging  little  wells 
near  the  bank  of  the  Platte.  As  the  teams  are  not  unyoked,  but  simply  turned 
loose  from  the  wagons,  a  corral  is  not  formed  at  noon,  but  the  wagons  are  drawn 
up  in  columns,  four  abreast,  the  leading  wagon  of  each  platoon  on  the  left — the 
platoons  being  formed  with  that  view.  This  brings  friends  together  at  noon  as 
well  as  at  night. 

To-day,  an  extra  session  of  the  Council  is  being  held,  to  settle  a  dispute  that 
does  not  admit  of  delay,  between  a  proprietor  and  a  young  man  who  has  under 
taken  to  do  a  man's  service  on  the  journey  for  bed  and  board.  Many  such  en 
gagements  exist,  and  much  interest  is  taken  in  the  manner  this  high  court,  from 
which  there  is  no  appeal,  will  define  the  rights  of  each  party  in  such  engage 
ments.  The  Council  was  a  high  court  in  the  most  exalted  sense.  It  was  a 
Senate,  composed  of  the  ablest  and  most  respected  fathers  of  the  emigration. 
It  exercised  both  legislative  and  judicial  powers,  and  its  laws  and  decisions 
proved  it  equal  and  worthy  the  high  trust  reposed  in  it.  Its  sessions  were  usually 
held  on  days  when  the  caravan  was  not  moving.  It  first  took  the  state  of  the  little 
commonwealth  into  consideration;  revised  or  repealed  rules  defective  or  obsolete, 
and  exacted  such  others  as  the  exigencies  seemed  to  require.  The  common  weal 
being  cared  for,  it  next  resolved  itself  into  a  court  to  hear  and  settle  private  disputes 
and  grievances.  The  offender  and  the  aggrieved  appeared  before  it;  witnesses  were 
examined,  and  the  parties  were  heard  by  themselves  and  sometimes  by  council. 
The  judges  thus  being  made  fully  acquainted  with  the  case,  and  being  in  no 
way  influenced  or  cramped  by  technicalities,  decided  all  cases  according  to  their 
merits.  There  was  but  little  use  for  lawyers  before  this  court,  for  no  plea  was 
entertained  which  was  calculated  tohinder  or  defeat  the  ends  of  justice.  Many  of 
these  judges  have  since  won  honors  in  higher  spheres.  They  have  aided  to  estab 
lish  on  the  broad  basis  of  right  and  universal  liberty  two  of  the  pillars  of  our  great 
Republic  in  the  Occident.  Some  of  the  young  men  who  appeared  before  them 
as  advocates  have  themselves  sat  upon  the  highest  judicial  tribunals,  commanded 
armies,  been  Governors  of  States,  and  taken  high  positions  in  the  Senate  of  the 
nation. 

It  is  now  one  o'clock;  the  bugle  has  sounded,  and  the  caravan  has  resumed  its 
westward  journey.  It  is  in  the  same  order,  but  the  evening  is  far  less  animated 
than  the  morning  march;  a  drowsiness  has  fallen  apparently  on  man  and  beast; 


A    DAY    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843.  63 

teamsters  drop  asleep  on  their  perches  and  even  when  walking  by  their  teams,  and 
the  words  of  command  are  now  addressed  to  the  slowly  creeping  oxen  in  the 
softened  tenor  of  women  or  the  piping  treble  of  children,  while  the  snores  of  the 
teamsters  make  a  droning  accompaniment. 

But  a  little  incident  breaks  the  monotony  of  the  march.  An  emigrant's  wife 
whose  state  of  health  has  caused  Dr.  Whitman  to  travel  near  the  wagon  for  the 
day,  is  now  taken  with  violent  illness.  The  Doctor  has  had  the  wagon  driven 
out  of  the  line,  a  tent  pitched  and  a  fire  kindled.  Many  conjectures  are  haz 
arded  in  regard  to  this  mysterious  proceeding,  and  as  to  why  this  lone  wagon  is 
to  be  left  behind. 

And  we  too  must  leave  it,  hasten  to  the  front,  and  note  the  proceedings,  for 
the  sun  is  now  getting  low  in  the  west,  and  at  length  the  pains-taking  pilot  is 
standing  ready  to  conduct  the  train  in  the  circle  which  he  has  previously  meas 
ured  and  marked  out,  which  is  to  form  the  invariable  fortification  for  the  night. 
The  leading  wagons  follow  him  so  nearly  round  the  circle,  that  but  a  wagon 
length  separates  them.  Each  wagon  follows  in  its  track,  the  rear  closing  on  the 
front,  until  its  tongue  and  ex-chains  will  perfectly  reach  from  one  to  the  other, 
and  so  accurate  the  measurement  and  perfect  the  practice,  that  the  hindmost 
wagon  of  the  train  always  precisely  closes  the  gateway,  as  each  wagon  is  brought 
into  position.  It  is  dropped  from  its  team,  (the  teams  being  inside  the  circle) 
the  team  unyoked,  and  the  yokes  an  1  chains  are  used  to  connect  the  wagon 
strongly  with  that  in  its  front.  Within  ten  minutes  from  the  time  the  leading 
wagon  halted,  the  barricade  is  formed,  the  teams  unyoked  and  driven  out  to 
pasture.  Every  one  is  busy  preparing  fires  of  buffalo  chips  to  cook  the  evening 
meal,  pitching  tents  and  otherwise  preparing  for  the  night.  There  are  anxious 
watchers  for  the  absent  wagon,  for  there  are  many  matrons  who  may  be  afflicted 
like  its  inmate  before  the  journey  is  over;  and  they  fear  the  strange  and  start 
ling  practice  of  this  Oregon  doctor  will  be  dangerous.  But  as  the  sun 
goes  down,  the  absent  wagon  rolls  into  camp,  the  bright,  speaking 
face  and  cheery  look  of  the  doctor,  who  rides  in  advance,  declare  without 
words  that  all  is  well,  and  both  mother  and  child  are  comfortable.  I  would  fain 
now  and  here  pay  a  passing  tribute  to  that  noble  and  devouted  man,  Dr.  Whit 
man.  I  will  obtrude  no  other  name  upon  the  reader,  nor  would  I  his,  were  he 
of  our  party  or  even  living,  but  his  stay  with  us  was  transient,  though  the  good 
he  did  us  permanent,  and  he  has  long  since  died  at  his  post. 

From  the  time  he  joined  us  on  the  Platte  until  he  left  us  at  Fort  Hall,  his 
great  experience  and  indomitable  energy  were  of  priceless  value  to  the  migrating 
column.  His  constant  advice,  which  we  knew  was  based  upon  a  knowledge  of 
the  road  before  us,  was— "  travel,  travel^  TRAVEL — nothing  else  will  take  you  to 


64  A    DAY    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OF    1843. 

the  end  of  your  journey  ;  nothing  is  wise  that  does  not  help  you  along,  nothing 
is  good  for  you  that  causes  a  moment's  delay."  His  great  authority  as  a  phy 
sician  and  complete  success  in  the  case  above  referred  to,  saved  us  many  pro- 
longued  and  perhaps  ruinous  delays  from  similar  causes,  and  it  is  no  disparage 
ment  to  others  to  say,  that  to  no  other  individual  are. the  emigrants  of  1843  so 
much  indebted  for  the  successful  conclusion  of  their  journey,  as  to  Dr.  Marcus 
Whitman. 

All  able  to  bear  arms  in  the  party  have  been  formed  into  three  companies, 
and  each  of  these  into  four  watches;  every  third  night  it  is  the  duty  of  one  of 
these  companies  to  keep  watch  and  ward  over  the  camp,  and  it  is  so  arranged 
that  each  watch  takes  its  turn  of  guard  duty  through  the  different  watches  of 
the  night.  Those  forming  the  first  watch  to-night  will  be  second  on  duty, 
then  third  and  fourth,  which  brings  them  through  all  the  watches  of  the  night. 
They  begin  at  eight  o'clock,  p.  M.,  and  end  at  four  o'clock,  A.  M. 

It  is  not  yet  eight  o'clock  when  the  first  watch  is  to  be  set;  the  evening  meal 
is  just  over,  and  the  corral  now  free  from  the  intrusion  of  cattle  or  horses, 
groups  of  children  are  scattered  over  it.  The  larger  are  taking  a  game  of  romps; 
"  the  wee  toddling  things"  are  being  taught  that  great  achievement  that  distin 
guishes  man  from  the  lower  animals.  Before  a  tent  near  the  river  a  violin  makes 
lively  music,  and  some  youths  and  maidens  have  improvised  a  dance  upon  the 
green  ;  in  another  quarter  a  flute  gives  its  mellow  and  melancholy  notes  to  the 
still  night  air,  which  as  they  float  away  over  the  quiet  river,  seem  a  lament  for 
the  past  rather  than  a  hope  for  the  future.  It  has  been  a  prosperous  day  ;  more 
than  twenty  miles  have  been  accomplished  of  the  great  journey.  The  encamp 
ment  is  a  good  one  ;  one  of  the  causes  that  threatened  much  future  delay  has 
just  been  removed  by  the  skill  and  energy  of  "  that  good  angel  "  of  the  emigrants, 
Dr.  Whitman,  and  it  has  lifted  a  load  from  the  hearts  of  the  elders.  Many  of 
these  are  assembled  around  the  good  Doctor  at  the  tent  of  the  pilot,  (which  is 
his  home  for  the  time  being)  and  are  giving  grave  attention  to  his  wise  and  en 
ergetic  counsel.  The  care-worn  pilot  sits  aloof,  quietly  smoking  his  pipe,  for 
he  knows  the  brave  Doctor  is  "  strengthening  his  hands." 

But  time  passes;  the  watch  is  set  for  the  night,  the  council  of  old  men  has 
broken  up,  and  each  has  returned  to  his  own  quarter.  The  flute  has  whispered 
its  last  lament  to  the  deepning  night.  The  violin  is  silent,  and  the  dancers 
have  dispersed.  Enamored  youth  have  whispered  a  tender  "  good  night  "  in  the 
ear  of  blushing  maidens,  or  stolen  a  kiss  from  the  lips  of  some  future  bride — for 
Cupid  here  as  elsewhere  has  been  busy  bringing  together  congenial  hearts,  and 
among  these  simple  people  he  alone  is  consulted  in  forming  the  marriage  tie. 
Even  the  Doctor  and  the  pilot  have  finished  their  confidential  interview  and 


A    DAS'    WITH    THE    COW    COLUMN    OP    1843,  63 

have  separated  for  the  night.  All  is  hushed  and  repose  from  the  fatigues  of 
the  day,  save  the  vigilant  guard,  and  the  wakeful  leader  who  still  has  pares 
upon  his  mind  that  forbid  sleep. 

He  hears  the  ten  o'clock  relief  taking  post  and  the  "  all  well  "  report  of  the 
returned  guard  ;  the  night  deepens,  yet  he  seeks  not  the  needed  repose.  At 
length  a  sentinel  hurries  to  him  with  the  welcome  report  that  aparty  isapproach 
ing — as  yet  too  far  away  for  its  character  to  be  determined,  and  he  instantly 
hurries  out  in  the  direction  seen.  This  he  does  both  from  inclination  a^d  duty, 
for  in  times  past  the  camp  had  been  unnecessarily  alarmed  by  timid  or  inexper 
ienced  sentinels,  causing  much  confusion  and  fright  amongst  women  and  child 
ren,  and  it  had  been  made  a  rule,  that  all  extraordinary  incidents  of  the  night 
should  be  reported  directly  to  the  pilot,  who  alone  had  the  authority  to  call  out 
the  military  strength  of  the  column,  or  so  much  of  it  as  was  in  his  judgment 
necessary  to  prevent  a  stampede  or  repel  ap  enemy. 

To-night  he  is  at  no  loss  to  determine  that  the  approaching  party  are  our  miss 
ing  hunters,  and  that  they  have  met  with  success,  and  he  only  waits  until  by 
•some  further  signal  he  can  know  that  no  ill  has  happened  to  them.  This  is  not 
Jong  wanting.  He  does  not  even  await  their  arrival,  but  the  lastqare  of  the  day 
being  removed,  and  the  last  duty  performed,  he  too  seeks  the  rest  that  will  en? 
able  him  to  go  through  the  same  routine  to-morrow.  But  here  I  leave  him,  fof 
jny  task  is  also  done,  and  imlike  his,  it  is  to  be  repeated  no  more. 


HON.  JOSEPH  C.  AVERV, 


BORN    1817.       DIKl)    1876. 


lion.  Joseph  C.  Aver}'  was  born  in  Lucerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  Qtfij 
1817,  was  educated  at  Wilkesbarre,  the  county  seat  of  his  county.  Came  west^ 
and  settled  in  Illinois  in  1839;  was  married  in  1841;  crossed  the  plains  in  1845, 
arriving  in  Oregon  late  in  the  fall,  and  spent  the  winter  at  Oregon  City.  In 
the  spring  of  1846  settled  in  Benton  county,  taking  up  a  claim  at  the  junction  of 
Willamette  and  Mary's  rivers.  In  the  winter  of  1850  he  laid  out  a  town  site 
upon  his  land,  which  was  called  Marys vi lie,  and  afterwards  changed  to  Corval- 
lis.  He  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  1849  anc^  continued  the  same  for 
23  years.  Was  a  member  of  the  first  Territorial  Legislature  for  Oregon  and 
served  for  two  or  three  terms.  Was  Postal  Agent  under  Buchanan's  administra 
tion,  and  has  hgured  prominently  in  the  politics  of  the  country  for  over  a  quarter 
of  a  century. 

Noble  and  generous,  though  sligh'ly  impetuous,  he  had  warm  and  true  friends? 
and  bitter  enemies.  His  deeds  of  charity  and  acts  of  kindness  and  hospitality 
towards  suffering  emigrants,  in  early  days,  will  ever  be  remembered.  At  the 
age  of  1 6  he  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  and  professed  religion.  After  his 
arrival  in  Oregon  he  never  renewed  his  church  relations,  but  always  felt  that 
his  early  vows  were  upon  him.  He  died  after  a  lingering  illness  of  several 
months,  on  June  16,  1876,  surrounded  by  the  members  of  his  family,  and  was 
buried  bv  the  Masonic  fraternitv  of  which  lie  was  a  member. 


JOSEPH  COX. 

BORN,  l8ll.   DIED,  1876. 


Joseph  Cox  was  born  in  Ohio,  in  1811,  and  at  the  age  of  5  years  his  parents 
moved  to  Indiana,  In  1832,  he  was  married,  and  two  years  afterwards  he  went 
to  Illinois,  and  settled  at  Wilmington,  Will  county;  but  desiring  to  better  his  con 
dition,  in  1841,  he  moved  and  settled  near  St.  Joseph.  Missouri*  where  he  re 
mained  until  1847,  when  he  immigrated  to  Oregon  arid  settled  and  lived  the  re 
mainder  of  his  life.  Mr.  Cox  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention  that  met 
at  Salem,  the  Territorial  Capital,  to  frame  the  present  Constitution. of  Oregon. 
He  did  not  take  an  active  part  as  a  speaker,  but  wielded  considerable  influence 
as  a  man  of  sound  and  reliable  judgment.  His  vote  was  always  acknowledged 
on  the  several  subjects  as  evincing  a  keen  insight  into  the  wants  of  the  young 
and  rising  State  they  wished  to  establish. 

In  all  matters  of  politics  he  wielded  a  quiet  but  wide  influence;  as  a  citizen^ 
was  Well  respected,  and  his  death  made  avoid  that  will  be  long  felt  and 
difficult  to  fill;  as  an  advisor  to  the  young  he  was  a  living  model  of  truthfulness 
and  honesty,  showing  by  quiet  and  unostentatious  acts  that  he  practiced  as  well 
as  gave  verbal  admonitions.  In  religion,  he  was  of  liberal  tendencieSj  never 
intruding  his  peculiar  beliefs  unasked,  but  when  interrogated,  he  had  no  hesi 
tancy  in  giving  the  information.  A  good  man  in  any  community •,  and  Oregon 
was  the  gainer  by  him  becoming  a  citizen,  and  always  had  the  interest  of  her 
welfare  at  heart. 


GOV.  GEORGE  ABEMETHY 


HORN,  1807.   D{ED,  1877. 

George  Abernethy  was  born  in  New  York  city  in  1807:  he  resided  there  until 
1839,  when  he  started  for  Oregon,  arriving  in  May,  1840.  During  his  long  res 
idence  in  Oregon  he  followed  mercantile  pursuits  almost  rteadily.  For  many 
years  he  resided  on  the  Willamette  just  below  Oregon  City,  and  whoever  in 
passing  sees  the  old  residence  instantly  remembers  him  who  was  so  long  its  oc 
cupant.  Among  the  first  of  our  Pioneers  he  was  active  and  conspicuous  in  lay 
ing  the  foundations  of  a  great  commonwealth.  On  the  organization  of  the  pro 
vincial  government,  in  1845,  ne  was  chosen  Governor.  Until  the  Territorial 
government  was  established  by  the  Act  of  Congress,  passed  in  1848,  he  held  the 
position  of  Governor  with  honor  to  himself  and  with  advantage  to  the  country. 
At  different  times  he  was  engaged  in  various  extensive  business  enterprises, 
notably  in  the  large  mills  at  the  Willamette  falls  opposite  Oregon  City.  By 
the  great  flood  of  1861  he  was  involved  in  heavy  pecuniary  losses.  Shortly 
afterward  he  moved  to,  Portland,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  been  engaged 
in  business. 

Mr.  Abernethy's  death  was  sudden  and  entirely  unexpected,  caused  by  heart 
disease;  although  nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  he  was  quite  active,  and  took  a 
deep  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  country — especially  in  moral  and  religious 
as  he  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  a  great  many  years. 


TRANSACTIONS 


FIFTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION 


ADBUS8  »1?1EIS  II  101.  BLWQOB  If  IIS, 


TOGETHEB  WITH 

A  POEM  BY  FRANCIS  HENBY,  ESQ.,  THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS  BY  HON. 

STEPHEN  STAATS,  A  POEM  BY  SAM'L  L.  SIMPSON,  ESQ.,  OBITUARY 

NOTICES    OF  MEMBERS  WHO  HAVE  DIED  THE  PAST  YEAR, 


NAMES   OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


SALEM,  OEEGON  : 

E.  M.  WATTE,  STEAM  PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 

1878. 


FIFTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION. 


STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,  } 

SALEM,  June  16,   1876.      j 

The  fifth  Annual  Re-Union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association 
was  held  on  the  State  Agricultural  Fair  Grounds  near  Salem, 
and  continued  two  days,  and  was  held  under  favorable  auspices; 
a  very  large  number  of  members  and  their  friends  were  present 
to  participate  in  the  exercises  and  festivities. 

The  assembly  was  called  to  order  promptly  at  10.30  o'clock 
by  the  President,  Hon.  John  Minto,  who  announced  that  the 
Chaplain,  Rev.  L.  H.  Judson,  would  invoke  Divine  blessing, 
which  was  immediately  followed  by  the  Opening  Address  deliv 
ered  as  follows: 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  MEMBERS  AND  FRIENDS  OF  THE  OREGON  PIO 
NEER  ASSOCIATION: — We  have  here  assembled  to  exchange  the  kindly  greeting, 
becoming  a  social  re-union  of  those  who  have  labored  in  a  common  cause,  and 
whose  exertions  have  secured  a  common  good. 

The  I5th  day  of  June  has  been  adopted  by  you,  as  an  Association,  as  the  day 
of  all  the  year,  whereon  it  is  fitting  you  should  annually  meet  together  to  re 
new  old  associations;  look  back  with  thankful  pleasure  at  the  days  of  hardship 
and  danger  you  passed  in  order  to  fix  your  homes  in  this  goodly  land;  and  con 
gratulate  each  other  in  the  great  and  growing  good  to  the  human  family,  result 
ing  from  your  labors  in  opening  the  extensive  country  you  first  knew  as  Oregon, 
for  the  occupation  and  use  of  civilized  man. 

Since  we  last  met,  the  number  of  Oregon  Pioneers  has  been  diminished  by 
death,  and  Joseph  Cox,  J.  C.  Avery,  Ralph  Wilcox  and  George  Abernethy  will 
never  re-appear  at  our  Annual  Re-Unions  again.  These  were  all  men  of  mark 
in  the  ranks  of  Oregon  Pioneers.  The  first,  and  last  though  one,  was  born  on 
the  eastern,  and  the  other  on  the  western  edge  of  the  United  States  were  of 


4  OPENING    ADDRESS. 

remarkable  similarity  of  general  character;  lovers  of  liberty,  friends  of  humanity, 
quiet,  grave,  teaching  the  principles  of  self  government  by  example,  and  firm  in 
their  loyalty  to  the  government  that  to  them  represents  those  principles.  The 
last  mentioned,  was  the  first  man  chosen  to  the  highest  position  among  those 
who  planted  the  flag  of  Republican  law  and  order  on  this  coast.  He  was 
worthy  of  the  trust*.  While  we  may  mourn  the  decrease  of  the  numbers  of  the 
Association  by  the  operation  of  natural  laws,  we  have  great  reason  for  joy  and 
gladness  in  view  of  the  general  good  health  and  abundance  our  country  and  its 
seasons  secure  to  us.  For  we  know  by  more  than  one-third  of  a  centuries'  ex 
perience,  that  though  other  lands  are  visited  by  drouth  and  other  causes  of 
scarcity,  "  seed  time  and  harvest"  has  never  been  known  to  fail  in  Oregon. 

In  view,  then,  of  the  almost  boundless  wealth  of  field,  forest  and  mines,  to  which 
your  early  enterprise  has  led  mankind,  it  is  fitting  you  should  give  at  least  one 
summers'  day  annually  from  the  shady  side  of  your  lives,  and  from  the  check 
ered  coolness  of  this  grove,  cast  your  memories  back  to  the  weary  march  across 
the  sun  scorched  plains,  and  see  yourselves  as  you  once  were,  toil  worn,  dust 
covered,  weary,  yet  hopeful  leaders  in  the  advance  of  human  interests.  It  is 
no  shame  to  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  if,  as  pioneers  you  builded  better  than 
you  knew,  and  that  the  results  are  greater  than  the  conception,  is  the  clearest 
evidence  that  God  worked  with  you. 

As  the  Oregon  to  which  we  as  pioneers  led  the  way,  is  much  more  extensive 
than  the  political  division  to  which  the  name  attaches,  your  Directors  have 
deemed  it  fitting  to  invite  to  address  you  on  this'  occasion,  the  Hon.  El  wood 
Evans,  of  Washington  Territory,  whom  I  now  introduce  to  you. 

Hon.  Elwood  Evans  began  his  in  a  clear,  distinctly  audable 
tone  of  voice,  and  for  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes  held  the 
large  audience  spell-bound  by  his  matchless  eloquence.  The 
words  that  fell  from  his  lips  thrilled  his  hearers  with  delightful 
emotions,  and  bore  the  stamp  of  untiring  energy  and  patience  in 
their  selection,  so  choice,  so  pure,  so  peculiarly  fitted  were  they. 

*It  is  one  of  the  strange  facts  of  history,  that  in  the  year  1845,  which  is  the  special 
theme  of  this  Re-Union,  the  great  and  eloquent  Daniel  Webster,  speaking  to  a  Boston 
audience,  and  hoping  to  be  heard  by  both  nations  interested,  could  so  far  loose  faith  in 
the  expanding  power  of  the  flag,  his  own  words  had  brightened  and  lifted  up  in  the  esti 
mation  of  mankind,  as  to  predict  the  rise  of  an  independent  republic  in  Oregon!  While 
George  Abernethy,  the  poor  Steward  of  a  small  band  of  poor  Missionaries  whose  watch- 
word  was  for  Christ  and  humanity,  quietly  took  the  position  of  Provisional  Governor  of 
Oregon,  and  with  steadfast  loyalty  to  the  United  States,  waited  until  its  chosen  officers 
should  extend  the  protection  of  its  flag  over  himself  and  fellow  citizens. 


FIFTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  5 

The  accuracy  of  chronological  and  historical  events,  showed 
elaborate  research  and  great  study  in  the  preparation  of  his  allot- 
ed  task.  He  dwelt  at  length  in  a  eulogy  on  the  lamented  Aber- 
nethy.  the  Provisional  Governor,  claiming  him  to  be  a  man  of 
wisdom,  honesty  of  purpose  and  fearless  in  the  performance  of 
his  duties.  He  thought  the  Cayuse  war  of  1847  was  probably 
the  most  important  feature  of  Oregon's  history.  His  peroration 
was  simply  grand,  containing  incomparable  language  and  evinc 
ing  the  indisputable  evidence  of  a  master  mind.  He  was  earnest 
in  his  appeals  to  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  to  perpetuate  her  early 
history,  by  the  continuation  of  her  annual  gatherings. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Evans's  address,  Hon.  Rufus  Mallory 
read  a  poem  wrote  by  Mr.  Frank  Henry,  of  Olympia,  W.  T., 
entitled  "The  Oregon  Pioneer,"  which  was  rendered  as  admira 
bly  as  it  was  beautiful. 

After  the  reading  of  the  poem,  the  audience  was  dismissed  and 
a  general  pic-nic  lunch  enjoyed. 

At  3  o'clock  the  procession  was  formed  under  the  direction  of 
the  Chief  Marshal,  Hon.  R.  C.  Geer,  assisted  by  James  Elkins, 
Esq.  Headed  by  the  fife  and  drums  the  divisions,  thirteen  in 
number,  all  bearing  banners  indicating  the  year  of  their  arrival, 
marched  to  the  speakers'  stand,  where  they  all  were  seated, 
Hon.  Stephen  Staats,  of  Polk  county,  was  introduced  and  pro 
ceeded  to  deliver  the  Occasional  Address,  and  for  a  full  hour  in 
terested  the  audience  by  the  happy  strain  for  which  he  is  noted. 
His  address  was  replete  with  historical  data,  and  sparkled  with 
bright  humor  throughout,  eliciting  many  happy  remarks  from  the 
audience  as  well  as  convulsing  them  in  laughter. 

Upon  the  closing  of  Mr.  Staats'  remarks  the  President  suggested 
that  some  of  the  Pioneer  ladies  be  called  upon  to  make  some  re 
marks,  whereupon  Mrs.  A.  J.  Duniway,  editress  of  the  New 
Northwest,  was  called  and  responded  in  a  happy  manner,  relat- 


0  FIFTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

ing  her  experiences  of  1845,  which  proved  to  be  very  interesting  to 
the  audience.  Mrs.  John  Minto  was  next  called,  and  responded 
with  some  diffidence,  but  her  effort  was  a  complete  success,  and 
decidedly  entertaining. 

In  the  evening,  the  Association  gave  a  grand  ball,  which  was 
well  attended,  and  dancing  kept  up  until  near  day-light,  in  which 
the  youth  and  beauty  Oregon,  enjoyed  themselves  to  the  fullest 
extent,  while  near  by  in  the  oak  grove  the  older  portion  of  the 
Association,  were  recounting  their  experiences  of  time  long  gone 
by.  Among  the  speakers  was  Dr.  Wm.  McKay,  who  spoke  of 
early  times  in  Oregon,  of  things  that  transpired  between  1820  and 
1830.  "In  1828  the  Willamette  Valley  was  full  of  Indians.  On 
the  Willamette  and  on  the  Columbia,  their  canoes  numbered 
thousands.  In  1830,  a  disease  killed  off  the  bulk  of  the  popula 
tion.  The  Doctor  stated  that  since  he  became  acquainted  with 
medicine  he  thinks  that  the  contagion  was  scarlet  fever.  On  Sau- 
vie's  Island  about  one  mile  from  its  head,  on  a  place  owned  by 
the  Howell  Bros.,  stood  an  Indian  village  of  500  souls.  For  some 
days  no  one  from  this  village  had  been  seen  at  Vancouver,  and  a 
messenger  was  sent  down  who  found  every  inhabitant  dead  except 
two  infants  and  one  of  these  was  found  at  the  breast  of  its  dead 
mother.  Thus  did  the  simple  savages  perish.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  old  Indian  John  gives  it  as  his  firm  belief  the  Hudson  Bay 
authorities  poisoned  this  community  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
undisputed  possession  of  the  Island  for  dairy  farm.  Certain  it  is 
that  such  use  was  soon  made  of  the  rich  bottom  land.  Several 
others  spoke  and  the  meeting  did  not  break  up  until  a  late  hour. 


SECOND  DAY. 

Punctually  at  9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  meeting  was  called  to  order 
by  the  President,  when  he  stated  that  the  first  business  was  the 
report  of  officers,  whereupon  the  Recording  Secretary  submitted 
the  following  report : 


SECRETARY'S  REPORT.  7 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

I  would  respectfully  beg  leave  lo  submit  this  my  second  annual  report  of  the 
year's  operations  of  the  Association. 

There  has  been  quite  a  number  of  names  added  to  our  list,  and  strenuous 
efforts  have  been  made  to  enroll  all  persons  who  came  prior  to  first  of  January, 
1853- 

DEATHS. 

There  are  quite  a  large  number  of  the  early  settlers  of  Oregon  who  have  passed 
away,  and  some  of  them  were  men  who  have  contributed  greatly  towards  estab 
lishing  civil  government,  education  and  religion  in  this  fair  portion  of  our 
common  country.  Their  names  are  permanently  engraved  in  their  country's  roll, 
and  have  occupied  responsible  political  positions,  and  acquitted  themselves 
with  credit,  and  a  grateful  people  will  treasure  their  memory  and  good  deeds. 
During  the  last  year,  ex-Governor  George  Abernethy,  has  joined  the  silent  ma 
jority.  He  was  a  Christian  gentleman,  and  all  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  be 
come  acquainted  with  him  were  benefitted  thereby.  A  short  biographical  sketch 
was  published  in  the  last  Annual  Transactions. 

Dr.  Ralph  Wilcox,  was  another  of  Oregon's  historical  names.  The  melan 
choly  circumstances  which  surround  his  death  detract  nothing  from  his  good 
name.  Possessing  talent  of  superior  quality,  aided  by  thorough  and  refined 
education  in  his  youth,  thus  enabling  him  to  commence  life's  battles  with  su 
perior  advantages  for  usefulness  to  State  and  people,  and  they  were  always 
used  in  that  direction.  A  biographical  sketch  had  been  prepared  for  publica 
tion,  but  was  inadvertantly  omitted. 

Hon.  Joseph  C.  Avery  died  on  June  16, 1876,  at  the  time  of  our  last  Re-Union. 
Joseph  Cox,  of  Marion  county,  died  Ooctober,  1876,  and  short  biographical 
sketches  of  them  will  be  found  in  our  Transactions.  Hon.  A.  A.  Skinner  who  died 
while  on  a  visit  to  California.  Mr.  Hugh  Harrison,  who  came  to  this  country 
in  1847,  died  May  26,  1877,  having  resided  nearly  thirty  years  in  Oregon, 
and  was  well  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  James  Welch,  C.  E.  Calef,  S. 
N.  Arrigoni  and  James  Davidson,  have  all  passed  away,  and  were  old  settlers. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  many  more  deaths  that  should  be  mentioned,  but  they 
are  unknown  to  your  Secretary. 

PIONEER    PAPER. 

Mr.  Alex.  P.  Murgotten  has  started  The  Pioneer ;  in  San  Jose,  California,  ex 
clusively  in  the  interest  of  the  different  Pioneer  Associations,  and  has  been  en 
dorsed  by  the  Pioneer  Society  of  California;  Society  of  the  State  of  Nevada; 
Society  of  Mexican  Veterans,  and  a  large  number  of  other  societies  whose  ob- 


8  SECRETARY'S  REPORT. 

ject  is  the  perpetuation  of  the  early  history  of  local  situations.  The  editor  has 
generously  sent  a  number  of  copies  to  be  distributed  for  your  examination.  I 
have  read  the  paper  and  have  found  it  to  be  what  it  proclaimed  to  be,  "devoted 
to  the  interest  of  the  Pioneers"  of  this  coast,  and  I  think  it  worthy  of  support; 
and  has  published  many  thrilling  biographical  sketches,  scraps  of  history,  etc., 
that  would  undoubtedly  have  been  lost.  It  is  published  weekly,  and  of  good 
size,  and  the  editor  wishes  this  Association  to  endorse  the  paper  a?  an  organ. 

EXPENSES. 

The  expenses  of  the  Association  for  the  last  year  have  not  been  as  great  as  the 
year  before,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Association  may  be  cleared  of  the  debt 
that  has  almost  paralized  its  objects  and  endeavors. 

In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  thank  you  for  the  many  acts  of  kindness  received. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  HENRY  BROWN, 

Recording  Secretary. 

The  Treasurer  submitted  the  following  report,  which,  on  mo 
tion  was  adopted : 

TREASURER'S  REPORT. 

To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  O.  P.  A.: 

GENTLEMEN:  I  submit  the  following  report  as  Treasurer  of  your  Association 
for  the  year  past: 

1876.  RECEIPTS. 

To  amount  on  hand  as  per  report $  15  75 

"          received  from  ball 256  oo 

"         "    J.  Henry  Brown,  Sec'y .16600 

<<  «  «  '<  «  < '  .  .  .         7  OQ 

"  "         "  J.  Minto,  to  credited  on  account* 2  oo 

"  "         "  S.  F.  Chadwick,   "  "     200 

"  W.  H.  Rees          "  "     200 

«  «        "  J.M.Bacon          "  "     200 

'«  "         "  F.X.  Mathieu     "  "     200 

*After  the  last  meeting  of  the  Association,  it  was  found  that  the  hotel  bill  for  the  band 
was  yet  due,  and  it  became  necessary  to  obtain  the  amount  by  contribution,  therefore 
the  following  members  paid  each  $2.00:  John  Minto,  S.  F.  Chadwick,  W.H.  Rees,  J.  M. 
Bacon,  F.  X.  Mathieu  and  Wm.  J.  Herren,  with  the  understanding  that  the  same  be 
placed  to  their  credit  on  the  Secretary's  books. 


TREASURER'S  REPORT.  9 

To  amount  received  from  W.  J.  Herren,  credited  on  ac't $2  oo 

"                ''         "     R.  P.  Boise,  dues I  oo 

"                 "         **     Wm.  Bagley,  membership  fee I  oo 

"                "         "     R.  L.  Morris,  dues  i  oo 

"                >!         "    J.  H.  McMullen,  dues 200 

$461  75 

EXPENDITURE. 

By  amount  paid  warrant  No.    9  W.  J.  Herren $  15  oo 

"             "             "       "    12  W.  Graves. 800 

"            "            "       "    13  A.  Henline 2200 

'•            "            "       "    14  Band 16000 

"      "    15      "     33  oo 

"            "       "    1 6  P.  Emerson 900 

"       "    17  W.  Wallace 1800 

"       "    i8C.  A.  Reed 5000 

"            "            "       "    19  E.  M.  "Waite 100  oo 

"             "             "       "    20  Strong  &  Bain 338 

"            "            "       "    2IS.H.&D.  Co 1000 

"            "            '«       "    22  Committee 550 

"            ««            «'       "    25  Mrs.  Johnson 5  oo 

"            "       ««    26  Geo.  Williams 750 

"            "       "    30  Band 2100 

**     amount  on  hand 4  37 

$461  75 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  M.  BACON,   Treasurer. 

The  following  were  elected  by  acclamation : 

President,  Wm.  J.  Herren. 
Vice  President,  Gen.  Joel  Palmer. 
Recording  Secretary,  J.  Henry  Brown. 
Corresponding  Secretary,  Willard  H.  Reese. 
Treasurer,  John  M.  Bacon. 

Three  Directors,  Joseph  Watt,  Ralph  C.  Geer  and  Thomas 
Monteith. 


10  FIFTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

A  resolution  was  passed,  asking  Dr.  Wm.  McKay  to  prepare 
an  article  on  the  early  history  of  Oregon. 

On  motion,  the  West  Shore  was  designated  as  the  organ  of 
the  Association. 

On  motion  the  Association  adjourned. 

The  audience  then  resolved  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  called 
upon  Gen.  Palmer,  Dr.  Rowland,  Rev.  J.  L.  Parrish,  and  others 
who  responded,  and  entertained  them  for  sometime  by  extempo 
raneous  speeches, 

JOHN  MINTO,  President. 

J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 


MEETING  OF  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


SALEM,  Nov.  8,  1877. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association 
met  in  the  parlor  of  the  Chemeketa  Hotel,  and  was  called  to 
order  by  the  President,  W.  J.  Herren. 

On  motion,  all  the  persons   present  were  invited  to  participate. 

On  motion,  Judge  William  Strong,  of  Portland,  was  unani 
mously  chosen  to  deliver  the  Annual  Address  at  the  Re-Union  on 
the  i5th  of  June,  1878. 

On  motion,  Gen.  Joel  Palmer,  was  chosen  alternate  to  Judge 
Strong. 

On  motion,  the  President  was  empowered  to  select  a  suitable 
person  to  deliver  the  Occasional  Address  for  1878. 

Rev.  R.  C.  Hill,  of  Albany,  was  chosen  Chaplain  for  the  next 
Re-Union. 

Hon.  Medorum  Crawford,  of  Dayton,  Yamhill  county,  was 
chosen  Chief  Marshal. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Rees  resigned  from  the  Printing  Committee,  and 
Hon.  R.  P.  Boise  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  Commit 
tee  re-elected  consists  of  E.  N.  Cooke,  S.  F.  Chadwick,  John 
Minto,  R.  P.  Boise  and  J.  Henry  Brown. 

Mr.  Rees  moved  that  the  names  of  the  members  be  published 
in  Annual  Transactions. 

The  Secretary  introduced  the  following  which  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  State  is  earnestly  requested  to  assign  a  room 
in  the  State  House  for  the  use  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  for  the  purposes 


12  MEETING   OF    THE    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS. 

of  transacting  business,  safe  keeping  of  the  archives,  books  and  other  valuables 
that  they  now  have  or  may  become  possessed  of. 

On  motion,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  to  Mr.  S.  F.  Math- 
ews,  the  genial  landlord  of  Chemeketa  Hotel,  for  his  kindness  in 
furnishing  a  room  for  our  meeting. 

On  motion,  the  Board  adjourned  until  the  last  Thursday  in 

March,   1878. 

WM.  J.   HERREN,  President. 

J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 


THE  AMUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY  HON.  ELWOOD  EVANS. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION: 

Less  than  a  generation  ago,  the  national  character  of  this  land,  which,  with 
so  much  satisfaction  we  call  home,  was  in  dispute, — I  will  not  say  doubt,  be 
cause  my  faith  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  Pioneers  prior  to  1846,  and  it  remains 
unchanged — that  the  United  .States  was  the  rightful  owner  of  Oregon,  and  that 
its  northern  boundary  was  the  historic  54°  40'.  Still  that  claim  was  challenged 
and  with  measurable  success  by  the  then  most  powerful  nation  of  the  earth. 
Great  Britain  within  its  limits  had  for  many  years  been  represented  by  the  pres 
ence  of  an  European  trading  company  whose  purpose  and  policy  were  as  much 
the  Anglicising  of  the  region  as  the  pursuit  of  wealth.  The  native  population 
had  become  dependants  of  that  mammoth  political  corporation,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  were  the  willing  servants  at  its  establishments,  voyageurs,  hunt 
ers  and  trappers,  to  secure  and  bring  in  the  produce  of  the  country, — and 
available  as  troops  were  such  services  required.  With  this  ever-present  two 
fold  cause  of  anxious  solicitude,  requiring  constant  circumspection  and  courage, 
the  little  hand-full  of  American  men,  women  and  children,  essayed  their  first 
foothold  in  Oregon.  Poor  in  this  world's  goods,  few  in  numbers  and  widely 
scattered,  still  were  they  one  in  purpose  and  feeling.  All  were  animated  with 
the  hope,  inspired  with  the  confidence  and  devoted  the  idea  that  their  native 
land,  rightful  owner  of  these  beautiful  regions,  would  maintain  its  supremacy 
and  soon  become  the  sole  and  undisputed  possessor.  To  them  it  was  not  the 
State  of  Oregon  as  now  bounded.  "  No  pent-up  Utica"  contracted  their  patri 
otic  pride.  It  was  the  "  Oregon  of  History,"  the  country  westward  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  lying  between  Mexico  and  Alaska.  Each  returning  anniversary  of 
the  day  which  marks  the  American  christening  of  Oregon  must  vividly  recall 
that  picture  of  the  memorable  past.  When  I  review  the  history  of  that  decade 
which  preceded  June  I5th,  1846,  the  date  of  the  recognition  of  United  States 
sovereignty,  and  then  continued  on  to  August  14,  1848,  when  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  at  last  acknowledged  its  parental  duty  to  protect  its  children,  and  placed 


14  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Oregon  upon  the  same  footing  as  other  Territories,  I  loose  all  confidence  in 
my  ability  to  do  justice  to  that  period,  to  those  men  and  to  the  history  that  they 
made. 

The  honor  of  appearing  before  this  multitude  to  bear  testimony  why  this  Re- 
Union  should  take  place  upon  this  particular  day  of  each  succeeding  year,  is  too 
deeply  appreciated  to  permit  a  belief  that  such  misgivings  arise  from  any  per 
sonal  feelings.  My  good  friends  in  Oregon,  always  more  kind  than  I  deserve, 
have  heralded  my  expected  performance  in  such  laudatory  phase,  that  unwit 
tingly  they  have  increased  my  difficulty,  for  I  confess  to  an  ambition  which 
stimulates  the  effort  to  justify  that  encomium.  Although  you  have  been  prom 
ised  more  than  you  will  realize,  I  indulge  the  hope  that  you  may  not  go  away 
entirely  disappointed. 

The  eloquence  you  will  hear,  is  embodied  in  the  recital  of  the  acts  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  American  Oregon  and  their  claims  to  posterity's  undying  regard 
— labors  which  narrated  plainly  and  without  color  are  all-sufficient  to  elicit  your 
heartiest  satisfaction.  We  are  here  to-day  to  exhibit  our  gratitude  for  their  works, 
— tomanifest  our  pride  in  their  patriotic  devotion  and  sturdy  Americanism,  to  attest 
our  warmest  approval  of  their  successful  establishment  of  free  institutions.  At 
the  expense  of  repetition  of  what  has  been  said  by  distinguished  predecessors,  it 
shall  be  my  sole  aim  to  renew,  strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  regard,  veneration 
and  love,  so  eminently  due  those  to  whom  the  nation  is  indebted  for  hastening 
and  assuring  the  reclamation  of  Oregon  and  the  assertion  within  it  of  Federal 
jurisdiction. 

The  United  States  Government  had  not  only  studiously  neglected  its  citizens 
who  had  carried  westward  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  the  emblem  of  our  na 
tionality,  and  had  there  planted  the  seeds  of  Republican  institutions,  but  it  per 
sisted  in  utterly  disregarding  the  representations  of  those  settlers  as  to  the  vast 
natural  resources  of  the  country.  The  wealth  to-day  of  the  State  of  Oregon  is 
the  glorious  vindication  of  the  first  American  settlers  in  the  assurances  they  made 
to  their  fellow-citizens  and  to  the  National  Government.  It  teaches  also  the 
nation  what  was  lost  by  the  failure  of  duty  to  itself  and  to  its  children.  Un 
mindful  of  the  testimony  and  remonstrances  of  the  Pioneers,  the  Government,  by 
the  "Treaty  of  Limits,"  signed  June  15,  1846,  temporized  a  protracted  contro 
versy  by  the  surrender  of  nearly  half  the  region.  Recurring  to  that  indifference 
of  the  nation,  a  something  akin  to  humiliation  is  too  likely  to  arise, — but  pro 
portionately  as  that  blunder  provokes  chagrin,  at  once  such  feeling  is  effaced  by 
veneration  and  affection  kindling  to  enthusiastic  pride  in  the  devotion  and  self- 
sacrifice  of  our  Pioneers.  Their  history  is  our  boast — each  passing  event,  each 
occurrence  of  that  period  excites  our  deepest  attention.  With  what  unspeak- 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  15 

able  interest,  we  linger  upon  their  hardships  and  vicissitudes  as  they  accomplish 
the  American  settlement  of  Oregon,— their  "  holding  the  Fort,"  till  the  United 
States  became  ready  to  do  its  duty.  Never  did  that  little  band  falter  in  their 
faith  that  their  "  land  of  promise"  was  and  would  forever  remain  a  part  of  their 
and  our  country.  To  abridge  the  area  of  the  Oregon  as  they  knew  it  and  occu 
pied  it,  was  foreign  to  their  every  thought.  We  dwell  upon  each  incident  of 
the  journey  hither,  whether  it  be  the  long  voyage  around  Cape  Horn,  or  the  then 
more  dangerous  and  tedious  crossing  of  the  broad  continent.  They  came  to 
Oregon  to  establish  American  States,  to  prepare  it  for  the  homes  of  civilization. 
A  wilderness  whose  solitude  was  here  and  there  disturbed  by  scattered  Posts 
which  denoted  claim  adverse  to  their  mission,  and  really  asserted  the  intended 
supremacy  of  a  foreign  rival  nation.  Here  were  the  haunts  of  a  native  race 
jealous  of  the  advent  of  Americans,  and  unfriendly,  not  to  say  hostile,  to  their 
presence  and  purpose.  Such  was  the  prospect  which  presented  itself  to  the 
early  immigrants  upon  their  arrival  after  they  had  almost  worn  themselves  out 
in  reaching  the  scene  of  their  future  labors.  The  "  Oregon  of  1877"  is  the  tri 
umphant  sequel  of  that  injection  of  the  leaven  of  healthy  Americanism  into  the 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  before  the  United  States  had  made  any 
effort  as  a  nation  to  hold  the  country.  From  the  miraculous  exhibit  of  progress 
this  day  before  and  around,  you  can  acquire  no  idea  of  the  Oregon  which  the 
fathers  vitalized  into  an  American  commonwealth.  That  marked  contrast,  that 
unparalleled  advancement,  speaks  unmistakably  the  foresighted  sagacity  of  its 
founders.  A  generation  not  yet  completed,  and  behold  the  change!  1  am  in 
sensibly  drawn  to  the  inimitable  language  of  the  polished  and  peerless  Everett 
in  justly  glorifying  the  primitive  settlement  of  New  England,  so  slightly  modi 
fied  to  be  entirely  applicable  to  the  Americanization  of  Oregon.  It  falls  short 
in  being  descriptive  of  Oregon  progress,  and  were  he  here  to-day  performing 
the  duty  assigned  to  me,  even  he  would  be  at  a  loss  to  adequately  portray  our 
growth  from  quite  as  small  beginnings,  and  under  quite  as  adverse  circumstances. 

Says  he,  "  Were  it  only  as  an  act  of  rare  adventure,  were  it  a  trait  in  foreign 
or  ancient  history,  we  should  live  upon  the  achievements  of  our  fathers  as  one 
of  the  noblest  deeds  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  Were  we  attracted  to  it  by  no 
other  principle  than  that  sympathy  we  feel  in  all  the  fortunes  of  our  race,  it 
could  lose  nothing,  it  must  gain,  in  the  contrast,  with  whatever  history  or  tra 
dition  has  preserved  to  us  of  the  wanderings  and  settlements  of  the  tribes  of 
man.  A  continent,  for  the  first  time,  effectually  explored;  a  vast  ocean,  traversed 
by  men,  women  and  children,  voluntarily  exiling  themselves  from  the  fairest 
portions  of  the  Old  World;  and  a  great  nation-  grown  up,  in  the  space  of  two 
centuries,  on  the  foundations  so  perilously  laid  by  this  feeble  band, — point  me 
to  the  record  or  to  the  tradition  of  any  thing  that  can  enter  into  competition 


1 6  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

with  it!  It  is  the  language,  not  of  exaggeration,  but  of  truth  and  soberness,  to 
say  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  accounts  of  Phoenician,  or  Grecian,  or  of  Ro 
man  colonization  that  can  stand  in  the  comparison." 

"  What  new  importance,  then,  does  not  the  achievement  acquire  for  us,  when 
we  consider  that  it  was  the  deed  of  our  fathers;  that  this  grand  undertaking  was 
accomplished  on  the  spot  where  we  dwell;  that  the  mighty  region  then  explored 
is  our  native  land;  that  the  unravelled  enterprise  they  displayed  is  not  merely  a 
fact  proposed  to  our  admiration,  but  is  the  source  of  our  being;  that  their  cruel 
hardships  are  the  spring  of  our  prosperity;  that  their  weary  banishment  gave  us 
a  home ;  that  to  their  separation  from  everything  which  is  dear  and  pleasant  in  life 
we  owe  all  the  comforts,  the  blessings,  the  privileges,  which  make  our  lot  the 
envy  of  mankind!  These  are  the  well  known  titles  of  our  [Pioneers]  to  our 
gratitude  and  veneration." 

From  that  little  beginning,  in  the  face  of  discouragement  from  parental  gov 
ernment,  surrounded  with  unfriendly  and  jealous  rivals,  our  fathers  achieved 
success.  The  State  of  Oregon  already  a  leading  member  in  the  Union  of  States, 
three  prosperous  growing  Territories  ready  and  willing  to  assume  the  mantel  of 
of  Statehood,  are  but  the  offspring  and  successors  in  interest  of  the  Oregon  of 
June  I5th,  1846,  all  laying  claim  to  the  privilege  of  commemorating  these  events, 
all  with  equal  right  asserting  this  to  be  their  common  history.  And  why  should 
we  not  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  day  which  marks  the  baptism  with 
American  nationality  of  so  vast,  so  important  a  region?  Indeed,  this  Oregon 
anniversary  of  yours  and  ours,  clusters  with  glorious  reminiscences  of  an  event 
ful  past.  Nations  have  their  festivities  based  upon  an  important  event  or  crisis 
in  their  history.  Gratitude  for,  or  pride  in  the  service  of  an  eminent  warrior, 
statesman,  philanthropist  or  reformer  causes  the  birth-day  of  the  great,  the 
good,  the  patriotic,  to  be  set  apart  and  observed  with  appropriate  ceremony,  to 
the  end  that  an  illustrious  and  well-spent  life  may  continue  green  in  the  memory 
of  posterity.  But  Oregon-day  to  the  Pioneers  and  their  descendants  is  justly 
before  other  days.  As  patriots  the  glow  of  pride  rushes  to  their  cheeks  as  they 
call  to  mind  that  it  marks  the  peaceful  recognition  of  the  United  States  sover 
eignty  in  its  their  only  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  No  longer  were 
these  patriotic  Pioneers  expatriated.  Again  they  stood  upon  their  native  land. 

"  They  love  that  land  because  it  is  their  own, 
And  scorn  to  give  aught  other  reason  why." 

On  that  day,  although  their  ideal  Oregon  was  shorn  of  its  fair  proportions, 
yet,  in  what  was  saved,  the  incubus  of  foreign  claim  was  lifted,  and  the  stars 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  I  7 

and  stripes  went  aloft  in  triumph,  the  harbinger  that  the  United  States  of  Amer 
ica  had  extended  its  empire  to  the  broad  Pacific. 

While  we  really  commemorate  the  birth-day  of  our  country's  supremacy  on 
the  Pacific-side  of  the  continent,  still  the  antecedent  labors  of  our  Pioneers  are 
so  interwoven  with  this  great  political  fact,  this  pivotal  point  marking  the  "  new 
departure"  in  political  relations  of  the  occupants  of  the  Territory,  that  it  is 
eminently  fitting,  indeed  essential  upon  each  returning  anniversary  to  lift  the 
flag  which  that  day  enveloped  the  region  in  its  ample  folds,  and  anticipate  that 
act  of  tardy  performed  duty  on  the  part  of  the  nation.  Penetrating  the  veil  and 
looking  behind,  what  do  we  realize?  Our  fellow  countrymen  and  women  few  in 
numbers,  but  steadfast  in  purpose,  who  had  been  forgotten  by  their  government, 
yet  neglect  could  not  weaken  their  loyalty  and  love.  Submitting  patiently  to 
hat  injustice,  always  true  to  birth-right  and  origin,  they  carried  with  them  love 
of  Republican  institutions,  had  established,  and  upon  that  very  day  were  success 
fully  administering  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people. 
Oregon  already  contained  within  it  an  infant  Republic.  Here  was  a  thriving, 
loyal  American  commonwealth,  started  by  children  of  the  great  republican 
household,  who  though  for  the  time  discarded,  had  ever  been  animated  with 
unabated  zeal  for  the  glory  and  grandeur  of  their  parent  government. 

When  I  contemplate  this  history,  this  undying  devotion  to  Fatherland,  this 
patriotic  love  of  their  native  institutions,  I  know  not  which  most  to  commend — 
their  implicit  confidence  in  the  title  of  their  country  to  Oregon  which  they  never 
failed  to  assert  on  every  proper  occasion,  and  so  sure  were  they  that  it  would  be 
maintained,  their  patriotic  avowal  was  that  the  government  they  constituted, 
their  trusteeship  of  the  Territory  should  only  continue  "  until  such  time  as  the 
United  States  shall  extend  jurisdiction;" — their  signal  and  undying  love  for 
Republican  institutions,  breathing  through  every  line  of  the  fundamental  code 
of  the  government  they  founded;  or  their  eminent  conservative  wisdom  as  dis 
played  in  that  system,  the  laws  enacted  and  their  administration.  How  truly 

"  Each  man  made  his  own  stature,  built  himself  : 
Virtue  alone  outbids  the  pyramids, 
Her  monuments  shall  last  when  Egypt's  fall." 

Such  are  the  associations  which  belong  to  the  day  we  celebrate, — the  history 
it  commemorates.  Distinguished  citizens  of  your  State,  themselves  identified 
with  those  times  and  acts,  who  helped  to  make  that  history,  have  on  previous 
occasions  with  superior  eloquence  portrayed  the  claims  to  the  kind  remembrance 
of  Oregonians  of  this  day,  its  antecedents,  its  glorious  results.  But  we  cannot 
too  often  repeat  these  things,  which  should  be  as  dear  to  us  as  "  household 
words."  These  heroes  who  laid  so  wisely  the  foundation  of  States  are  passing 

2 


l8  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

away,  but  the  fruit  of  their  work  is  lasting  as  time.  Their  story  will  go  down 
from  generation  to  generation  and  be  the  theme  of  deserved  commendation  upon 
each  return  of  Oregon-day.  Truth  changes  not  as  time  advances,  and  justice  to 
these  States-builders  warrants  the  recalling  of  these  reminiscences  of  by-gone 
days  as  long  as  the  State  itself  shall  endure. 

It  is  a  privilege  to  be  with  you  to-day; — to  meet  face  to  face  the  survivors  of 
that  heroic  band,  the  old  patriarchs,  the  brave  women  who  traversed  oceans  or 
the  vast  American  desert  plains,  who  crossed  huge  mountain  barriers  to  plant 
upon  this  Western  slope  the  seeds  of  our  American  civilization;  who  made  the 
path  easy  for  us,  their  followers,  to  find  our  new  home; — who  accepted  exile 
from  home  and  kindred  to  devote  themselves  to  the  task  of  perpetuating  free 
government  and  popular  liberty; — who  braved  the  barbarisms  of  a  hostile  native 
race;  who  entered  the  lists  with  a  wealthy  foreign  organization  to  defeat  it, 
wresting  from  their  country  this  goodly  portion  of  our  national  heritage;  who 
petitioned,  implored  and  after  the  long  continued  hope-deferred  succeeded  in 
stimulating  their  government  to  be  true  to  itself  and  hold  its  own,  and  to  stand 
by  and  protect  its  loving  children;  who,  while  that  parent  government  refused 
to  govern  its  own  territory  assumed  without  usurping  that  function,  stamped  the 
virgin  soil  of  the  vast  region  with  the  impress  of  man's  right  to  self-government 
and  dedicated  as  the  home  of  free-speech,  free-thought  and  free-men;  who  adopted 
the  principles  of  the  Federal  Constitution  as  the  true  test  of  the  soundness  of  all 
their  legal  enactments,  and  caused  their  government  to  be  administered  in  har 
mony  with  its  spirit.  Surely  these  children  of  the  great  Republic,  though  at 
the  time  rejected  by  their  country  and  sometimes  derided  for  their  singleness  of 
purpose  in  Americanizing  this  region,  have  earned  and  secured  a  lasting,  living, 
brilliant  page  in  history  : 

"  Upbearing,  like  the  ark  of  God 

The  Bible  in  their  van,— 
They  went  to  test  the  truth  of  God 

Against  the  fraud  of  man. 
They  trod  the  prairie  as  of  old 

Their  father's  sailed  the  sea, 
And  made  the  West,  as  they  the  East 

The  homestead  of  the  Free." 

Is  there  a  doubt  that  the  American  occupancy  of  Oregon  and  its  dedication  to 
settlement,  was  in  its  every  feature  as  vast  an  undertaking  for  each  individual 
participant,  as  that  attending  the  colonization  of  any  Province,  State  or  Nation 
ality  of  which  a  record  is  preserved?  Carry  your  minds  back  to  that  period. 
Imagine  the  then  seemingly  insuperable  remoteness  of  the  country  from  the 
extreme  limits  of  our  then  American  civilization.  A  broad  continent  isolated  it 


THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  IQ 

from  the  States  from  which  it  must  receive  is  accession  of  population.  Vast  des 
erts  and  mountain  chains  till  then  believed  impassable,  laid  between  the  goal 
of  their  desire  and  the  home  they  were  to  abandon;  or  oceans  had  to  be  traversed 
requiring  weary  months  and  untold  risks  to  be  encountered.  The  policy  of  the 
National  Government  could  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  this 
country  was  regarded  valueless  and  impracticable  for  American  settlement. 
Statesman  and  publicists  had  been  wont  to  speak  derisively  of  the  idea  that 
American  civilization  would  press  westward,  cross  the  Rocky  mountains  and 
secure  a  foothold  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  In  that  pre-historic  period  the 
gloom  of  desolation  hung  like  a  pall  over  the  whole  North-west  coast.  All  we 
then  knew  was  embraced  in  the  not  encouraging  picture, 

"  That  the  breaking  waves  dashed  high 
On  a  stern  and  rock-bound  coast." 

The  published  voyages  to  North-west  America  ascribing  names  to  certain  por 
tions  of  the  coast,  perpetuating  the  remembrance  of  the  perfidy  and  cruelty  of 
the  natives  to  our  race,  Jewett's  narrative  of  the  loss  of  the  ship  Boston,  the  sad 
fate  of  the  Tonquin,  the  failure  of  Astor's  scheme,  had  stripped  this  whole  region 
of  a  single  inviting  feature.  The  immortal  Bryant  in  his  matchless  and  majestic 
"  Vision  of  Death"  dedicated  as  its  fit  abiding -place  those 

"  Continuous  woods 

Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound 
Save  its  own  dashings. " 

The  dread  solitude  of  his  own  creation,  is  thus  broken,  for  "  the  dead  are 
there."  In  those  days  the  education  of  an  American  youth  was  deemed  incom 
plete,  if  he  could  not  recite  those  verses,  and  even  yet  no  orator  alludes  to  Ore 
gon  without  citing  those  lines.  When  you  hear  them  do  you  not  even  now  feel 
the  awe  of  that  inspiration  ?  Think  of  it!  A  high  northern  latitude  with  a  sup' 
posed  correspondingly  frigid  climate, — a  desolate,  ocean-washed,  rock-ribbed 
shore  line,  backed  by  chains  of  mighty  mountains,  cutting  in  twain  the  conti 
nent,  and  "piercing  to  the  sky  with  their  eternal  cones  of  ice,"  those  dreary 
"continuous  woods,"  distance  from  you,  wide  as  "  West  from  East," — aggre 
gate  all  these  with  the  ghastly  reminder,  "  yet  the  dead  are  there."  Much  as  I 
love  that  poetry,  greatly  as  I  venerate  the  ancient  bard  who  has  given  such 
prestige  to  the  literature  of  native  land;  yet  how  cruel  was  he  to  paint  such  a 
picture  of  the  surroundings  of  a  region,  in  which  we  have  made  such  happy 
homes.  That  word-painting  of  unsurpassed  beauty  is  still  inseparately  associ 
ated  with  the  mighty  Columbia  and  the  vast  area  of  country,  which  it  drains. 
The  poet  sought  a  solitude  so  profound  that  might  prove  exempt  from  the  visita 
tion  of  death — he  carries  us  to  what  he  treats  as  the  uttermost  end  of  earth  to 


20  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

find  the  most  solitary  spot  because  of  remoteness.  Here  he  loses  us  in  woods  of 
boundless  extent  and  almost  impenetrable  density.  Amid  loneliness  so  profound, 
a  silence  as  dismal  would  prevail,  but  for  the  never-ceasing  quiet  monotony  and 
monotonous  continuance  of  running- waters  plashing  the  banks  as  they  dashed 
along  to  lose  identity  in  the  vastness  of  ocean.  They  are  passing  away; — even 
they  cannot  abide  in  this  solitary  place.  Every  word  carries  the  gloom  and 
loneliness  of  the  grave,  reminds  us  we  are  passing  on  to  sink  our  identity  among 
"  the  countless  millions  who  slumber  in  earth's  bosom."  Not  content  with  such 
creation,  he  personifies  death  as  reigning — makes  more  desolate  the  desolation 
by  that  finishing-stroke,  "  the  dead  reign  here  alone." 

Oregon  with  "  her  peopled  fields,  her  hills  with  culture  carried  to  their  tops; 
her  broad  deep  bays;  her  wide  transparent  lakes,  long-winding  rivers,  and  pop 
ulous  water  falls;  her  delightful  villages,  flourishing  towns,  and  wealthy  cities," 
has  not  yet  outlived  those  repulsive  associations  which  that  grandest  of  poems 
stamped  upon  its  forests,  aye,  even  upon  the  waters  of  the  mighty  river  of  the 
west  as  they  pass  out  to  the  sea.  Unwittingly  he  contributed  to  the  continuance 
of  the  theory  that  the  Northwest,  and  the  Oregon  river  were  the  most  inhospita 
ble  of  earth,  for  it  cannot  be  denied  that  thought,  or  rather  characteristic  expres 
sion  embodying  it,  not  infrequently  gives  color  to  passing  events. 

Back  in  those  early  days  it  required  no  little  courage  to  efface  this  almost  in 
delible  mantel  of  dreary  distance  and  inhospitable  wilderness  and  resolve  to  go 
to  Oregon.  To  reach  there  was  yet  another  matter.  That  was  the  hard  work 
continuing  through  as  many  weary  months  as  days  of  pleasure  are  now  afforded 
by  the  pic-nic  excursion  to  early  homes  and  kindred.  The  achievement  of  that 
journey  at  that  time  was  a  genuine  heroism  in  which  we  may  take  much  pride. 
Well,  may  we  love  those  Pioneers  "  for  the  dangers  they  had  passed"  in  reaching 
this  land,  so  accessible  now,  so  inviting,  so  abundantly  blessed  with  everything 
required  to  secure  human  happiness. 

The  Oregonians  of  that  early  time  will  remember  Lieut.  Howison  of  the  U. 
S.  Navy,  commander  of  the  ill-fated  Shark,  lost  on  the  bar  of  the  Columbia, 
September  10,  1846,  in  attempting  to  go  to  sea.  He  visited  Oregon  officially, 
and  made  a  very  valuable  report,  to  which  reference  will  again  be  made.  Of 
that  memorable  advent  of  those  early  immigrants,  he  says,  "they  brave  dangers 
and  accomplish  Herculean  labors  on  the  journey  across  the  mountains.  For  six 
months  consecutively  they  have  the  sky  for  a  pea-jacket  and  the  wild  buffalo 
for  company,  and  during  the  time  are  reminded  of  no  law  but  expediency." 

That  "crossing  the  plains"  has  been  immortalized  in  verse.  Here  is  a  daily 
Oregonian  issued  upon  Oregon-day  of  Columbia's  first  centennial.  It  it  is  "The 
Oregon  Pioneer,"  from  the  graceful  poem  of  my  valued  and  admired  friend, 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

f 

Francis  Henry,  Esq.,  of  Olympia,  scholar,  humorist,  wit.  This  idyl  proves  also 
that  he  can  revel  in  the  field  of  poesy  and  with  rare  fidelity  cull  its  brightest 
flowers  to  weave  into  a  chaplet  of  never  fading  beauty.  He  thus  depicts  that 
overland  voyage,  its  hardships  and  vicissitudes — then  reproduces  Oregon  as  it 
was,  the  trials  of  those  days,  and  introduces  the  ancient  cabin,  the  big  fire-place 
and  the  historic  rifle  hanging  near,  "  faithful  in  times  gone  by  to  feed  him  or  to 
defend." 

His  hopeful  Hock  all  gathered  round,  the  sage 

Now  opening  up  the  retrospective  view, 
Instructs  them  in  the  history  of  that  age 

When  he  was  young  and  Oregon  was  new. 
His  mem'ry  freshening  as  his  words  pursue, 

The  theme's  as  coming  as  the  winter's  rain; 
And  if  the  stories  that  he  tells  be  true, 

That  gun— reeking  with  hecatombs  of  slain — 
An  equal  never  had,  nor  such  will  be  again. 

Nor  since  the  tribal  heads  of  all  the  Jews 
Went  first  through  Canaan's  dubious  land,  to  see 
What  it  was,  whether  fat  or  lean,  and  whose, 

Were  ever  founders  of  a  colony 
Tried  like  those  pioneers  of  "forty-three," 

Who,  moved  by  that  fierce  spirit  of  unrest 
Which  scorns  to  dwell  in  dull  security, 

Turned  from  a  land  with  smiling  plenty  blest, 
To  face  the  unknown  dangers  of  the  howling  West. 

Full  well  he  dwells  upon  that  pilgrimage 

Through  deserts  scarcely  known  to  man  before; 
Tells  how  they  marched  o'er  wastes  of  sand  and  sage, 

With  cracking  lips,  and  blistered  feet  and  sore; 
And  of  thirst  and  hunger  which  they  bore; 

Nor  doth  suppress  nor  gloss  those  numberless 
Heart-burning  jealousies,  which  ate  the  core 

From  out  the  romance  of  the  wilderness; 
Where  souls  of  men  were  tried  like  vintage  by  the  press. 

Nor  found  he  at  his  tedious  journey's  end 

Best  from  his  toils,  or  surcease  of  his  woes. 
No  brother  met  to  welcome  and  befriend; 

No  latch-string  hung  inviting  to  repose. 
On  every  side  primeval  nature  rose 

As  it  was  formed.    And  he  like  Adam  stood— 
That  time  he  saw  the  gates  of  Eden  close— 

The  monarch  of  a  bristling  solitude, 
As  poor  in  worldly  goods,  and  very  near  as  nude. 

The  list'ning  flock  with  growing  wonder  hear 

How  the  great  founders  of  their  "  institutes" 
Made  clothing  from  the  skins  of  elk  and  deer, 

And  lived  upon  jerked  game  and  camas  roots, 


22  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

| 
"  Which,"  said  the  sage,  "  were  first-rate  substitues 

For  farmers'  truck,  and  all  that  commerce  brings  " 
"  Drat  them!"  the  wife  exclaims,  "  the  skins  of  brutes 

Wer'nt  made  for  human  wear;  they  are  sicti  things 
To  bind  when  dry;  and  when  they're  wet  they're  stretchy  strings." 

With  all  due  cour'sy  to  his  honored  wife, 

The  patriarch  no  word  of  her's  gainsays, 
But  still  exalts  that  rugged  frontier  life 

Above  the  customs  of  these  later  days. 
Though  rough  they  fared  and  straightened  were  their  ways, 

Like  brother's  dwelt  those  hardy  men  of  yore, 
Nor  knew  those  vain  distinctions  pride  will  raise 

Where  commerce  heaps  up  the  superfluous  store, 
'Till  envy  makes  what  erst  were  wealth  seem  mean  and  poor, 

Nor  glitt'ring  coin  or  graven  rags  were  there, 

For  men  to  wrangle  o'er  like  dogs  at  meat. 
None  sought  to  grasp  his  weaker  brother's  share, 

Or  sighed  for  wealth  he  could  not  wear  or  eat. 
Then  dues  were  paid  in  honest  pelts  and  wheat. 

Nor  courts  and  jails,  nor  bolts  and  bars  were  seen, 
There  were  no  rogues  to  steal,  and  lie  and  cheat; 

Nor  strifes  arose,  nor  angry  feuds  between 
Those  men  of  old,  to  mar  their  happiness  serene. 

I  could  not  more  profitably  and  pleasantly  detain  you  than  in  reading  through  this 
glorious  production.  I  trust  that  some  reader  who  will  do  ample  justice  to  its 
literary  merit,  its  pure  pathos,  its  hidden  humor,  its  admirable  descriptive  vein 
will  during  these  festivities  read  it, — to  the  end  that  it  may  be  incorporated 
among  these  proceedings  and  placed  in  such  form  that  every  lover  of  Oregon 
may  be  able  to  preserve  it.  Mr.  President,  accept  from  me  this  well-thumbed 
copy  presented  to  me  by  the  author.  Let  me  deposit  it  in  the  archives  of  your 
society  as  the  tribute  of  an  "old  settler"  to  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon,  those  men 
and  women  to  whom  the  world  owes  so  much  for  the  Oregon  of  1877. 

Let  me  now  refer  to  the  statement  of  the  late  Dr.  Robert  Newell,  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representative  of  Oregon,  in  1846,  a  name  familiar  and  held  in 
high  remembrance  by  ancient  Oregonians.  It  is  interesting  for  its  history,  and 
in  the  present  connection  illustrates  the  difficulty  at  that  time  of  getting  into 
Oregon.  It  details  the  bringing  of  the  first  wagon  to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  Ore 
gon,  in  1840,  the  Wallula  of  Washington  Territory.  The  party  consisted  of  Dr. 
Newell  and  family,  Col.  Joseph  L.  Meek  and  family,  Caleb  Wilkins  of  Tualitan 
Plains  and  Frederic  Ermatinger,  a  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
It  had  been  regarded  as  the  height  of  folly  to  attempt  to  bring  wagons  west  of 
Fort  Hall.  The  Doctor  suggested  the  experiment,  Wilkins  approved  it  and 
Ermatinger  yielded.  The  Revs.  Harvey  Clark,  A.  B.  Smith  and  P.  B.  Little- 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  23 

John,  missionaries,  had  accompanied  the  American  Fur  Company's  expedition 
as  far  as  Green  river,  where  they  employed  Dr.  Newell  to  pilot  them  to  Fort 
Hall.  On  arriving  there,  they  found  their  animals  so  reduced  that  they  conclu 
ded  to  abandon  their  two  wagons,  and  Dr.  Newell  accepted  them  for  his  services 
as  guide.  In  a  letter  from  the  Dr.,  he  says:  «'  At  the  time  I  took  the  wagons, 
I  had  no  idea  of  undertaking  to  bring  them  into  this  country.  I  exchanged  fat 
horses  to  these  missionaries  for  their  animals,  and  after  they  had  been  gone  a 
month  or  more  for  Wallamet,  and  the  American  Fur  Company  had  abandoned 
the  country  for  good,  I  concluded  to  hitch  up  and  try  the  much  dreaded  job  of 
bringing  a  wagon  to  Oregon.  I  sold  one  of  those  wagons  to  Mr.  Ermatinger, 
at  Fort  Hall.  Mr.  Caleb  Wilkins  had  a  small  wagon  which  Joel  Walker  had 
left  at  Fort  Hall.  On  the  5th  of  August,  1840,  we  put  out  with  three  wagons. 
Joseph  L.  Meek  drove  my  wagon.  In  a  few  days  we  began  to  realize  the  diffi 
cult  task  before  us,  and  found  that  the  continual  crashing  of  the  sage  under  our 
wagons,  which  was  in  many  places  higher  than  the  mules'  backs,  was  no  joke. 
Seeing  our  animals  begin  to  fail,  we  began  to  light  up,  finally  threw  away  our 
wagon-beds  and  were  quite  sorry  we  had  undertaken  the  job.  All  the  consola 
tion  we  had  was  that  we  broke  the  first  sage  on  that  road,  and  were  too  proud 
to  eat  anything  but  dried  salmon  skins  after  our  provisions  had  become  exhausted. 
In  a  rather  rough  and  reduced  state  we  arrived  at  Dr.  Whitman's  mission  station 
in  the  Walla  Walla  valley,  where  we  were  met  by  that  hospitable  man  and 
kindly  made  welcome  and  feasted  accordingly.  On  hearing  me  regret  that  I 
had  undertaken  to  bring  wagons,  the  Doctor  said,  "  O  you  will  never  regret  it. 
You  have  broken  the  ice,  and  when  others  see  that  wagons  have  passed  they  too 
will  pass,  and  in  a  few  years  the  valley  will  be  full  of  our  people."  The  Doctor 
shook  me  heartily  by  the  hand;  Mrs.  Whitman,  too,  welcomed  us,  and  the  Indians 
walked  around  the  wagons  or  what  they  called  "  horse  canoes"  and  seemed  to 
give  it  up.  We  spent  a  day  or  so  with  the  Doctor  and  then  went  to  Fort  Walla 
Walla,  where  we  were  kindly  received  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Pembram,  Chief  Trader  of 
Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  Superintendent  of  that  post.  On  the  1st  of  October,  we  took 
leave  of  those  kind  people,  leaving  our  wagons  and  taking  the  river  trail — but 
we  proceeded  slowly.  Our  party  consisted  of  Joseph  L.  Meek  and  myself,  also 
our  families,  and  a  Snake  Indian  whom  I  brought  to  Oregon  where  he  died  a 
year  after  our  arrival.  The  party  did  not  arrive  at  the  Wallamet  Falls  till  De 
cember,  subsisting  for  weeks  upon  dried  salmon,  and  upon  several  occasions 
compelled  to  swim  their  stock  across  the  Columbia  and  Wallamet." 

The  very  intelligent  naval  officer  before  quoted,  thus  graphically  portrays  the 
difficulties,  discouragements  and  trials  of  the  American  settlers : 

"The  privations  and  sufferings  of  the  first  overland  emigrants  to  this  country, 


24  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

are  almost  incredible,  composed  as  they  were  of  persons  who,  with  families  of 
women  and  children,  had  gathered  together  their  all,  and  appropriated  it  to  the 
purchase  of  means  to  accomplish  this  protracted  journey.  They  would  arrive 
upon  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  after  six  months'  hard  labor  and  exposure  to 
innumerable  dangers  which  none  but  the  most  determined  spirits  could  have 
surmounted,  in  a  state  of  absolute  want.  Their  provisions  expended  and  clothes 
worn  out,  the  winter  beginning  to  descend  upon  their  naked  heads,  while  no 
house  had  yet  been  built  to  afford  them  shelter;  bartering  away  their  wagons 
and  horses  for  a  few  salmon,  dried  by  the  Indians,  or  bushels  of  grain  in  the 
hands  of  rapacious  speculators  who  placed  themselves  on  the  road  to  profit  by 
their  necessities,  famine  was  staved  oft' while  they  labored  in  the  woods  to  make 
rafts,  and  thus  float  down  stream  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  establishment 
at  Vancouver." 

"  Here  shelter  and  food  were  invariably  offered  them,  without  which  their 
sufferings  must  soon  have  terminated  in  death.  Such  was  the  wretched  plight 
in  which  I  may  say  thousands  found  themselves  upon  reaching  this  new  country." 

"Throughout  the  winter  these  enterprising  people  were,  with  few  exceptions, 
dependent  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  the  bread  and  meat  which  they 
ate,  and  the  clothes  which  they  wore;  stern  necessity,  and  the  clamors  of  suffer 
ing  children,  forced  them  to  supplicate  credit  and  assistance,  which  to  the  honor 
of  the  Company,  be  it  said,  was  never  refused.  Fearful,  however,  of  demanding 
too  much,  many  families  told  me  that  they  lived  during  the  winter  on  nothing 
more  than  boiled  wheat  and  salted  salmon;  and  that  the  head  of  the  family  had 
prepared  the  land  for  his  first  crop,  without  shoes  on  his  feet  or  a  hat  on  his 
head.  These  excessive  hardships  have  been  of  course  hourly  ameliorating. 
The  emigrant  of  1843  has  prepared  a  house  and  surplus  food  for  his  countrymen 
of  the  next  year;  and  two  roads  being  opened  directly  into  the  Wallamet  Valley, 
rendering  a  resort  to  the  Columbia  unnecessary,  has  enabled  the  emigrants  to 
bring  in  their  wagons,  horses  and  cattle,  and  find  houses  among  their  country 
men." 

From  documents  emanating  from  the  citizens,  knowledge  of  the  internal  con 
dition  of  Oregon  at  that  period  may  be  acquired.  The  animus  of  the  settler  is 
exhibited,  the  Government  is  advised  of  the  value  of  the  country,— the  danger 
surrounding  is  indicated,  and  the  evidence  is  irresistible  that  these  settlers  were 
only  safe  by  constant  circumspection.  Dr.  Louis  F.  Linn  the  most  zealous  and 
indefatigable  champion  of  the  American  settlers  in  Oregon  and  of  the  United 
States  claim  to  the  Territory,  on  the  28th  January,  1839,  presented  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  the  petition  of  J.  S.  Whitcomb,  and  35  others,  dated  March  16, 
1838.  The  settlers  thus  plead  with  the  nation's  representatives: 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  25 

"  We  are  anxious  when  we  imagine  what  will  be,  what  must  be,  the  condition 
of  so  mixed  a  community,  free  from  all  legal  restraint  and  superior  to  that  moral 
influence  which  has  hitherto  been  the  pledge  of  our  safety.  We  flatter  ourseves 
that  we  are  the  germ  of  a  great  State  and  are  anxious  to  give  an  early  tone  to 
the  moral  and  intellectual  character  of  our  citizens — the  destinies  of  our  poster 
ity  will  be  intimately  affected  by  the  character  of  those  who  immigrate.  The  ter 
ritory  must  populate, — the  Congress  of  the  United  States  must  say  by  whom.  The 
natural  resouces  of  the  country  with  a  well-judged  civil  code  will  invite  a  good 
community,  but  a  good  community  will  hardly  emigrate  to  a  country  which 
promises  no  protection  for  life  or  property.  *  Well  are 

we  assured  that  it  will  cost  the  Government  of  the  United  States  more  to  reduce 
elements  so  discordant  to  social  order  than  to  promote  our  permanent  peace  and 
prosperity  by  a  timely  action  of  Congress." 

The  petition  concludes  urging  the  necessity  of  the  United  States  assuming 

jurisdiction  of  the  territory,   "of  energetic  measures  to  secure  the  execution  of 

all  laws  affecting  Indian  trade  and  the  intercourse  of  white  men  and  Indians; 

That   the  security  of  our  persons  and  our   property,  the 

hopes  and  destinies  of  our  children  are  involved  in  the  objects  of  our  petition." 

In  1840,  the  American  residents  of  Oregon  again  petitioned  Congress  to  extend 
Federal  jurisdiction  over  the  Territory.  Father  Leslie,  a  name  synonomous 
with  truth,  the  utterance  of  which  recalls 

"  A  combination,  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man"— 

Was  the  author  of  that  eloquent  wail  from  the  land  itself,  praying  to  be  taken 
under  the  broad  folds  of  our  nation's  flag.  How  feelingly  is  set  forth  the  isola 
tion  and  the  dangers  so  imminent.  That  emphatic  declaration  of  intention  to 
make  Oregon  American — thus  premises: 

"They  have  settled  themselves  in  said  Territory  under  the  belief  that  it  was 
a  portion  of  the  public  domain  of  said  States,  and  that  they  might  rely  upon 
the  government  thereof  for  the  blessings  of  free  institutions  and  the  protection 
of  its  arms.  But  they  are  uninformed  of  any  acts  of  said  government  by  which 
its  institutions  and  protection  are  extended  to  them;  in  consequence  whereof, 
themselves  and  families  are  exposed  to  be  destroyed  by  the  savages  around  them, 
and  others  who  would  do  them  harm." 

"That  they  have  no  means  of  protecting  their  own  and  the  lives  of  their  fami 
lies,  other  than  self-constituted  tribunals,  originating  and  sustained  by  the 
power  of  an  ill-instructed  public  opinion,  and  the  resort  to  force  and  arms." 


26  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

"That  these  means  of  safety  are  an  insufficient  safeguard  of  life  and  property — 
that  they  are  unable  to  arrest  the  progress  of  crime  without  the  aid  of  law  and 
tribunals  to  administer  it." 

Then  these  vigilant  sentinels  of  the  out-posts,  warned  their  government  that 
the  country  is  too  valuable  to  be  lost,  that  attempts  are  being  made  by  the  rival 
nation  to  reduce  it  to  possession,  and  that  appearances  indicate  British  intent  to 
hold  exclusively  the  territory  north  of  the  Columbia.  Then  modestly  invoking 
the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  region  because  of  its  wealthy  national  resources 
and  advantages,  they  conclude  with  this  patriotic  prayer: 

"  Your  petitioners  would  beg  leave  especially  to  call  the  attention  of  Congress 
to  their  own  condition  as  an  infant  colony,  without  military  force  or  civil  insti 
tutions  to  protect  their  lives  and  property  and  children,  sanctuaries  and  tombs, 
from  the  bands  of  uncivilized  and  merciless  savages  around  them. 

We  respectfully  ask  for  the  civil  institutions  of  the  American  Republic — we 
pray  for  the  high  privileges  of  American  citizenship;  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of 
life; — the  right  of  acquiring,  possessing  and  using  property,  and  the  unrestrained 
pursuit  of  rational  happiness." 

In  1843,  another  petition  went  forth  reiterating  the  above  representations  and 
setting  out  in  detail  the  particular  grievances  to  which  the  American  settlers 
were  subjected. 

The  Howison  report  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  internal  condition  of  Ore 
gon  and  Pioneer-life  which  I  am  forbidden  to  quote,  because  those  details  so 
fascinating  to  me,  would  tempt  extending  this  address  to  unpardonable  length. 

A  few  statistics  will  aptly  illustrate  the  development  of  the  American  element: 

At  the  closing  of  1841,  the  number  of  Americans  might  possibly  reach. .    400 

British  subjects  of  all  classes  between 1,200  and  1,300 

The  immigration  of  1842,  numbered 137 

1843,  "          875 

1844,  "          475 

1845,  "          3,ooo 

1846,  "          i,35o 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  total  population  of  Oregon  at  the  close  of 
1846,  excluding  Indians,  was  little  less  than  8,000. 

These  figures  exhibiting  the  relative  strength  of  the  American  and  British 
elements,  should  be  steadly  kept  in  view  in  tracing  the  history  of  the  Pioneer 
American  settlement  of  Oregon. 

On  the  I4th  of  August,   1848,  the  United  States  formally  asserted  jurisdic- 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

tion  by  the  passage  of  the  Organic  Act,  erecting  Oregon  as  a  Territory  of  the 
United  States,  although  the  Pioneers  continued  to  administer  the  Provisional 
Government  until  March  3, 1849,  when  Gen.  Joseph  Lane,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Governor  of  the  organized  Territory  of 
Oregon,  arrived  at  Oregon  City  and  succeeded  George  Abernethy,  the  people's 
Governor  of  the  people's  government,  whose  authority  had  been  recognized  up  to 
the  classic  54°  40', 

Let  us  not  forget  that  the  Oregon  which  has  this  day  claimed  our  attention, 
was  the  Territory  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  known  as  Oregon  before  June 
15,  1846,  and  after  that  date,  as  it  was  left  by  the  Treaty  of  Limits,  now  bounded 
north  by  latitude  49°; — that  the  Pioneers  whose  acts  we  are  commemorating 
were  that  devoted  band,  who,  in  small  settlements,  few  and  far  between,  held 
the  country  in  trust  for  the  United  States,  denied  the  protection  of  their  Home 
Government,  prepared  it  for  American  commonwealth,  and  when  their  Govern 
ment  was  ready,  surrendered  their  stewardship,  returned  the  territory  with  a 
people  loyal  to  the  flag,  throughly  educated  in  free  institutions,  who  having 
proved  themselves  capable  of  governing,  in  turn  became  the  best  of  citizens. 
Men  and  women  who  relied  upon  themselves,  whose  rude  life  was  Herbert's 
quaint  proverb,  "  Help  thyself  and  God  will  help  thee."  While  they  were  dis 
appointed  in  the  relinquishment  of  so  much  territory,  still  proudly  and  joyfully 
they  welcomed  the  "  new  departure;"  henceforth  they  were  to  be  in  full  com 
munion  with  their  fellow  countrymen,  admitted  again  to  the  protection  and 
sharing  in  the  blessings  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  Union  they  loved  so  well. 

The  loss  of  the  U.  S.  schooner  Shark  in  the  fall  of  1846,  has  been  mentioned. 
From  the  wreck  was  saved  her  stand  of  colors.  Her  gallant  commander  was 
delayed  for  months  of  that  eventful  year,  dwelling  among  the  Pioneers.  He 
learned  to  know  and  appreciate  them.  He  was  necessarily  thrown  in  contact 
with  the  wise  and  good  Governor,  George  Abernethy,  to  whose  many  merits 
Lieut.  Howison's  report  bears  witness  in  the  expressive  summing  up,  "  a  whole- 
souled  American  gentleman."  On  the  eve  of  his  departure,  December,  1846, 
Lieut.  Howison  sent  that  "  stand  of  colors"  a  present  to  the  truly  loyal  people 
.of  Oregon,  who  had  made  so  many  sacrifices  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the 
United  States  Territory,  who  had  exhibited  such  devotion  to  their  country  and 
its  cause.  In  his  letter  of  presentation  to  the  Governor,  he  says: 

"One  of  the  few  articles  preserved  from  the  ship- wreck  of  the  late  United 
States  schooner  Shark,  was  her  stand  of  colors.  To  display  the  national  em 
blem,  and  cheer  our  citizens  in  this  distant  territory  by  its  presence,  was  a  prin 
cipal  object  of  the  Shark's  visit  to  the  Columbia;  and  it  appears  to  me,  therefore, 
highly  proper  that  it  should  henceforth  remain  with  you,  as  a  memento  of  pa- 


28  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

rental  regard  from  the  General  Government.  With  the  fullest  confidence  that 
it  will  be  received  and  duly  appreciated  as  such  by  our  countrymen  here,  I  do 
myself  the  honor  of  transmitting  the  flags  (an  Ensign  and  Union  Jack)  to  your 
address;  nor  can  I  omit  the  occasion  to  express  my  gratification  and  pride  that 
this  relic  of  my  late  command  should  be  emphatically  the  first  United  States 
flag  to  wave  over  the  undisputed  and  purely  American  territory  of  Oregon." 

The  patriotic  Abernethy  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  Pioneers,  whose  mission  to 
make  Oregon  purely  American,  had  in  measure  triumphed,  responded  in  fitting 
terms;  gracefully  and  gratefully  he  uttered  his  own  as  also  the  heart-throbbings 
of  his  fellow  patriots: 

"Accept my  thanks  and  the  thanks  of  the  community  for  the  (to  us)  very  val 
uable  present.  We  will  fling  it  to  the  breeze  on  every  suitable  occasion,  and 
rejoice  under  the  emblem  of  our  country's  glory.  Sincerely  hoping  that  the 
*  Star  spangled  banner'  many  ever  wave  over  this  portion  of  the  United  States." 

Those  flags  belong  to  the  Pioneers.  They  were  received  by  the  good  Aber 
nethy  with  the  pledge  that  they  would  be  "  flung  to  the  breeze  on  every  suitable 
occasion."  That  good  old  man  has  gone  to  his  great  reward  after  a  long  life 
spent  in  usefulness  to  his  fellow  creatures.  No  better  way  of  keeping  green  the 
memory  of  his  exalted  patriotism,  his  wisdom,  his  spotless  purity  of  character, 
his  exalted  service  in  those  dark  days  of  doubt  and  discouragement,  than  upon 
each  returning  Oregon-day  "  fling  to  the  breeze  those  emblems  of  our  country's 
glory."  Though  Oregon-day  be  the  Re-Union  of  the  living,  let  us  also  observe 
all  proper  ceremonies  of  regard  to  the  memory  of  those  who  shall  have  gone 
before.  It  should  be  a  part  of  our  observance  of  this  day  that  the  pledge  of  the 
Pioneers  made  by  their  Governor,  should  be  faithfully  performed.  Let  us  re 
turn  from  this  digression  to  which  I  was  involuntarily  led  by  the  ivish  to  recall 
and  thus  illustrate  the  patriotism  of  one  of  the  "  best  of  earth"  whose  recent 
death  we  so  sincerely  mourn,  and  to  exhibit  as  well  the  testimony  of  an  impar 
tial  visitor,  of  the  patriotism  of  his  Pioneer  cotemporaries. 

A  parallel  has  been  attempted  between  the  first  colonization  of  New  England 
and  the  American  settlement  of  Oregon.  There  is  still  another  striking  analogy 
furnishing  the  evidence  that  Pioneers  in  all  ages  are  animated  by  a  common 
object, — attain  their  purpose  by  a  similar  method,  are  actuated  by  the  same 
high  and  exalted  love  for  humanity.  Both  were  founders  of  commonwealths, — 
both  political  agitators, — both  recognized  the  necessity  of  law  and  order  to 
secure  the  well-being  of  community.  Before  the  Puritan  fathers  left  the  cabin 
of  the  Mayflower,  they  had  signed  their  compact  of  government  and  selected 
their  migistrates.  Hardly  had  our  Pioneers  erected  a  shelter  from  the  inclem- 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  29 

ency  of  the  season,  when  true  to  their  American  instincts,  they  missed  and  at 
once  desired  to  supply  the  protection  afforded  by  civil  institutions.  Not  ready, 
or  too  weak  for  self-government,  naturally  they  turned  to  the  United  States 
Congress  to  supply  their  first  necessity.  That  petition  of  1838  is  an  admirable 
argument,  that  good  order  can  only  be  insured  by  a  "well-judged  civil  code." 
Wisely  they  urge  "  a  good  community  will  hardly  emigrate  to  a  country  which 
promises  no  protection  for  life  and  property."  Spurned  and  neglected  by  their 
government,  they  turned  to  themselves,  to  each  other,  and  at  once  agitated  the 
question  of  establishing  a  temporary  government. 

This  conduct  of  the  Pioneers  should  commend  itself  to  our  heartiest  approval. 
It  has  been  condemned  as  exhibiting  an  intent  to  establish  an  independent  gov 
ernment;  it  has  been  derided  as  emanating  from  a  feeling  of  ambition  for  politi 
cal  preferment.  But  this  is  unjust.  It  is  too  well  established  to  meet  with 
cavil,  that  some  system  of  government  is  the  very  first  requirement  of  a  new 
settlement.  Before  other  interests  can  be  properly  regarded,  there  must  be  a 
power  to  make  and  administer  law,  to  govern  with  recognized  authority.  This 
essentially  American  axiom,  found  no  exception  in  the  Pionner  settlement  of 
Oregon;  to  secure  order  and  peace,  was  foremost  among  the  duties  of  the  citizens. 
Other  interests  were  secondary  and  could  wait  till  stern  necessity  invoked  atten 
tion,  but  life  itself  was  unsafe,  property  was  insecure  without  government  and 
law.  Those  obtained,  social  institutions  could  then  be  fostered.  While  the 
first  efforts  of  our  Pioneers  were  in  the  main,  necessarily  political,  still  they  did 
not  neglect  the  recognition  of  those  agencies  which  ameliorate  man's  condition. 
Hand  in  hand  with  the  agitation  for  government,  we  find  them  establishing 
schools,  and  among  the  very  earliest  of  enacted  laws  was  the  incorporation  of 
an  institution  of  learning,  the  Oregon  Institute,  and  the  establishment  of  a  com 
mon  school  system.  Thus  were  the  fathers  of  the  American  Oregon  animated  in 
their  first  law-enacting,  by  the  principle  "  To  exalt  a  free  people,  teach  their 
children."  In  all  history,  where  do  you  find  such  an  instance  of  those  laying 
the  foundations  of  a  State,  carrying  along  co-extensively  the  establishment  of 
colleges  and  public  schools?  I  refer  to  those  antecedents  of  our  history  with 
unmingled  satisfaction — they  display  that  the  "purpose"  of  the  Fathers  in 
forming  a  government  was  "  to  promote  the  general  welfare,  as  well  as  provide 
for  the  general  defence." 

My  venerable  friend,  Jesse  Applegate,  an  oracle  of  the  history  of  that  period, 
on  the  I4th  of  August,  1845,  on  tne  identical  day  of  the  year  which  three  years 
later,  marks  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  Congress,  organizing  the  Territory  of 
Oregon,  caused  to  be  placed  upon  record  the  thorough  vindication  of  the  founders 
of  the  Provisional  Government,  in  resolutions  drafted  in  his  characteristic  terse- 


30  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

ness  of  expression  and  wholesome  vigor  of  style,  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
Oregon  House  of  Representatives.  That  declaration,  alike  creditable  to  its  dis 
tinguished  author  and  the  House,  brimming  over  with  patriotic  loyalty  to  Home 
Government,  reflects  the  true  sentiment  of  the  Pioneer  American  settlers  of 
Oregon.  It  is  as  follows: 

"  The  adoption  of  the  Organic  law  by  the  people  of  Oregon  was  an  act  of 
necessity  rather  than  choice,  and  was  intended  to  give  to  the  people  the  protec 
tion  which,  of  right,  should  be  extended  to  them  by  their  government,  and  not 
as  an  act  of  defiance  or  disregard  of  the  authority  or  laws  of  the  United  States. 
That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  House,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  estab 
lishing  a  territorial  government,  should  legalize  the  acts  of  the  people  in  this 
country,  so  far  as  they  are  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

The  petition  to  Congress  of  the  people  in  1838,  1840,  and  1843  heretofore 
referred  to,  fully  substantiate  this  claim  of  disinterested  patriotism  in  these 
efforts  of  the  Pioneers  in  self  government.  The  memorial  of  June  28th,  1844, 
reported  by  a  committee  consisting  of  Wm.  H.  Gray,  Jesse  Applegate,  H.  A.  G. 
Lee,  John  McClure  and  David  Hill,  in  an  eminent  degree  corroborated  these 
views.  I  cannot  forbear  citing  the  opinion  of  Thomas  H.  Benton  expressed  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  December  8,  1845,  on  introducing  this  me 
morial: 

"For  the  preservation  of  order,  the  petitioners,  had  among  themselves, 
established  a  provisional  and  temporary  government,  subject  to  the  ratification 
of  the  United  States  government.  The  petition  sets  forth  in  strong  and  re 
spectful  language,  arguments  why  the  citizens  residing  in  that  section  of  country 
should  be  protected  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  their  rights,  and  also  as  a 
means  of  preserving  order.  The  memorial  was  drawn  up  in  a  manner  credita 
ble  to  the  body  by  which  it  was  presented,  to  the  talents  by  which  it  was  dicta- 
ted,  and  to  the  patriotic  sentiments  which  pervaded  it;  and  the  application  was 
worthy  of  a  favorable  consideration  for  its  moderation,  reasonableness  and 
justice.  As  the  best  means  of  spreading  the  contents  of  this  petition  before  the 
country,  and  doing  honor  to  the  ability  and  enterprise  of  those  who  had  presented 
it,  he  moved  that  it  be  read  at  the  bar  of  the  Senate." 

That  memorial  is  replete  with  information.  It  is  really  a  pen  photograph  of 
the  Oregon  of  1844-5.  It  graphically  exhibits  the  value  of  the  country,  its 
resources,  its  internal  condition,  its  surroundings;  how  forcibly  it  contrasts  the 
systemized  power  and  effectiveness  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  occupancy, 
with  the  poverty  and  weakness  of  American  settlement, — how  withering  that 
rebuke  when  it  brings  up  in  review  the  dependence  of  the  citizens  of  the  United 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  31 

States  upon  that  foreign  company  whose  presence  was  adverse  assertion  of 
claim  against  their  country — whose  policy  was  inimical  to  American  settlement. 
It  is  a  noble  document,  full  of  patriotism,  and  in  celebrations  of  this  day's 
doings,  its  reading  would  be  as  appropriate  as  is  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  on  our  Nation's  birthday.  Thus  upon  each  of  these  returning  Anniver- 
ary-days,  our  people  would  be  reminded  of  Pioneer  life  and  its  surroundings. 
Nothing  further  need  be  said  to  vindicate  the  motive  of  the  founders  of  the 
Provisional  government,  to  display  their  true  intention,  and  to  illustrate  that 
the  act  was  invoked  by  a  stern  necessity. 

The  student  as  he  investigates  this  subject  will  be  struck  with  the  persistent 
and  oft-repeated  efforts  of  the  American  Pioneers  to  respect  that  fundamental, 
republican  maxim,  "  that  governments  derive  all  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed."  In  1838,  the  Americans  prayed  for  civil  institutions. 
In  1840,  they  eloquently  lamented  that  they  were  without  protection  which  law 
secured.  In  1841,  they  invited  their  fellow  residents  of  foreign  birth  (British 
subjects),  to  join  them  in  forming  a  system  of  government.  They  were  ready 
and  willing  to  submit  to  rules  and  regulations  prescribed  by  the  people,  though 
vastly  in  the  minority.  In  1842,  the  agitation  steadily  continued.  In  1843, 
although  they  had  increased  in  uumbers,  and  the  time  was  approaching  when 
they  must  outnumber  their  opponents,  yet  again  they  invited  the  co-operation 
of  their  foreign  born  fellow  citizens.  Again  were  they  met  with  the  persistent 
refusal.  At  that  time,  March  4,  1843,  a  meeting  of  all,  regardless  of  nativity, 
had  been  convened  under  a  pretext  of  organizing  for  the  destruction  of  predatory 
animals.  But  when  our  Pioneers  essayed  to  consult  on  the  adoption  of  laws  for 
the  government  of  the  settlements,  their  foreign  fellow  settlers  withdrew  in  a 
body. 

It  may  be  well  at  this  time  to  remark  that  there  were  really  three  distinct, 
at  first  seemingly  incongruous  elements  of  American  settlement.  The  part 
played  by  each  in  Oregon's  Americanization,  want  of  time  and  the  fact  that  the 
subject  as  we  are  treating  it,  does  not  require  it,  prevent  fully  considering. 
Again,  it  should  also  be  remembered  that  our  predecessors,  like  ourselves,  were 
men.  They  had  their  little  jealousies  and  bickerings.  It  had  required  time, 
association  and  a  feeling  grown  into  mutual  dependance  to  unificate  the  constit 
uents  of  a  scattered  and  diverse  population.  But  they  were  terribly  in  earnest 
on  the  2d  of  May,  1843.  Let  me  again  quote  from  Howison  as  to  the  difficulty 
they  met  at  every  stage: 

"  The  subject  of  forming  this  Provisional  Government  had  been  several  years 
under  discussion,  and  may  be  considered  the  first  political  question  canvassed 
within  the  Territory.  It  was  opposed  by  the  influence  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 


32  THE     ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Company  and  the  British  subjects  generally,  although  the  Chief  Factor  of  that 
company  was  ready  to  enter  into  a  compact  or  domestic  treaty  for  the  regulation 
and  adjustment  of  all  points  of  dispute  or  difference  which  might  spring  up 
among  the  residents;  indeed  they  admitted  that  it  was  time  to  establish  some 
rules,  based  upon  public  opinion  decidedly  expressed,  for  the  maintenance  of 
good  order  and  individual  rights;  but  they  felt  apprehensive  for  themselves  and 
their  interests  in  placing  extensive  law-making  power  in  the  hands  of  a  legisla 
tive  body,  composed  of  men  on  whose  judgement  they  could  not  implicitly  rely, 
and  whose  prejudices  they  had  reason  to  believe  were  daily  increasing  against 
them.  Their  opposition  was,  however,  unavailing." 

Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  a  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  then  in 
charge  of  their  interests  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  says,  "  In  spring  (1841), 
the  Americans  invited  the  Canadians  to  unite  with  them  and  organize  a  tempo 
rary  government,  but  the  Canadians  apprehensive  it  might  interfere  with  their 
allegiance,  declined,  and  the  project  failed.  In  1843, 

the  Americans  again  proposed  to  the  Canadians  to  join  and  form  a  temporary 
government,  but  the  Canadians  declined  for  the  same  reason.  The  Americans 
applied  this  year  (1844)  again  to  the  Canadians  in  the  Wallamet  (who  were 
about  settlers)  to  join  them  and  form  a  temporary  government  to  which  they 
acceded,  as  they  saw  from  the  influx  of  immigrants  it  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  do  so  to  maintain  peace  and  order  in  the  country."  In  1845,  Governors 
McLaughlin  and  Douglas  carried  with  them  into  the  organization,  all  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company  employees  and  influence,  and  yielded  a  hearty  support  to 
the  Provisional  Government  as  it  was  re-constructed,  July  5,  1845.  The  reasons 
for  such  action  on  their  part  are  stated  at  length  in  the  remonstrance  of  the  no 
ble  and  charitable  Doctor  McLaughlin,  addressed  to  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  London,  against  the  gross  injustice  with  which 
he  was  cast  off  in  his  old  age,  after  a  long  life  of  loyal  service  to  the  Company 
and  his  country. 

From  this  testimony,  I  am  more  than  justified  in  pronouncing  the  Provisional 
Government  of  Oregon,  the  crowning  glory  of  the  Oregon  Pioneers — a  striking 
exhibit  of  patient  submissiveness  when  the  American  settlers  were  in  the  mi 
nority — of  the  magnanimity  and  conservatism  when  in  the  majority.  We  witness 
the  difficulty  and  jealousy  that  thwarted  their  plans,  and  how  they  overcame 
them.  We  must  commend  pluck,  endurance,  tact, — their  sturdy  republicaism 
displayed  in  their  persistent  effort  to  secure  "the  consent  of  the  governed," 
and  their  ever-displayed  accompanying  wish  that  their  country  should  assert  its 
authority,  and  again  claim  them  as  its  citizens;  nor  must  we  withhold  our  meed 
of  praise  for  that  scrupulous  regard  for  the  national  prejudice  of  the  British  sub- 


THE    ANNUAL   ADDRESS.  33 

ject,  who  was  their  fellow  citizen,  so  strikingly  evinced  in  that  oath  of  office, 
which  saves  allegiance  to  King  or  Country  : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  support  the  Organic  Laws  of  the  Provisional 
Government  of  Oregon,  so  far  as  the  said  Organic  Laws  are  consistent  with  my 
duties  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  a  subject  of  Great  Britain." 

To  form  such  government  was  the  labor  of  years.  The  Fathers  persevered 
till  every  vestige  of  hostility  was  removed.  By  wise  and  prudent  conservatism, 
by  a  large  and  consistent  democratic  recognition  of  manhood  regardless  of  na 
tivity,  all  the  settlers  in  Oregon,  whether  American  citizen  or  British  subject 
accorded  hearty  support. 

We  had  historically  approached  to  the  meeting  from  which  the  British  ele 
ment  withdrew  in  a  body,  when  our  Pioneers  played  politician  and  sprung  the 
government  project,  on  the  2d  May,  1843.  After  that  exciting  scene,  the  Amer 
ican  settlers  continued  their  session,  selecting  certain  necessary  officers  and  ap 
pointing  a  Legislative  Committee  of  nine  to  report  a  code  of  laws  to  a  meeting 
to  be  held  on  the  5th  July,  1843.  That  first  Legislature  or  Constitutional  Con 
vention  duly  performed  the  work  assigned,  and  Articles  of  Compact  and  a  Code 
of  Laws,  were  ratified  by  the  people  in  convention  assembled,  July5,  1843. 
The  preamble  to  that  Organic  Law  is  as  follows: 

"We,  the  people  of  Oregon  Territory,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  protection, 
and  to  secure  peace  and  prosperity  among  ourselves,  agree  to  adopt  the  follow 
ing  laws  and  regulations,  until  such  time  as  the  United  States  of  America  extend 
their  jurisdiction  over  us." 

The  Bill  of  Rights  guaranteed  all  the  great  safeguards  of  individual  personal 
liberty,  freedom  of  conscience,  the  habeas  corpus,  trial  by  jury.  The  duty  of 
encouraging  morality,  religion  and  knowledge  by  the  support  of  schools  was 
recognized.  Good  faith  to  the  Indians  was  to  be  observed,  and  the  Territory 
was  forever  dedicated  to  fi-eedom  by  the  adoption  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787. 
The  Executive  power  was  reposed  in  an  Executive  Committee  of  three,  two  of 
whom  were  a  quorum.  The  law  making  power  was  continued  in  the  Legislative 
Committee  of  nine,  and  a  Judiciary  constituted,  consisting  of  a  Supreme  Court, 
Probate  Court  and  Justices  of  the  Peace. 

With  steamboat  velocity,  a  whole  system  of  laws  were  adopted  in  a  most 
original  manner.  Certain  laws  and  parts  of  laws  of  Iowa,  were  declared  to  be 
the  Statute  law  of  Oregon  by  the  mere  recital  of  the  Act  by  title,  or  the  section 
of  the  act,  giving  the  page  from  whence  quoted.  A  Land  system,  Militia  law 
and  other  necessary  measures  were  duly  adopted.  The  finances  of  the  Govern 
ment  were  provided  by  the  unique  and  very  original  plan  of  private  subscription: 

3 


34  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  hereby  pledge  ourselves,  to  pay  annually  to  the  Treas 
urer  of  Oregon  Territory,  the  sum  affixed  to  our  respective  names,  for  the  pur- 
pose-of  defraying  the  expenses  of  Government;  Provided,  that  in  all  cases  each 
individual  may  at  any  time  withdraw  his  name  from  said  subscription  upon  pay 
ing  up  all  arrearages  and  notifying  the  Treasurer  of  such  desire  to  withdraw." 

Not  only  did  the  Pioneers  deem  the  consent  of  the  governed  an  essential,  but 
each  citizen  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  saying  how  much  he  would  contribute,  how 
much  restraint  he  would  tolerate  by  becoming  a  part  of  the  government.  With 
the  accession  of  population  in  1843,  it  became  apparent  that  the  Organic  Law 
required  amendment.  A  stronger  government  was  needed.  At  the  session  of 
Legislative  Committee,  June,  1844,  several  modifications  were  made,  a  special 
election  to  vote  on  three  amendments  was  ordered,  and  they  were  ratified  by  a 
large  majority,  to  take  effect  after  first  Tuesday  in  June,  1845. 

The  amended  Organic  Law  created  the  office  of  Governor  in  lieu  of  Executive 
Committee,  conferring  upon  the  office  veto  power,  instead  of  submitting  laws  to 
popular  vote.  A  House  of  Representatives  took  the  place  of  the  Legislative 
Committee,  and  the  oath  of  office  before  quoted  was  adopted. 

That  government  in  its  every  official  act  avoided  with  scrupulous  care,  invad 
ing  the  rights,  or  offending  the  prejudices  of  British  subjects.  In  the  language 
of  the  memorial  of  June  28,  1844,  "  by  treaty  stipulations,  this  Territory  has 
become  a  kind  of  neutral  ground  in  the  occupancy  of  which  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States'  and  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  have  equal  rights,  and,  as  your 
memorialists  humbly  conceive,  ought  to  have  equal  protection."  Based  upon 
such  principles,  the  rights  of  all  duly  regarded,  their  prejudices  respected,  that 
government  could  not  be  a  failure.  It  was  a  grand  success. 

In  peace,  it  commanded  the  support  of  all  citizens  without  distinction  of  na 
tionality.  Under  wise  and  judicious  administration,  good  order  and  prosperity 
were  the  fruits.  In  the  din  of  battle  it  also  stood  the  test.  It  declared  and  suc 
cessfully  waged  war  to  redress  the  unprovoked  wrongs  its  citizens  had  suffered; 
from  its  own  resources,  without  extraneous  aid,  it  levied  the  necessary  troops;  in 
the  hour  of  danger,  its  citizens  responded  to  the  call  of  their  constituted  author 
ity.  The  Cayuse  war  of  1847-8  was  probably  the  most  important  historic  feat 
ure  of  the  Pioneer  period.  By  it  was  fully  demonstrated,  not  only  the  inherent 
strength  of  the  Provisional  government,  the  unity  of  feeling  it  had  engendered, 
its  entire  capability  to  meet  the  requirments  of  the  people,  but  the  inciting 
cause  of  that  war  illustrates  the  imminent  danger  which  had  been  the  constant 
surrounding  of  the  American  Pioneers.  The  massacre  at  Waiilatpu  on  the  29th 
November,  1847,  was  cold-blooded  and  perfidious  murder  without  the  slightest 
justifying  cause.  Yet  such  an  act  was  just  as  likely  to  have  occurred  at  any 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  35 

time  previous  and  at  any  other  place,  and  upon  another  pretext,  just  as  trivial. 
It  might  have  happened  at  any  time  where  and  when  the  Indian  realized 
his  advantage,  or  where  the  Americans,  completely  disarmed,  had  become  so 
confiding  as  to  trust  the  Indian  race  or  believe  them  grateful.  I  shall  not  al 
lude  to  the  incidents  immediately  preceding  that  dreadful  massacre.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  the  peculiar  condition  of  the  country  is  to  me  a  sufficient  explana 
tion  why  it  may  have  occurred  without  seeking  any  other  directly  inciting 
cause.  We  should  be  thankful  to  our  Heavenly  Father  that  our  Pioneers  had 
so  long  escaped  similar  adversities.  To  depict  the  internal  condition  of  the 
country  at  that  time  and  exhibit  the  relations  each  to  the  others  of  such  diverse 
elements  of  population,  I  have  upon  previous  occasions  compared  the  country 
itself  to  a  tinder-box, — the  two  white  quasi  hostile  races  may  represent  the  flint 
and  steel,  the  native  race  the  tinder.  As  long  as  no  collision  between  the 
whites  occurred,  the  Indians  might  continue  quiet.  But  any  excitement  indicat 
ing  hostility  between  British  and  Americans,  the  tinder  was  in  danger  of  igni 
tion.  We  can  avoid  the  belief  that  one  of  our  race  counseled  or  encouraged 
the  commission  of  that  awful  crime.  The  Indian  was  ignorant,  jealous  and 
perfidious  to  his  enemies,  real  or  supposed.  The  American  settler  came  to 
Oregon  to  stay  and  appropriate  the  country  to  his  use,  and  this  of  itself  were  all- 
sufficient  to  provoke  Indian  enmity,  It  is  equally  true  that  there  existed  an 
educated  bias  which  had  already  made  the  Indian  the  dependent  of  the  foreign 
element — there  was  also  an  educated  prejudice  which  fostered  hostility  to  the 
American  settler. 

Constituted  as  the  Indian  is,  his  method  of  winning  favorable  regard  by  those 
whose  friendship  he  covets,  is  to  treat  as  enemies  their  enemies.  He  had  readily 
and  too  aptly  learned  that  King  George's,  as  he  called  the  British,  had  no  real 
desire  for  the  presence  of  the  "Boston's"  in  the  country.  For  him,  that  was 
enough.  He  not  only  thought  he  was  doing  service  for  the  King  George's  by 
such  hostility,  but  that  they  would  protect  him.  Such  was  the  race  among 
whom  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman  and  his  heroic  wife  labored,  at  a  station  hundreds 
of  miles  distant  from  the  settlements,  its  inmates  numbering  some  twelve  or 
more,  men,  women  and  children. 

An  Oregon  audience  need  no  assurance  that  Dr.  Whitman  and  his  devoted 
companion,  were  among  the  very  best  of  their  race,  that  their  hospitality  and 
kindness  had  been  of  the  utmost  service  to  the  weary  immigrant  en  route  to  the 
Wallamet.  Pages  could  be  devoted  to  the  praise  of  their  many  good  works. 
They  were  philanthropists,  practical,  devoted  Christians,  who  literally  obeyed 
the  divine  injunction,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature . "  All  wearing  the  image  of  their  Maker,  shared  their  sympathies.  They 


36  THE    ANNUAL     ADDRESS. 

labored  with  a  devotion  unceasing  and  a  zeal  most  disinterested  to  christianize 
the  Indian,  to  confer  upon  him  the  habits  of  civilization.  He  was  equally  the 
dispenser  of  charity  and  benefits  to  his  own  race.  The  Indian  never  had  a  more 
sincere  and  earnest  friend  since  good  William  Penn  founded  my  native  city  and 
gave  the  world  that  glorious  illustration  of  "  unbroken  faith  by  deeds  of  peace." 
The  martyr  Whitman  acted  with  equal  good  faith  to  the  perfidious  Cayuses. 
Years  before  they  had  abandoned  the  comforts  of  home,  the  pleasures  of  society 
and  accepted  the  solitude  of  early  Oregon  life  and  braved  its  dangers  that  they 
might  spread  gospel  tidings  to  a  benighted  race.  There  at  the  Mission  had  been 
aggregated  all  those  appliances  of  civilization,  church,  school  house,  work  shop, 
&c.,  by  which  the  Indians  were  made  the  recipients  of  the  advantages  of  civili 
zed  life.  All  these  were  lain  waste,  and  those  eminent  benefactors  of  the  Indian, 
together  with  every  American  inmate  of  the  mission,  were  brutally  sacrificed. 
The  Cayuse  war  was  the  necessary  sequel.  The  government  of  our  Pioneers, 
without  aid  from  the  United  States,  sent  a  force  against  the  enemy — quickly  and 
efficiently  they  avenged  the  murder  of  those  who  lost  their  lives,  because  they 
were  American  settlers  in  Oregon.  The  ring-leaders  who  survived  the  battles 
were  captured,  brought  to  the  settlements,  tried,  convicted  and  executed. 

I  would  dispel  the  gloom  of  that  last  drama  in  our  Pioneer  history,  by  recall 
ing  some  darling  names  of  the  Oregonians  of  other  days,  that  you  might  to-day 
award  the  merited  honors.  But  I  am  admonished  that  I  am  trespassing  upon 
your  kind  attention,  and  besides,  it  is  unnecessary.  Such  is  one  of  the  duties  of 
your  Association.  Its  object,  to  embalm  those  names,  to  preserve  that  record, 
cannot  be  too  highly  commended. 

As  time  becomes  buried  in  the  infinite  past,  and  these  heroic  Pioneers  shall 
have  been  gathered  to  their  final  rest,  the  enconium  so  richly  earned,  but  so 
feebly  accorded  to  them  to-day,  will  not  seem  extravagant.  The  events  com 
memorated,  which  even  now  provoke  in  us  such  enthusiasm  will  then  have  as 
sumed  a  greater  importance.  They  will  grow  in  magnitude  with  the  growth 
and  advancement  of  the  States  into  which  their  Oregon  will  have  expanded. 

Our  Pioneers — Apostles  of  human  liberty,  avant-couriers  bearing  aloft  the 
star  of  empire  and  civilization  in  the  westward  march  of  our  country  to  be 
hemmed  in  by  old  ocean.  Forerunners  of  the  telegraph  and  railroad  whose 
worked  necessarily  invoked  the  utilization  of  a  broad  continent,  openers  of  com 
munication,  binding  together  two  great  oceans.  Pioneers  of  the  track  over 
which  you  have  caused  to  be  borne  the  best  fruits  of  American  civilization, 
strewing  the  road  with  the  homes  of  men,  in  a  tier  of  States  spanning  the  con 
tinent.  You,  who  transplanted  the  tree  of  American  liberty  to  these  fertile 
western  shores,  where  it  has  taken  new  root  and  spread  with  unparalleled  vigor. 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  37 

Other  peoples  will  yet  acknowledge  you  as  leaders  in  the  great  march  of  hu 
man  progress.  We  are  content  that  many  of  you  are  here  with  us  to-day,  afford 
ing  us  the  opportunity  to  render  to  you  our  tribute  of  fraternal  and  filial  gratitude. 

We,  the  old  settlers,  your  immediate  followers  who  profiting  by  your  labor  in 
paving  the  way  found  an  easy  approach  to  our  new  homes,  ready  for  our  en 
joyment,  thank  you  for  your  inestimable  service.  We,  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  those  Pioneer  native  Oregonians,  give  glory  to  God,  that  you  formed  and 
labored  so  successfully  to  secure  for  us  so  good  a  heritage.  We  who  succeeded 
you,  coming  here  to  realize  everything  essential  to  human  comfort,  appreciate 
most  deeply  the  toils  and  sacrifices  you  underwent,  accept  the  fruits  of  those 
hardships  with  undying  gratefulness,  to  those  of  you  who  yet  are  in  the  land 
your  labors  have  blest  so  much,  and  to  us  sad  but  pleasant  is  the  duty  to  shed 
tears  of  affectionate  remembrance  on  the  tombs  of  those  who  are  your  pioneers 
to  that  bourne  whither  we  are  all  hastening.  I  know  I  speak  the  unmistakable 
voice  of  this  multitude,  when  I  say,  it  is  a  source  of  unalloyed  delight  and  grat- 
ulation,  that  many  of  you  have  been  spared  to  witness  the  grand  results  of  your 
labors,  that  you  have  been  permitted  to  enjoy  and  share  in  those  blessings  your 
self  sacrifice  insured  to  us,  your  successors  and  your  posterity.  Would  that  our 
Oregon  farms  and  homes  had  then  been  here  to  have  sheltered  you  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  season,  that  you  might  also  have  been  exempt  from  the  humili 
ation  of  dependence  upon  those  who  were  inimical  to  your  presence  and  purpose, 
to  which  you  had  been  compelled  by  the  neglect  of  the  government  of  your 
country.  In  this  our  day  of  glorious  prosperity,  we  come  to  perpetuate  the  re 
membrance  of  your  trials, — and  here  in  this  lovely  valley  where  Oregon  began 
to  be  Americanised,  and  from  whence  is  destined  to  spring  glorious  future  com 
monwealths,  we  come  to  commend  to  the  people,  and  to  future  posterity,  your 
brilliant  example,  and  to  profit  by  the  lesson,  that  virtue,  patience,  fortitude 
and  devotion  to  country  and  to  race,  are  the  sure  precursors  to  human  grandeur 
and  success. 


THE  OREGON  PIONEER. 


AN   IDYL— BY   FRANK   HENRY,    ESQ, 


I. 

Lol  'tis  November  now  in  Oregon; 

The  wat'ry  wind  springs  from  the  south  again; 
The  serried  clouds  come  marching  darkly  on, 

Investing  mountain  range  and  spreading  plain; 
And  gently,  softly,  ceaseless  falls  the  rain. 

For  six  months  more  the  heavens  are  upset, 
And  all  the  throughout  the  evergreen  domain 

The  earth,  the' air,  are  soaking,  dripping  wet, 
From  stern  Alaska's  rocks  to  fertile  Willamette. 

n. 

The  man  of  recent  date  from  Eastern  clime. 

Who  is  so  wed  to  mammon's  sordid  ways, 
That  he  doth  value  money  more  than  time, 

And  fain  would  drudge  for  lucre  all  his  days, 
Sees  little  in  the  country  now  to  praise. 

His  loud  complaint,  his  weak  unmanly  sigh, 
A  mind  at  war  with  Providence  betrays, 

And  e'en  at  times,  with  rash  profanity, 
He  may  be  heard  to  greet  these  blessings  from  the  skies. 

in. 

But  oh!  how  different  these  days  appear 

Unto  that  benefactor  of  his  kind, — 
The  patriarch  and  early  Pioneer, 

Who,  looking  up  with  contemplative  mind, 
"  Sees  God  in  clouds  and  hears  him  in  the  wind." 

No  vain  regret  he  on  the  past  bestows, 
But  to  the  ways  of  Providence  resigned, 

Brings-  all  his  labors  to  a  speedy  close, 
And  gives  himself  to  sweet  reflection  and  repose. 


THE   OREGON    PIONEER.  39 

IV. 

Now  housed  beneath  the  cover  of  his  roof 

Split  from  a  cedar  thirty  years  ago, 
And  still  so  sound  'tis  almost  water  proof, 

He  piles  the  hearth  until  the  rafters  glow. 
The  rain  may  fall,  the  fretful  wind  may  blow, 

'Till  yielding  to  the  wat'ry  element, 
The  melting  hills  into  the  valleys  flow; 

Unheeding  wind  or  rain  he  sits  content, 
Where  he  has  seen  the  storms  of  thrice  ten  winters  spent. 


His  faithful  spouse  and  numerous  progeny 

Are  gathered  with  him  in  his  winter's  nest.    . 
(From  James  K.  Polk — their  first,  full  six  feet  high, 

The  line,  by  twelve  descending  steps  depressed, 
Ends  with  Jo.  Lane — an  infant  at  the  breast.) 

His  spurs  and  leggings  from  their  peg  depend. 
"Sweet  Milk  and  Peaches"  sleeps  upon  her  rest — 

By  that  pet  name  he  fondly  calls  the  friend, 
Faithful,  in  times  gone  by,  to  feed  him  or  defend. 


But  now  no  more  in  her  he  puts  his  trust ; 

That  well-tried  piece  has  seen  her  useful  day. 
The  hostile  race  has  vanished  into  dust ; 

The  deer  and  elk,  like  it,  have  passed  away ; 
And  through  their  haunts  his  flocks  unnumbered  stray. 

No  foe  to  fear,  no  farther  use  for  game, 
Consigned  to  eating  rust  and  slow  decay, 
"  Sweet  Milk  and  Peaches," — such  is  earthly  fame — 
Sheds  glory  o'er  the  past,  but  on  the  present  shame. 

VII. 

His  hopeful  flock  all  gathered  round,  the  sage 
Now  opening  up  the  retrospective  view, 

Instructs  them  in  the  hist'ry  of  that  age 
When  he  was  young  and  Oregon  was  new. 

His  mem'ry  freshening  as  his  words  pursue, 


40  THE     OREGON     PIONEER. 

The  theme's  as  coming  as  the  winter's  rain; 
And  if  the  stories  that  he  tells  be  true, 

That  gun — reeking  with  hecatombs  of  slain — 
An  equal  never  had,  nor  such  will  be  again. 

VIII. 

Nor  since  the  tribal  heads  of  all  the  Jews 

Went  first  through  Canaan's  dubious  land,  to  see 
What  it  was,  whether  fat  or  lean,  and  whose, 

Were  ever  founders  of  a  colony 
Tried  like  those  pioneers  of  "forty-three," 

Who,  moved  by  that  fierce  spirit  of  unrest 
Which  scorns  to  dwell  in  dull  security, 

Turned  from  a  land  with  smiling  plenty  blest, 
To  face  the  unknown  dangers  of  the  howling  West. 


Full  long  he  dwells  upon  that  pilgrimage 

Through  deserts  scarcely  known  to  man  before  ; 
Tells  how  they  marched  o'er  wastes  of  sand  and  sage, 

With  cracking  lips,  and  blistered  feet  and  sore  ; 
And  of  the  thirst  and  hunger  which  they  bore ; 

Nor  doth  suppress  nor  gloss  those  numberless 
Heart-burning  jealousies,  which  ate  the  core 

From  out  the  romance  of  the  wilderness; 
Where  souls  of  men  were  tried  like  vintage  by  the  press. 

x. 

Nor  found  he  at  his  tedious  journey's  end 

Rest  from  his  toils,  or  surcease  of  his  woes. 
No  brother  met  to  welcome  and  befriend ; 

No  latch-string  hung  inviting  to  repose. 
On  every  side  primeval  nature  rose 

As  it  was  formed.     And  he  like  Adam  stood  — 
That  time  he  saw  the  gates  of  Eden  close— 

The  monarch  of  a  bristling  solitude, 
As  poor  in  worldly  goods,  and  very  near  as  nude. 


THE    OREGON     PIONEER.  41 


The  list'ning  flock  with  growing  wonder  hear 

How  the  great  founders  of  their  "institutes" 
Made  clothing  from  the  skins  of  elk  and  deer, 

And  lived  upon  jerked  game  and  camas  roots, 
"Which"  said  the  sage,  "were  first-rate  substitutes 

For  farmers'  truck,  and  all  that  commerce  brings." 
"Drat  them!"  the  wife  exclaims,  "  the  skins  of  brutes 
Wer'nt  made  for  human  wear;  they  are  seek  things 
To  bind  when  dry;  and  when  they're  wet  they're  stretchy  strings." 

XII. 

With  all  due  court'sy  to  his  honored  wife, 

The  patriarch  no  word  of  her's  gainsays, 
But  still  exalts  that  rugged  frontier  life 

Above  the  customs  of  these  later  days. 
Though  rough  they  fared  and  straightened  were  their  ways, 

Like  brothers  dwelt  those  hardy  men  of  yore, 
Nor  knew  those  vain  distinctions  pride  will  raise 

Where  commerce  heaps  up  the  superfluous  store, 
'Till  envy  make  what  erst  were  wealth  seem  mean  and  poor. 


Nor  glitt'ing  coin  or  graven  rags  were  there, 

For  men  to  wrangle  o'er  like  dogs  at  meat. 
None  sought  to  grasp  his  weaker  brother's  share, 

Or  sighed  for  wealth  he  could  not  wear  or  eat, 
Then  dues  were  paid  in  honest  pelts  and  wheat. 

Nor  courts  and  jails,  nor  bolts  and  bars  were  seen, 
There  were  no  rogues  to  steal,  and  lie  and  cheat; 

Nor  strifes  arose,  nor  angry  feuds  between 
Those  men  of  old,  to  mar  their  happiness  serene. 

XIV. 

Thus  each  event  is  told  in  order  due, 
The  place,  the  date,  the  actors  all  assigned; 

Who  started  out;  who  made  the  journey  through; 
Who  fell  upon  they  way,  and  who  resigned; 

Who  came  the  foremost  in,  and  who  behind; 


42  THE     OREGON     PIONEER. 

Whose  camp  sent  up  the  first  immortal  smoke; 
Who  the  first  dwelling  built, — its  size  and  kind; 

Whose  axe  delivered  the  assaulting  stroke; 
Whose  pond'rous  wooden  plow  the  inverting  furrow  broke. 

xv. 

Oft  does  he  pause  to  draw  comparison 

Between  those  days  and  these; — as  often  sighs 
To  mark  how  things  have  changed  in  Oregon; 

How  selfishness  prevails,-»-how  honor  dies. 
Then  forward  looks  and  fondly  prophesies, 

That  her  fair  bosom  shall  in  future  nurse 
A  giant  race  of  men,  and  here  shall  rise 

The  proudest  empire  of  Time's  vanished  course, 
Shaming  these  modern  days  and  worthy  of  their  source. 

XVI. 

But  who  hath  seen  a  present  like  the  past? 

As  when  the  sun  fades  o'er  the  western  line, 
And  shadows  round  us  fall,  we  see  him  last 

Upon  the  far-off  eastward  mountains  shine, 
Unfolding  glories  more  and  more  divine. 

As  evening  shades  invest  the  scene  below; — 
Thus  when  we  touch  life's  noon  and  thence  decline, 

As  one  by  one  its  fond  delusions  go, 
The  past  in  mem'ry  looms  like  mountains  all  aglow. 


What  though  he  dwells  upon  the  year  he  came 

To  Oregon,  and  stickles  for  a  date? 
Time's  so  important  in  the  race  for  fame 

That  those  may  lose  who  are  an  instant  late, 
Whether  they  fight,  seek  office,  or  migrate. 

The  love  of  fame  inspires  all, — as  well 
Whose  hearts  are  set  on  little  things  as  great; 

And  'tis  for  this  men  struggle  to  excell. 
Not  only  by  their  deeds,  but  in  the  tales  they  tell. 


THE    OREGON     PIONEER.  43 

XVIII. 

Wealth  hag  allurements  which  are  manifold, 

And  human  moths  tvill  worship  at  its  blaze  ; 
But  soul-polluting  is  the  love  of  gold, 

And  whom  it  dazzles,  like  the  lamp,  it  slays. 
Man's  noblest  aspiration  is  for  praise, 

It  is  for  this  the  weary  bear  their  loads  ; 
It  is  this  the  fallen  strive  to  rise  ; 

And  mean  his  heart  and  kindred  to  the  clods, 
Who  does  not  thirst  to  drink  this  nectar  of  the  gods. 


And  theirs  the  brows  that  win  immortal  bays. 

Who  go  before  through  life's  dark  wilderness; 
Lop  off  its  thorns,  smooth  down  its  rugged  ways, 

Mark  out  the  paths  which  make  its  hardships  less, 
Or  find  new  fields  for  human  happiness; 

Such  are  the  great  to  whom  the  good  accord 
The  meed  of  fame,  and  e'en  the  wicked  bless; 

And  such  the  captains  chosen  by  the  Lord, 
To  lead  his  hoast  with  axe,  or  spade,  or  pen,  or  sword. 


Adam  and  Eve, — creation's  pioneers, 

And  first  to  walk  o'er  paths  where  since  have  gone 
The  countless  millions  of  Time's  vanished  years, 

But  lived  and  toiled  and  died  as  those  have  done. 
And  even  He,  the  most  illustrious  Son, 

Whose  praises  through  eternity  shall  rise, 
So  humbly  walked  through  life  that  every  one 

May  find  the  path  by  which  He  went, — who  tries, 
And  follow  Him  up  to  the  glories  of  the  skies . 

XXI. 

When  from  Shinar,  six  thousand  years  ago, 

The  march  of  human  progress  was  begun,* 
Japhet  inscribed  his  banner  «'  Westward,  ho!" 

*See  Numbers,  Chap.  XIII. 


44  THE    OREGON     PIONEER. 

And  turned  his  face  towards  the  setting  sun. 
Age  after  Age  still  bore  the  standard  on; 

Nor  deserts  changed  its  course,  nor  plague,  nor  war  ; 
Races  were  vanquished,  and  new  empires  won; 

Still  Westward,  ho!  man's  aspirations  bore, 
And  still  like  fairy  land  the  West  went  on  before. 


Old  Egypt's  darkness  now  that  banner  hides  ; 

Now  with  Phoenician  commerce  forth  it  steers; 
Now  on  the  fiery  wings  of  war  it  rides; 

Now  Greece,— now  Rome  th'  advancing  standard  bears. 
And  now  the  "Scourge  of  God"t  its  pathway  clears; 

Rome  sinks  beneath  the  waves  of  Goth  and  Hun ; 
And  nations  wrecked  along  the  rolling  years, 

Mark  where  for  sixty  centuries  have  run 
The  tidal  waves  of  men  towards  the  setting  sun. 

XXIII. 

'Twas  Westward,  ho!  Columbus  boldy  steered, 

Out  from  the  shadows  of  impending  night; 
And  when  the  new  world  in  the  West  appeared 

Towards  its  shores  Religion  plumed  its  flight, — 
A  cloud  by  day,  at  eve  a  burning  light, 

Which  o'er  the  waves  rejoicing  thousands  led, 
From  rule  of  bigotry  and  tyrant  might; 

And  for  three  hundred  years  whose  suns  have  fled, 
Still  Westward,  ho!  freedom's  triumphant  banner  sped. 

XXIV. 

The  wild  reclaimed  along  its  pathway  bloomed; 

Proud  cities  rose,  and  golden  harvests  gleamed; 
State  after  State,  bright  stars  of  freedom,  loomed 

In  lands  but  yesterday  the  West  had  deemed. 
Though  Nature  for  him  smiled,  and  plenty  teemed, 

Not  these  could  fill  man's  ever  craving  breast. 
Still  Westward,  ho!  of  brighter  lands  he  dreamed, 

» Attilla,  King  of  the  Huns,  was  so  called. 


THE    OREGON     PIONEER.  45 

Until,  in  "  forty-three,"  the  van  possessed 
Themselves  of  Oregon,  and  bottled  up  the  West. 

XXV. 

The  march  is  ended  and  the  banner  furled 

Their  tents  are  pitched  upon  earth's  final  shore, 
Whose  sun  in  glory  walks  the  western  world ; 

Nor  from  it  sinks  until  his  beams  restore 
Morn  to  those  scenes  from  whence  old  Japhet  bore. 

The  mystic  land  of  hope  and  dreams  is  gone. 
The  wistful  eye  turns  to  the  West  no  more  ; 

Its  charm  is  dead, — its  mystery  undone; 
And  there  abideth  "  no  new  thing  under  the  sun." 


THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


BY   HON.    STEPHEN   STAATS. 


FELLOW  PIONEERS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

Another  year  has  passed  since  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  gathered  themselves 
together,  to  have  cheerful  converse  one  with  another,  to  discourse  upon  events 
connected  with  their  early  history,  and  to  renew  an  acquaintanceship  formed 
under  circumstances  peculiar  in  their  nature,  calculated  to  insure  a  friendship 
permanent  in  its  character,  and  abounding  in  incidents  of  so  much  interest  that 
the  bare  contemplation  of  them  forms  a  bond  of  mutual  respect  and  esteem  be 
tween  the  old  Pioneers  that  time  with  all  its  changes  and  vicissitudes  can  never 
obliterate. 

I  am  one  of  those  old  Pioneers,  having  come  to  Oregon  in  1845,  and  I  have 
been  selected  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Pioneer  Association  to  deliver  the 
address  descriptive  of  the  emigration  of  1845,  anc*  this  is  the  occasion  upon 
which  it  is  to  be  delivered;  and  I  would  shrink  from  the  task  assigned  me  did 
I  not  feel  well  assured  that  your  knowledge  of  my  abilities  will  not  warrant 
you  in  anticipating  a  great  display  of  oratory  in  my  effort  upon  this  occasion. 
Born  upon  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  leaving  the  home  of  my  childhood  in  early 
youth,  and  traveling  westward  until  I  reached  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and 
not  having  had  the  advantages  of  education  that  the  youth  of  Oregon  enjoy  to 
day,  it  is  a  source  of  much  embarrassment  to  me  to  prepare  an  address,  which, 
according  to  the  rules  of  the  Association,  must  be  prepared  in  manuscript, 
placed  in  the  printer's  hands,  and  form  part  of  the  record  of  its  transactions, 
and  ever  be  a  memento  of  my  success  or  failure  upon  this  to  be  memorable  oc 
casion.  What  I  present  to  you  to-day  in  relation  to  the  emigration  of  1845  is 
almost  entirely  from  memory,  and  therefore  it  cannot  be  as  correct  and  perfect 
a  narrative  as  one  could  give  had  he  preserved  a  journal  of  minutes,  and  events 
as  they  occurred  at  the  time.  Then  let  me  commence  by  saying  that  all 
through  the  month  of  April  the  hardy  Pioneers,  those  in  search  of  the  promised 
land,  beautiful  Oregon,  were  making  their  way  to  the  rendezvous,  on  the  west 
ern  bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  just  opposite  the  now  populous  city  of  St.  Joseph. 
That  was  to  be  the  starting  point  for  all  Missourians,  they  being  a  large  major- 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  47 

ity  of  the  emigrants  of  that  year.  My  mind  has  often  reverted  to  that  period, 
when  about  three  hundred  persons  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  Missouri,  their 
hearts  beating  joyously  in  anticipation  of  the  bright  and  prosperous  future  be 
fore  them,  should  they  ever  reach  the  Mecca  of  their  hopes,  bright  Oregon,  as 
pictured  to  them  by  friends  who  had  preceded  them  and  declared  they  had 
reached  the  paradise  of  earth.  The  sight  of  that  camp  ground,  with  a  hundred 
blazing  fires,  around  which  might  be  seen  the  fond  mother,  the  true-hearted 
wife  preparing  the  frugal  meal,  the  joyous  little  ones  dancing  with  delight,  and 
the  young  man  and  maiden  billing  and  cooing  like  two  turtle  doves.  It  was  a 
sight  a  king  might  envy.  And  yet,  with  all  their  mirth  and  joyousness,  mo 
ments  would  come  when  buisy  thought  scanned  the  future,  and  led  them  to 
ponder  upon  the  dangers  of  the  wilderness  they  were  about  to  traverse,  and  the 
journey  before  them  were  well  worth  serious  contemplation.  To  travel  two 
thousand  miles  with  all  the  appliances  and  conveniences  of  modern  times  is  but 
a  matter  of  a  few  hours  or  days  at  most;  but  to  pursue  the  same  distance 
through  an  almost  trackless  desert,  with  oxen  and  wagons,  requires  an  un 
daunted  courage  deserving  of  success;  and  fellow  Pioneers,  have  you  met  with 
success  ?  Have  you  been  amply  repaid  for  all  your  toil  and  labor  in  reaching 
this  beautiful  valley?  Would  you  again  undertake  the  journey  to  secure  what 
you  have  secured  towards  the  enjoyment  of  life  ?  Methinks  I  hear  from  every 
old  Pioneer's  heart  the  answer,  I  would.  The  possession  of  health,  of  ease  and 
contentment  in  this  blessed  land  of  ours  is  satisfaction  an  hundred  fold  for  all 
the  dangers  and  toil  of  the  past. 

The  first  day  of  May,  1845,  was  the  appointed  time  when  we  were  to  break 
camp  and  begin  our  perilous  journey.  Every  one  was  active  in  making  prepa 
rations  for  that  eventful  period;  some  were  breaking  oxen,  some  were  making 
yokes,  some  making  tents,  and  some  preparing  for  matrimony,  unconcerned 
about  the  future.  Some  days  before  starting,  preparations  were  made  to  with 
stand  the  assaults  of  the  wiley  savage,  should  such  assaults  be  made.  We 
formed  a  regular  military  company,  elected  Col.  T'Vault  Captain,  John  Way- 
mire,  now  a  resident  of  Dallas,  Lieutenant,  James  Allen,  Seargant,  and  others 
to  fill  the  various  minor  offices;  had  a  time  each  day  to  go  through  all  the  evo 
lutions  and  drill  of  a  military  company,  and  all  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other 
in  the  performance  of  the  duty  assigned  them.  On  the  day  appointed  we  made 
a  start,  Capt.  T'Vault  leading  the  company  with  all  the  majesty  of  a  crowned 
emperor,  seconded  by  his  Lieutenant  John  Waymire,  who  bestrode  his  steed  as 
stately  as  Don  Quixote  in  attacking  the  windmill.  Noble-hearted  old  John! 
Methinks  I  hear  him  to-day,  in  his  old  accustomed  stentorian  tones,  shout 
"close  up,  close  up;  why  the  devil  don't  you  keep  close  together;  the  Indians 
could  kill  all  in  the  forward  wagons  before  you'd  know  it,  and  then  come  back 


48  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

and  scalp  the  last  one  of  you  fellows  here  behind !"  We  traveled  on  for  a  few 
days — (I  will  here  mention  that  our  company  consisted  of  61  wagons  and  about 
three  hundred  souls  all  told.  Capt.  Solomon  Tetherous'  company  consisted  of 
66  wagons  and  about  the  like  number  of  persons.  There  were  also  other  com 
panies,  which  I  may  refer  to  hereafter).  As  I  stated,  we  traveled  on  for  a  few 
days  without  any  incident  worth  mentioning  until  the  night  before  we  reached 
the  Platte  river;  we  had  traveled  all  day  until  late  in  the  evening,  and  then  had 
to  camp  without  water  for  ourselves  or  cattle.  Those  who  had  brought  along 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  hastily  prepared  a  cup  of  tea  before  retiring  for 
the  night,  while  those  who  were  not  so  fortunate  lay  down  to  rest  and  dream  of 
times  to  come  when  they  would  suffer  no  more  the  deprivation  of  that  soothing 
beverage.  Early  in  the  morning  we  started  for  the  river,  and  when  reached, 
great  was  our  rejoicing,  and  many  a  parched  tongue  was  refreshed  in  the 
limpid  stream.  Traveling  along  up  the  Platte,  one  night  there  were  mysterious 
movements  in  and  about  the  camp.  Cupid,  always  on  the  alert  to  pierce  the 
unsuspecting  victim,  had  sped  his  dart  with  such  unerring  certainty  that  the 
pierced  victims  could  find  no  salve  to  their  bleeding  hearts  but  in  the  solemni 
zation  of  the  marriage  ceremony;  so  Capt.  T'Vault  was  engaged  as  "master 
of  ceremonies  "  to  unite  in  holy  wedlock  these  two  pierced  victims,  and  thus 
enable  them  to  rejoice  that  though  Cupid  may  wound  the  heart,  a  marriage  cer 
tificate  can  ease  the  pain. 

We  now  began  to  look  out  for  buffalo,  and  some  herds  had  been  seen  in  the 
distance.  One  morning,  four  others  and  myself  left  the  train  and  started  for 
the  hills  to  see  what  we  could  do  in  the  way  of  getting  buffalo  meat.  After 
about  six  or  eight  miles  travel,  we  came  to  a  narrow  valley,  and  looking  up  it 
we  discovered  something  that  looked  like  what  we  were  in  search  of;  we  made 
chase  and  soon  came  up  to  a  large  buffalo,  roaming  solitary  and  alone  as  "mon 
arch  of  all  he  surveyed."  But  his  monarchy  lasted  for  but  a  brief  period,  as 
he  was  soon  laid  low  with  the  earth,  pierced  with  a  ball  from  the  unerring  aim 
of  Ralph  Wilcox.  Yes,  my  true  hearted  friend,  Ralph  Wilcox,  was  my  travel 
ing  companion  across  the  plains,  and  never  can  I  forget  his  kind  and  genial 
ways— his  generous  disposition,  manifested  on  all  occasions  when  generosity 
was  required  at  his  hands.  But  where  is  Ralph  Wilcox  to-day?  Is  he  in  our 
midst  rejoicing  at  the  renewal  of  acquaintanship  with  his  old  companions  of 
1845?  Alas,  no.  His  earthly  pilgrimage  is  ended;  he  is  gone  to  that  "  bourne 
from  whence  no  traveler  returns,"  and  many  of  us  who  row  survive  him,  will 
be  missing  at  our  next  annual  gathering,  and  it  will  be  the  sad  lot  of  some  other 
pen  to  announce  their  death  and  departure  from  the  fast  thinning  ranks  of  the 
Pioneers  of  1845.  Ralph  and  I  were  born  in  the  same  State,  New  York,  and  in 
adjoining  counties.  We  both  made  our  starting  point  for  Oregon  from  Platte 


THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS.  49 

county,  Missouri,  and  having  been  intimate  friends  for  over  thirty-five  years,  I 
can  truly  say  of  Ralph  Wilcox,  he  was  one  of  the  noblest  works  of  God, — an 
honest  man.  Then  in  memory  of  our  departed  friend,  let  me  present  the  follow 
ing  deserved  tribute  from  the  hands  of  another  Pioneer,  Judge  Deady,  of  Port 
land: 

"  Dr.  Ralph  Wilcox  has  long  been  a  prominent  and  respectable  figure  in  the 
affairs  and  society  of  Oregon.  At  last  he  has  succumbed  to  his  only  enemy  and 
gone  to  the  undiscovered  country  from  whose  '  bourne  no  traveler  returns.'— 
Distinguished  through  life  for  integrity  and  impartiality,  in  the  dread  hour  and 
article  of  death,  he  had  the  courage  to  be  honest  with  himself  and  his  Maker,  as 
he  had  ever  been  with  his  fellow  man.  Years  ago  we  met  him  in  the  halls  of 
the  Territorial  Legislature,  at  Oregon  City;  and  there  laid  the  foundation  of 
that  friendship  and  esteem  which  withstood  the  strain  of  time  and  circumstance 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century." 

"  As  I  once  said  of  him,  <  with  ability  and  popularity,  he  only  lacked  audacity 
or  industry,  or  both,  to  have  been  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  Oregon.  But  if 
he  never  reached  the  topmost  rounds  of  the  ladder  of  fame  and  power,  at  least 
his  three  score  years  on  earth  have  been  marked  by  no  wrong  or  injustice  to 
others.  Kind,  genial  and  unselfish  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  he 
leaves  behind  him  neither  hatred  nor  bitterness,  but  only  pitying  and  mourning 
friends.  In  his  death,  I  feel  that  one  of  the  ties  that  bind  me  to  earth  has  given 
way,  and  that  I  am  so  much  the  more  willing  to  obey  the  ever  nearing  sum 
mons  to  depart  and  be  at  rest  forever." 

Fellow  Pioneers,  let  us  drop  a  tear  to  his  memory,  and  ever  strive  to  emulate 
his  virtues. 

But  again  to  my  narrative;  we  continued  our  journey  up  Platte  until  we  reached 
Fort  Laramie  without  any  remarkable  event  occurring;  but  at  the  Fort  a  cir 
cumstance  occurred  which  would  startle  the  belles  of  Salem,  and  cause  their 
cheeks  to  pale  with  horror.  An  emigrant  by  the  name  of  Bailey  had  a  beauti 
ful  daughter,  whom  a  Sioux  brave  most  ardently  desired  to  adorn  his  wigwam 
and  bead  his  moccasins;  about  noon  one  day,  this  daughter  went  pail  in  hand  to 
the  river  for  water,  the  dusky  brave  at  the  same  time  was  laying  in  ambush  to 
capture  this  piece  of  feminine  beauty,  and  when  he  made  a  spring  to  clutch  the 
prize,  she  was  like  the  Irishman's  flea,  she  "wasn't  there,"  but  was  outstripping 
the  wind  in  the  direction  of  camp,  and  distanced  the  wiley  savage  so  much  that 
he  became  more  enamoured  of  her  than  ever,  and  he  had  to  be  shown  some 
trusty  rifles  before  he  would  desist  from  his  ardent  courtship.  The  course  of 
true  love  not  running  very  smooth  with  this  noble  brave  in  that  case,  he  entered 
into  negotiations  with  one  of  our  female  emigrants  for  the  purchase  of  her 
4 


50  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

daughter,  and  the  handsome  price  of  twenty  horses  being  offered  for  her,  I  be 
came  extremely  fearful,  lest  the  mother  would  accept  the  offered  price,  and  thus 
deprive  me  of  a  much  coveted  prize.  Now  if  that  bargain  had  been  consummated 
it  is  a  very  doubtful  question  whether  he,  who  now  addresses  you,  would  have 
been  present  on  this  happy  occasion,  but  the  bargain  was  not  made,  I  am  here 
to-day,  and  you  can  guess  whether  or  not  I  came  off  victorious:  whether  or  no 
I  secured  the  much  coveted  prize. 

After  leaving  Fort  Laramie,  we  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  our  way  without 
any  extraordinaiy  events  happenning.  Before  reached  Fort  Boise,  some  of  the 
company  had  exhausted  their  supply  of  flour,  and  they  had  to  depend  upon 
what  short  allowances  they  might  receive  from  their  fellow  travelers,  and  what 
scanty  food  they  could  procure  from  straggling  bands  of  Indians  they  met  with. 
Some  of  the  families  subsisted  for  weeks  on  dried  salmon  procured  from  the  In 
dians,  so  much  so,  that  they  cannot  even  bear  the  sight  of  one  of  those  scajy 
denizens  of  the  deep  even  to  this  day. 

When  nearing  Fort  Boise,  much  discussion  was  had  relative  to  the  route  to 
be  followed  after  leaving  that  point.  Stephen  Meek  had  met  the  emigrants  and 
proposed  to  pilot  them  over  a  new  route  by  which  to  bring  them  into  the  valley, 
asserting  that  it  was  much  shorter  and  better  than  the  route  to  The  Dalles.  I 
recollect  one  old  gentleman,  John  M.  Forrest  by  name,  who  when  the  subject 
was  warmly  discussed,  declared  he  would  follow  the  old  route,  even  if  he  had 
to  travel  alone — says  he,  "  when  I  left  the  States,  after  reading  the  letters  of  Bur 
nett  and  others  from  Oregon,  I  determined  I  would  not  be  led  off  on  any  new 
route  claimed  to  have  been  discovered  by  any  adventurer,  but  would  travel 
where  others  had  traveled,  and  thus  be  sure  of  arriving  at  the  desired  point  to 
which  we  are  all  looking."  But  now  the  time  had  come  for  action.  One  morn 
ing,  after  a  night  spent  in  spirited  discussion,  Mr.  Forrest  broke  camp  and  started 
on  the  old  trail,  others  with  much  warmth  attempted  to  restrain  him,  but  he 
persisted  and  about  twenty-five  other  wagons  followed  his;  others  under  the 
leadership  of  Meek,  struck  off  on  the  route  declared  by  him  the  best  and  short 
est;  but  well  would  it  have  been  for  all  those  so  doing,  had  they  persevered  in 
following  the  old  route,  for  experience  proved  to  them,  that  had  they  so  done, 
much  suffering,  in  almost  every  conceivable  form  would  have  been  avoided,  and 
that  they  would  have  arrived  at  their  destination  much  sooner  and  their  condi 
tion  more  hopeful  as  to  future  resources  to  provide  for  their  wants  during  the 
approaching  winter. 

It  was  but  a  few  days  after  Meek  left  Fort  Boise,  that  he  became  hopelessly 
lost,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  good  judgment  and  determined  energy  of  some 
of  the  emigrants,  and  their  hiring  an  Indian  to  pilot  them  through  to  The  Dalles, 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  5  I 

many  would  have  perished  and  suffered  a  most  torturing  death,  that  now  survive 
and  to-day  can  recount  the  many  sad  incidents  and  afflictive  events  of  their 
wearisome  travel  to  that  point.  It  has  been  positively  asserted  that  while  Meek 
was  thus  lost,  that  he  suffered  to  such  an  extent  for  the  want  of  water  to  satisfy 
his  thirst,  that  he  opened  a  vein  in  the  neck  of  his  mule,  and  thus  in  all  proba 
bility  secured  his  own  life  by  quaffing  the  life's  blood  of  that  most  noble  and 
docile  quadruped.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  whether  true  or  not,  there  were  mo 
ments,  when  the  sufferings  of  husband,  wife  and  children,  became  so  unbeara 
ble,  and  so  intensly  torturing  to  the  mental  vision  of  those  having  others  de 
pending  upon  them  for  support  and  protection,  that  had  he  who  counseled  them 
to  take  an  unknown  and  trackless  route  when  almost  out  of  provisions,  and  en 
ergies  already  nearly  exhausted,  made  his  appearance  among  them,  he  might 
have  been  made  a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  angry  passions 'with  which  they  were 
inflamed. 

Those  who  took  the  old  route,  arrived  at  The  Dalles  in  good  season  without 
incurring  any  other  trials  than  would  naturally  result  from  their  mode  of  travel. 
To  the  best  of  my  recollection,  Capt.  Barlow's  company  was  the  first  to  arrive 
at  The  Dalles,  others  following  in  quick  succession.  Here  was  a  stopping  place 
for  the  rolling  of  the  wagon  wheel,  and  it  became  necessary  to  provide  some 
mode  of  conveyance  by  which  the  families  and  wagons  could  be  transported  to 
the  long  looked  for  end  of  their  travels.  Barlow  with  great  energy  and  un 
daunted  courage  urged  the  idea  of  crossing  the  Cascades  with  our  wagons  by 
cutting  our  way  through,  but  those  living  at  The  Dalles  and  having  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  difficulties,  and  making  them  known  to  the  emigrants,  they 
discarded  the  idea  and  proceeded  to  make  rafts  to  convey  their  familes  and 
wagons  down  the  river  to  Vancouver,  whilst  others  prepared  to  drive  stock  over 
the  mountains  by  an  old  Indian  trail  to  the  Willamette  valley.  I  was  with 
those  driving  the  stock,  and  a  trying  time  we  had  of  it.  I  recollect  one  instance 
in  particular:  We  had  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle,  and  in  cross 
ing  one  of  the  main  spurs  of  the  mountain  leading  from  Mt.  Hood's  snowy  peak, 
there  came  on  a  heavy  snow  storm,  with  a  wind  blinding  to  the  sight;  so  much 
so,  that  we  lost  all  trail  of  the  cattle,  and  struck  for  a  camping  place,  regard 
less  of  distance  or  direction,  and  fortunately  we  had  to  travel  but  a  short  distance 
till  we  found  one,  with  a  fine  supply  of  grass  for  our  almost  famished  horses, 
and  a  plentiful  supply  of  material  with  which  to  make  a  fire,  and  restore  a  de 
gree  of  warmth  to  our  chilled  bodies. 

There  was  one,  and  only  one  female  with  us  at  the  time,  and  she  suffered  in 
tensely  from  the  cold;  she  was  illy  prepared  to  withstand  the  chilling  storm, 
being  scantily  clothed;  but  her  husband,  true  to  the  instincts  of  a  noble  man- 


52  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

hood,  divested  himself  of  his  own  well  worn  blanket,  and  helped  to  shield  her 
shivering  frame  from  the  inclement  storm.  Tears  were  shed  that  day  by  men 
unused  to  weeping,  at  witnessing  the  sufferings  of  that  lone  female  without  the 
power  for  the  time  being  to  give  relief.  That  lady  was  Mrs.  Waldrom,  daughter 
of  Mr.  Lemmons,  long  a  resident  of  Marion  county,  but  now  deceased.  I  said 
we  lost  all  our  cattle  on  that  day,  but  there  was  one  exception;  "old  Uncle  Davy 
Carson"  an  old  mountaineer  and  a  fellow  traveler  with  us  from  Missouri,  with 
more  than  ordinary  courage  and  endurance,  had  a  favorite  cow  which  he  singled 
out  and  determined  to  drive  with  him  to  camp  wherever  that  might  be,  and  he 
succeeded,  and  long  after  his  arrival  in  Oregon,  enjoyed  the  benefits  to  be  de 
rived  from  such  a  precious  milker.  Now  as  to  the  other  lost  cattle,  early  in  the 
morning  after  the  storm,  Uncle  Davy  Carson,  with  a  few  trusty  and  dauntless 
spirits  took  the  back  trail  in  search  of  them,  and  after  a  toilsome  and  tedious 
ascent,  found  them  huddled  together,  high  up  between  two  ridges  running  down 
from  old  Mt.  Hood,  with  his  covering  of  perpetual  snow;  and  so  completely 
bewildered,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  start  them  from  their  sheltered 
nook;  but  Uncle  Davy  with  true  grit  and  unabated  energy  determined  that  to 
camp  they  must  go;  and  go  they  did,  but  not  until  Uncle  Davy  became  so  wear 
ied  with  excessive  exertion  that  he  must  resort  to  some  means  to  refresh  himself, 
so  after  casting  about  for  a  time,  a  bright  idea  struck  him,  (though  he  was  al 
ways  in  the  habit  of  being  similarly  stricken),  espied  a  bell  suspended  from  the 
neck  of  a  poverty  stricken  cow,  and  immediately  made  for  it;  it  was  soon  strip 
ped  from  the  cow  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  lacteal  fluid  from  the  gentle  beast 
had  filled  it  to  the  brim,  and  soon  Uncle  Davy  was  himself  again.  The  refresh 
ing  beverage  restored  him  to  new  life  and  animation,  and  he  shortly  came  shout 
ing  into  camp  with  not  a  hoof  missing. 

But  Uncle  Davy  is  gone,  peace  to  his  ashes;  a  kind  thought  to  his  memory, 
and  may  some  abler  pen  than  mine,  at  some  future  time  recount  the  nobleness 
of  his  actions  in  all  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  man. 

We  reached  Oregon  City  in  thirteen  days  from  The  Dalles,  (two  of  which  we 
were  without  food),  and  on  our  arrival,  those  of  us  in  advance  were  kindly  and 
hospitably  received  by  old  Dr.  McLaughlin.  He  immediately  furnished  us  with 
provisions  without  money  and  without  price,  and  extended  to  us  favors  which 
we  were  ever  ready  to  reciprocate.  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  wish  to  cast  re 
flections  on  the  character  of  Dr.  McLaughlin  or  wish  to  impute  to  him  anything 
wanting  in  the  kindest  feelings  towards  the  emigrants  of  1845.  For  well  do  I 
know,  that  but  for  him,  many  would  have  been  more  embarassed  in  making 
provision  for  the  coming  winter's  necessities  than  they  were,  and  I  have  yet  to 
seethe  emigrant  of  1845,  who  when  speaking  of  the  "  old  man  Doctor,"  does  not 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  53 

speak  in  high  commendation  of  his  actions  towards  the  emigrants  of   that  year. 

The  companies  that  followed  the  "  Meek  cut-off,"  were  much  longer  in  reach 
ing  The  Dalles,  and  the  emigrants  endured  all  the  suffering  both  mentally  and 
physically,  that  human  nature  was  capable  of  enduring.  And  had  it  not  been 
for  a  few  courageous  spirits,  they  would  have  been  hopelessly  lost,  and  suffered 
an  excruciating  torture  and  death,  where  no  human  aid  could  have  brought 
them  relief,  and  where  hearts  recently  beating  with  high  hopes  of  future  hap 
piness  and  prosperity,  sank  down  almost  to  despair  and  breathing  condemnation 
upon  the  author  of  all  their  calamities.  But  thank  God,  most  of  them  arrived  in 
safety,  and  some  of  them  are  here  to-day,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  their 
countenances  beaming  with  smiles  of  pleasure  and  ever  ready  to  recount  to  sur 
rounding  friends  the  recollections  of  that  eventuful  period  to  which  their  minds 
now  revert,  with  malice  toward  none,  and  with  thankfulness  for  deliverance  from 
the  perils  in  which  they  were  involved. 

I  now  wish  to  revert  to  an  individual  (formerly  a  citizen  of  Salem,  now  de 
ceased),  of  whom  no  person  has  referred  to  in  their  addresses  before  this  Pioneer 
Association.  I  refer  to  Captain  Charles  Bennett,  an  emigrant  of  1844;  I  first  be 
came  acquainted  with  him  in  1835,  forty-two  years  ago.  He  was  then  a  subor 
dinate  officer  of  Company  "A."  U.  S.  Dragoons,  stationed  at  Fort  Levenworth. 
In  the  spring  of  1847,  I  made  a  trip  to  California;  Bennett  was  with  us  and  as 
sisted  in  camp  duties;  he  was  a  very  active  and  energetic  man,  always  on  the 
lookout  for  something  ahead;  upon  our  arrival  in  California,  after  a  short  time 
he  left  us  for  Sutter's  Fort.  After  being  there  a  short  period,  he  and  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Marshal,  (he  of  gold  mine  fame)  entered  into  a  contract  with  Sutter 
to  erect  a  saw  mill,  and  while  engaged  in  its  erection,  the  first  discovery  of  gold 
was  made.  Now  Marshal  has  always  been  credited  with  being  the  first  dis 
coverer,  but  had  it  not  been  for  Bennett,  in  all  probability  that  auriferous  re 
gion  would  never  have  yielded  up  its  golden  revenues  to  the  enterprising  Yan 
kees.  Bennett's  searching  eye  was  the  first  to  behold  the  sparkling  "dust" 
glistening  in  the  mother  earth,  where  it  had  been  embedded  for  centuries.  He 
it  was  who  first  exibited  the  first  ounce  of  gold  dust  to  the  wondering  gaze  of  the 
Californians.  Well  do  I  remember,  when  with  sparkling  eyes  and  enthusiastic 
hopes  he  brought  that  first  specimen  of  gold,  and  recounted  to  us  the  manner 
of  its  discovery,  and  the  extent  of  its  deposits,  saying  at  the  same  time,  "if  it 
really  is  gold,  we  can  get  all  we  want  and  become  as  rich  as  Croesus."  I  claim 
for  Bennett  the  credit  of  being  the  first  discoverer  of  gold  in  California.  He 
made  our  house  his  home  when  not  employed,  and  I  received  from  his  own  lips 
an  account  of  the  manner  of  its  discovery  in  1848.  But  Bennett  is  now  gone; 
he  met  his  death  with  that  true  bravery  for  which  he  was  noted,  while  fighting 
to  protect  the  settlers  on  our  frontiers. 


54  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

But  again,  the  emigration  of  the  year  1845  consisted  of  between  five  and  six 
hundred  wagons,  and  about  twenty-five  hundred  souls.  Some  were  well  pro 
vided  with  the  requisites  for  a  successful  trip,  and  suffered  but  little  serious  in 
conveniences,  whilst  others  illy  prepared  for  such  a  journey,  had  many  appre 
hensions  concerning  their  safe  arrival  at  their  journey's  end.  We  were  from  five 
to  six  months  making  the  trip  from  the  Missouri  river  to  The  Dalles,  and  if  any 
pen  could  recount  the  incidents  connected  with  that  journey,  it  would  form  a 
volume  of  great  interest,  and  of  many  events  that  would  thrill  the  heart  with 
emotions,  both  of  a  sad  and  a  cheerful  character. 

I  will  here  refer  to  another  individual  connected  with  the  early  history  of 
Oregon,  one  through 'whose  exertions  we  are  indebted  in  a  great  measure,  to  the 
many  benefit|  we  ha've  received,  and  to  the  possession  of  the  broad  and  fertile 
acres  in  this  blessed  land  of  ours.  I  refer  to  the  Hon.  Samuel  R.  Thurston,  now 
deceased,  he  who  was  the  first  elected  Delegate  from  Oregon  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  through  his  energy  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of 
the  people  of  Oregon,  that  the  Donation  Bill  granting  land  to  the  early  settlers 
became  a  law.  He  left  here  in  1849  to  take  his  seat  as  Delegate,  and  no  one  I 
presume  at  this  day  will  fail  to  accord  to  him  an  untiring  energy  to  promote  the 
interests  of  the  settlers  in  this  his  adopted  country.  His  name  should  be  held 
in  grateful  remembrance,  and  more  especially  by  the  women  of  this  beautiful 
valley,  for  by  the  passage  of  the  Donation  Bill,  the  wife  was  secured  in  the 
possession  of  320  acres  of  land,  and  well  worthy  was  she  entitled  to  the  benefits 
of  that  law,  for  she  breasted  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  that  tedious  journey 
across  the  plains,  to  settle  in  a  Territory  where  she  must  necessarily  be  deprived 
of  many  if  not  all  of  the  conveniences  and  luxuries  of  life,  and  at  the  same  time 
too,  when  uncertainties  stared  her  in  the  face  from  every  point  to  which  she 
turned  her  eyes,  or  fixed  her  attention  upon. 

I  was  but  a  youth  when  I  crossed  the  plains  in  1845,  ar|d  therefore  was  free 
from  the  great  responsibilities  resting  upon  the  shoulders  of  those  of  maturer 
years  and  having  wives  and  children  dependant  upon  them  for  support  and  pro 
tection;  but  now,  having  assumed  the  same  responsibilities,  having  my  thoughts, 
my  energies,  my  attention,  all  directed  towards  contributing  to  the  domestic 
happiness  of  those  composing  the  family  circle,  I  have  often  been  led  to  conject 
ure,  what  must  have  been  the  emotions  swelling  the  breast  of  the  true  hearted 
man,  when  leaving  the  abodes  of  civilization  in  search  of  a  new  home  he  cast 
his  eyes  about  him,  and  reflected  for  a  moment  upon  the  toil  and  dangers  to 
which  he  was  about  to  expose  those  dearest  to  him  upon  earth;  what  must  have 
been  the  feelings  of  the  fond  hearted  mother,  when  gazing  upon  her  loved  off 
spring,  she  contemplated  for  a  moment  the  dread  consequences  that  might  ensue, 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  55 

before  she  should  find  a  place  she  could  again  call  "  Home."  Yet,  with  all  her 
anxiety  of  mind,  with  all  her  fearful  apprehensions,  she  exhibited  a  courageous 
disposition  well  calculated  to  nerve  the  manly  heart  and  cause  it  to  thrill  with 
a  grateful  remembrance  for  her  noble  devotion  to  him  who  risked  all  for  the 
future  prosperity  of  all  concerned,  for  those  composing  the  entire  family  circle. 
But  at  that  time,  I  was  a  little  more  conversant  with  the  thoughts  of  those  of 
my  own  age,  free  from  care,  with  no  apprehensions  for  the  future,  our  only  ob 
ject  was  present  pleasure,  and  I  can  truly  say,  the  youth  of  that  emigration  had 
many  periods  of  enjoyment  while  crossing  the  plains.  I  see  around  me  to-day, 
some  faces,  then  rosy  with  youth,  that  participated  in  making  joyous  the  dreary 
desert  by  the  ringing  laughter  of  some  beautious  maiden  at  the  mishaps  of  some 
luckless  wight  during  the  day's  travel.  I  see  before  me  him  who,  violin  in  hand, 
discoursed  most  beautiful  music,  whilst  others  danced  by  the  light  of  the  moon 
till  the  old  violin  squeaked  the  hour  for  rest.  There  is  to  be  a  dance  here  to 
night,  and  I  hope  my  friend  Simeon  Smith  will  bring  out  that  old  violin  and 
give  us  that  good  old  tune,  "  Pretty  Betty  Martin,"  which  he  played  all  the  way 
across  the  plains,  and  then  perhaps  even  I  might  be  tempted  to  trip  the  light 
fantastic  toe  with  some  of  those  who  thirty  odd  years  ago  danced  upon  the  vel 
vety  plains  of  Platte,  and  the  sandy  valleys  of  the  Columbia,  and  who  are  pres 
ent  with  us  to-day,  and  perhaps  are  thinking  now  of  that  old  violin. 

I  must  not  forget  to  mention  my  friend  General  Joel  Palmer,  who  was  first 
chosen  to  deliver  the  Occasional  Address  at  this  time,  but  owing  to  impaired 
health,  he  was  compelled  to  decline  the  invitation  tendered  him  by  the  Directors 
of  the  Pioneers'  Society,  and  you  have  missed  a  great  intellectual  treat  by  his 
non  appearance  before  you  to-day.  He  was  an  emigrant  of  1845.  and  being  a 
man  of  varied  experience,  and  of  an  observant  character,  I  deeply  regret  that 
circumstances  prevented  him  from  presenting  to  us  to-day  such  an  array  of  facts 
and  incidents  connected  with  the  emigration  of  1845,  which  he  certainly  could 
have  given,  had  time  and  circumstances  been  propitious  for  the  preparation  of 
an  address  bearing  upon  events  connected  with  that  year's  travel.  Palmer  was 
Captain  of  a  company,  that  made  its  starting  point  from  Independence,  Missouri, 
and  was  composed  of  about  forty  wagons.  He  was  also  one  of  those  who  first 
made  the  attempt  to  cut  his  way  through  the  Cascade  mountains  to  the  Wil 
lamette  valley.  Just  before  reaching  The  Dalles,  he  with  a  few  others  of  his 
company,  went  in  advance  of  the  wagons  to  spy  out  the  land,  and  view  out  a 
shorter  route  to  reach  the  trail  where  it  entered  the  mountains.  They  were  suc 
cessful  ;  they  then  returned  to  their  teams,  drove  forward  in  the  direction  they 
had  viewed  out  and  camped  on  a  creek  bottom,  the  waters  of  which  flowed  from 
Mount  Hood's  snowy  peak,  and  where  they  found  grass  for  their  horses  and 


56  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

cattle,  and  then  went  to  work  to  cut  a  road  across  a  mountain  that  never  had 
had  the  imprint  of  wagon  wheel  since  the  first  dawn  of  creation.  Others  of  the 
company  took  the  road  by  the  way  of  The  Dalles,  and  those  dauntless  spirits 
hewing  their  way  through  a  heavily  timbered  mountain,  sent  word  by  them  to 
the  settlers  in  the  valley  concerning  the  work  they  were  engaged  in,  and  that 
they  desired  assistance,  both  in  the  way  of  provisions  and  labor.  They  prose 
cuted  their  labors  in  cutting  their  way  through  until  it  became  too  late  in  the 
season  to  accomplish  their  object,  and  so  had  to  abandon  the  work  and  return  to 
the  camp  previously  made,  where  they  proceeded  to  build  a  cabin  for  the  pres 
ervation  of  their  wagons  and  baggage  through  the  winter,  and  until  they  could 
return  for  the  same  next  season.  Three  young  men,  whose  names  I  do  now  re 
collect,  were  left  in  charge  of  the  camp,  and  they  were  furnished  with  supplies 
for  their  winter's  use  by  persons  in  the  Willamette  valley,  who  had  received 
word  of  the  efforts  of  these  energetic  men  to  cross  the  mountains  and  the  scarcity 
of  provisions  with  which  they  were  supplied. 

In  the  spring  of  1846,  Palmer  was  one  of  six  who  started  and  traveled  across 
the  plains  to  their  homes  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  he  returned  with  his  family 
again  in  1847,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  true  resident  Oregonian.  You 
see  the  General  has  made  three  trips  across  the  plains,  and  what  has  passed  be 
fore  his  vision — naturally  and  mentally — could  it  be  related  to  this  audience,  I 
think  they  could  then  say  they  had  been  agreeably  entertained.  But  the  idea 
of  giving  a  description  of  the  emigration  of  1845,  is  a  little  preposterous,  when 
limited  to  the  brief  space  of  one  hour.  Every  individual  emigrant  has  had  his 
own  experience  and  knowledge  of  events  as  they  have  transpired,  and  the  longest 
day  that  Oregon  ever  witnessed,  would  scarcely  be  sufficient  time  in  which  to 
recount  the  many  circumstances,  and  events  of  an  interesting  character  that 
transpired  during  that  weary  tramp  across  the  plains. 

It  has  been  the  duty  of  him  who  delivered  the  Occasional  Address  to  call  the 
roll  of  the  persons  composing  the  emigration  of  which  he  was  a  party.  I 
asserted  in  advance  the  impossibility  of  my  complying  with  that  part  of  the 
programme,  owing  to  the  lapse  of  time,  and  to  my  utter  inability  to  prepare  a 
roll  that  would  do  justice  to  the  persons  composing  the  emigration  of  1845;  an^ 
had  it  been  possible,  the  calling  the  names  of  two  thousand  individuals  would 
prove  monotonous,  and  well  calculated  to  exhaust  the  patience  of  the  people 
assembled  here.  And  yet,  I  do  not  deem  it  out  of  place  to  refer  to  some  few 
individuals  who  crossed  the  plains  in  1845;  you  have  some  of  them  in  your 
midst  who  have  been  residents  of  Salem  and  vicinity  for  many  years.  Where 
is  Wm.  J.  Herren  ?  He  is  amongst  us  to-day,  enjoying  in  retrospect  the  pleas 
ing  associations  of  the  past,  when,  ox  goad  in  hand  during  the  day,  he  antici- 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  57 

pated  a  joyous  occasion  when  assembled  around  the  camp-fire  at  night.  He 
has  been  a  prominent  member  of  society,  been  elevated  to  many  positions  of 
trust  and  responsibility  by  the  free  choice  of  the  people,  and  to-day  occupies  a 
position  to  which  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  agricultural  classes  justly 
entitles  him.  There  is  John  Durbin,  Sen.,  who  in  1845  was  as  robust  and 
hearty  as  any  amongst  us  to-day,  but  who  now,  in  the  decline  of  life,  can  look 
back  to  those  days  when  all  his  energies  were  called  into  full  play  to  preserve 
that  large  band  of  cattle  from  the  thieving  clutches  of  the  red  man,  and  I  think 
I  can  safely  say  that  those  little  reminiscences  of  the  past  are  not  altogether  of 
a  saddening  character.  And  you  have  Rufus  A  Riggs  among  you,  who  has  the 
record  of  the  journeyings  of  a  principal  part  of  the  emigration  of  1845  in  his 
possession,  and  had  I  obtained  possession  of  that  record  a  few  days  sooner,  I 
might  then  have  prepared  for  you  a  feast  that  would  have  been  more  decidedly 
interesting  than  this  desultory  address  with  which  you  are  now  afflicted.  James 
B.  Riggs,  the  father  of  Rufus,  who  also  was  an  emigrant  of  1845,  nas  g°ne  the 
way  of  all  the  earth,  after  traversing  the  plains  and  living  and  enjoying  all  of 
life's  comforts  in  this  delightful  clime ;  he  died  highly  respected  and  honored 
by  all  with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  Marion  county  was  and  is  the  home  of 
many  of  the  emigrants  of  '45.  Where  are  your  Smiths,  your  Taylors,  your 
Williams,  your  Simmons,  your  Halls,  your  Englishes,  and  others  I  might  men 
tion?  Some  of  them  are  yet  actively  engaged  in  the  performance  of  life's  du 
ties,  whilst  others  have  ceased  from  their  labors,  and  laid  them  down  to  rest, 
free  from  the  cares  and  turmoils  of  life,  and  deeply  regretted  by  friends  who 
survive  them.  Capt.  English,  whom  you  all  knew,  and  who  struggled  under 
as  severe  and  trying  circumstances  as  any  of  the  emigration  of  that  year  to  reach 
this  coast,  after  a  long,  arduous  and  eventful  life,  has  departed  from  our  midst 
and  left  behind  him  a  name  the  synonym  of  hospitality  and  honesty. 

I  noticed  in  the  Statesman  a  day  or  two  ago  the  inquiry,  Where  are  the  Pio 
neer  printers  ?  In  answer,  I  will  say  that  one  of  them  has  gone  to  the  spirit 
land,  there  to  enjoy  the  reward  of  a  well  spent  life.  I  allude  to  Mr.  John  Flem 
ing,  a  pioneer  of  1845.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
him  during  the  journey  across  the  plains,  and  can  recall  to  mind  many  acts  of 
kindness  which  he  did  to  myself  and  others  during  that  trip.  He  was  a  resi 
dent  of  Oregon  City,  and  his  hands  were  amongst  the  first  to  set  type  in  the 
publication  of  a  paper  in  Oregon.  Although  conversing  frequently  with  him 
on  the  subject  of  setting  type  and  printing  in  general,  I  then  little  dreamed  of 
the  manifold  duties  of  the  printer.  It  is  a  busy  life  of  condensing  and  rearrang 
ing,  tearing  down  and  building  up,  transforming  badly  spelled  and  poorly 
punctuated  and  miserably  written  manuscript;  yet  he  loves  it,  and  Fleming  was 
equal  with  any  other  in  his  attachment  to  the  art  preservative.  I  hope  if  this 


58  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

manuscript  comes  into  the  printer's  hands  he  will  treat  it  tenderly,  if  for  no 
other  reason  than  out  of  respect  for  my  departed  friend  Fleming,  who  could 
always  appreciate  the  intention  of  the  writer,  and  at  the  same  time  denounce 
the  writing.  Peace  to  his  ashes,  and  may  his  name  retain  an  abiding  place  in 
the  memory  of  Oregon  typos. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  address  without  mentioning  another  Pioneer  of  '45.  I 
will  say  that  the  name  of  J.  C.  Avery  has  long  been  favorably  known  through 
out  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  valley.  On  his  arrival  in  Oregon,  he  settled 
on  the  Willamette,  near  the  mouth  of  Mary's  river,  and  continued  to  reside 
there  up  to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  founder  and  proprietor  of  the  city  of 
Corvallis,  and  lived  to  see  it  one  of  the  most  thriving  towns  in  the  valley.  lie 
occupied  many  prominent  positions  in  public  affairs,  and  was  always  esteemed 
for  his  indomitable  energy  and  perseverance  in  everything  having  a  tendency  to 
advance  the  interests  of  his  adopted  State.  He  now  sleeps  the  sleep  that 
knows  no  waking,  and  his  friends  will  ever  hold  in  remembrance  the  kindly 
associations  connected  with  his  eventful  life.  And  Fredrick  Waymire,  he  who 
was  Polk  county's  truest  friend  in  all  that  appertained  to  her  best  interests, 
fc'here  is  he  to-day?  Numbered  with  the  dead.  Could  he  be  here  present  with 
us  to-day  to  discourse  upon  events  connected  with  the  emigration  of  1845,  your 
ears  would  be  saluted  with  an  interesting  theme  that  few  but  him  could  present 
to  you.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  framed  our  State  Constitution, 
was  at  different  times  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  all  of  which  positions 
he  filled  with  honor  to  himself,  and  with  a  cheerful  acknowledgment  by  his  con 
stituents  that  he  was  a  true  and  devoted  public  servant. 

•'  Dear  friend,  farewell,  your  flight  you've  taken, 
Yet  memory  will  kind  thoughts  awaken." 

Now  1  believe  I  see  before  me,  my  friend  Rees,  who  although  he  was  here  prior 
to  1845,  yet,  he  is  indebted  to  the  emigration  of  that  year  for  all  the  domestic 
bliss  he  has  enjoyed  for  these  many  years.  He  became  enamored  with  the 
charms  of  one  of  the  fair  maidens  who  crossed  the  plains  that  year,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  her  affectionate  disposition,  he  might  still  be  an  old  bachelor,  whang 
in  hand,  mending  his  old  buckskin  unmentionables.  I  hope  Rees  now  does  and 
ever  will  bless  the  emigration  of  1845,  for  bringing  to  his  arms  the  lovely  maiden 
who  has  shared  his  toils,  wept  when  he  has  wept,  rejoiced  when  he  rejoiced  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Long  life  to  Rees;  may  he  live  to  enjoy  many 
such  occasions  as  the  present  one.  Yes,  friend  Rees,  you  helped  to  organize 
this  Association,  you  have  contributed  all  in  your  power  to  make  it  a  success, 
and  to-day  you  can  foresee  for  it  a  prosperous  future. 

This  is  a  day  to  which  many  of  us  have  looked  in  anticipation  of  pleasure 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  59 

and  enjoyment  of  a  social  character.  It  is  a  day  which  brings  together  persons, 
who  in  the  distant  past  have  shared  the  same  toil  and  danger,  have  been  bound 
by  a  mutual  interest  in  each  others  care  and  protection,  and  who  after  passing 
through  difficulties  apparently  insurmountable,  have  at  last  reached  the  acme 
of  their  cherished  hopes,  fair  Oregon,  whose  fertile  soil  and  salubrious  climate 
gives  competency  and  health  to  the  industrious  dweller  within  her  borders. 
Fellow  Pioneers,  let  not  this  Association  fail  through  indifference  or  a  want  of 
interest  to  render  it  perpetual.  Old  Pioneers  are  fast  passing  away,  but  a  few 
more  years,  and  those  of  1845  will  have  rendered  up  their  account,  and  now  is 
the  time  to  prepare  for  a  future  generation,  some  means  by  which  they  can  gain 
a  knowledge  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  country  and  its  progress  from  a  wilder 
ness  in  1840  to  its  present  high  state  of  civilization. 

Oregon's  present  career,  is  a  promising  morning, 

Her  future,  a  noontide  of  lustre  shall  be; 
Art,  science  and  commerce,  her  handmaids  adorning, 

My  beautiful  Oregon,  that  sits  by  the  sea. 


THE  OREGON  PIONEER. 


BY   SAMUEL   L.  SIMPSON,    ESQ. 


In  the  dusk  of  forgotten  years, 
And  the  rain  of  their  drifting  woe, 
Where  the  city  of  Priam  rears 
Dim  walls  by  Scammander's  flow 
Lies  the  harp  old  Homer  strung 
On  the  fabled  and  fading  shore, 
When  the  story  of  Troy  was  young, 
And  Calv'ry  was  far  before. 


In  the  silence  of  old,  and  the  dew 
Of  the  sorrowful  mists  of  time, 
As  the  ages  go  on  and  renew' 
The  chalice  of  life  sublime, 
His  harp  lies  at  rest,  though  his  song 
Is  echoing  onward  still, 
Detaining  the  beautiful  throng 
Of  the  gods  on  the  classic  hill. 


But  the  heroes  of  war  remain, 
And,  alert  at  the  call  of  fate, 
They  return  to  the  stormy  plain 
From  the  ships  and  the  Scsean  gate; 
And  the  groups  of  the  glorious  gods, 
In  the  court  of  the  thunderer,  Jove, 
Lean  over,  and  note  where  nods 
Each  plume  that  they  hate  or  love. 


THE    OREGON    PIONEER.  6 1 


Bold* hearts  that  have  gained  the  west! 

Nor  Hector  nor  Peleus'  son 

In  their  knightliest  deeds  and  best 

Have  rivaled  what  you  have  done! 

For  spirit  of  valor  doth  yet 

In  the  bosom  of  manhood  burn, 

Though  the  genius  of  Homer  has  set 

And  the  gods  nevermore  return . 


In  the  faces  that  circle  here 
Are  the  signets  of  toil  and  care, 
But  the  light  of  a  purpose  clear 
Yet  lingers,  like  sunset,  there; 
And  I  read,  on  your  brows  of  calm, 
The  record  of  many  a  fray, 
In  the  scars  that  have  won  the  palm, 
And  the  lines  that  have  come  to  stay. 

VI. 

For  I  read  of  the  toiling  train, 

And  the  trail  of  its  dust  afar, 

And  the  Crows  and  the  Sioux,  again 

Are  a  hovering  cloud  of  war. — 

Of  the  graves  that  you  have  left,  with  tears, 

In  the  deserts  of  sand  and  sage, 

And  the  sorrows  that  seams  and  sears, 

With  a  heavier  hand  than  age. 

VII. 

And  I  read  of  the  sweet  desires 
That  you  wreathed  on  the  sunset's  bars 
As  ever  your  red  camp-fires 
Were  traveling  on  with  the  stars — 
Till  the  goal  of  your  hearts  was  won 
In  the  mists  of  Pacific's  spray, 
In  the  purple  tents  of  the  sun, 
And  the  camp  of  the  weary  day. 


62  THE     OREGON     PIONEER. 


Where  the  forest  o'ershadovved,  and  where 

The  fountains  of  crystal  are  born, 

And  the  mystical  voice  of  the  fir 

Is  singing  at  eve  and  at  morn, 

Your  cabin  is  built  in  a  day, 

And  the  wife  is  enthroned,  to  her  joy, 

And  you  look  and  rejoice  and  you  say, 

She  is  fairer  than  Helen  of  Troy!" 


And  the  rifle,  the  axe,  and  the  plow 
Are  the  texts  that  you  preach  to  the  wild, 
And  the  crests  of  the  forests  bow, 
And  the  wastes,  by  your  toil  beguiled, 
Move  back  with  a  wider  sweep 
From  orchards  and  fields  of  grain, 
And  you  sow,  though  you  may  not  reap, 
In  the  shadowy  days  of  pain. 


For  the  tocsin  of  war  may  call 
The  toiler  from  fence  or  field, 
And  you  go  where  so  many  fall, 
And  you  fight  till  the  foemen  yield! — 
It  was  thus,  in  the  bronze  of  toil, 
And  the  blood  of  the  patriot's  fate, 
And  deep  in  the  rocks  and  soil 
Your  grounded  the  pillars  of  State. 

XI. 

On  his  throne  of  the  wild  Cascades 

Sits  the  glittering  monarch,  Hood. 

As  the  days  with  their  wheeling  shades, 

Pass  on  in  a  solemn  mood; 

And  away  to  the  east  and  the  west, 

In  the  seas  of  the  golden  air, 

He  may  see  that  his  wilds  are  dressed 

With  a  glory  of  harvests  rare. 


THE      OREGON     PIONEER. 


And  the  rivers  are  tracked  with  foam, 

As  the  steamers  go  up  and  down, 

And  the  glittering  spire  and  dome 

Mark  many  a  busy  town; 

And  from  myriad  homes  there  springs 

A  murmur  of  sweet  content, 

And  'tis  there,  though  no  Homer  sings, 

True  souls,  you  have  monument! 


But  by  many  a  mansion  fair, 
In  the  shade  of  the  dreaming  firs, 
Where  the  spider  is  weaving  her  snare 
To  the  music  of  dropping  burs, 
Is  the  cabin  you  built  in  the  days 
That  tested  the  fibre  of  men, 
And  the  softest  of  sunlight  plays 
On  the  roof  that  you  loved  so  then. 


So  rude,  and  unlovely  and  old, 
By  the  side  of  your  mansion  fair, 
It  is  clasped  in  the  richest  gold 
OT  the  odorous  summer  air; 
But  a  mansion  not  made  by  hands. 
Is  gilding  their  dreams  as  it  nears, 
And  the  Angel  of  Welcome  stands 
At  the  door  of  the  Pioneers! 


JOHN  D.  CRAWFORD. 

Born  Aug.  16,  1824.  Died  Aug.  3,  1877 


CEO.  W.  BENNETT. 

Born ,  1811.  Died  Dec.  24,  1877 


Finis  coronat  opu-s. 


WILLIAM  P.  PUGH, 

Born  March  9,  1818.         Died  Feb.  27,  1878. 


REV.  E.  WALKER, 

Born  Aug.  7,  1805.  Died  Nov.  21,  1877 


Finis  coronat  opus. 


HOI.  JOHN  1).  CRAWFORD. 


BY    WILLIARD   H.    REES. 


John  Davis  Crawford  was  born  in  Onondaga  county,  New  York,  August  16, 
1824.  After  leaving  the  schools  he  entered  a  printing  office  in  the  town  of  Ha 
vana,  where  he  remained  until  he  became  master  of  the  art.  Soon  after  gaining 
a  practical  knowledge  of  printing  he  changed  his  mind  as  to  his  future  vocation. 
Biding  adieu  to  his  old  home,  he  turned  his  face  toward  the  tempting  allure 
ments  of  the  far  famed  West.  On  reaching  Milan,  Ohio,  he  at  once  decided  to 
make  that  thrifty  young  town  his  future  home.  Here  he  entered  a  law  office 
and  for  some  time  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  profession.  He  finally 
yielded  to  the  repeated  and  earnest  solicitations  of  his  elder  brother,  Captain 
Medorum  Crawford,  who  had  made  the  overland  journey  to  Oregon  in  1842,  to 
join  him  at  Oregon  City,  with  which  request  he  complied,  reaching  Oregon  with 
the  immigration  of  1847. 

The  Whitman  massacre,  which  occurred  November  29th,  of  that  year,  young 
Crawford  received  an  appointment  in  the  Commissary  Department,  serving 
under  Gen.  Palmer  during  the  campaign  against  the  Cayuse  Indians. 

In  the  early  part  of  1848,  Geo.  L.  Curry,  who  had  but  recently  retired  from 
the  editorial  chair  of  the  pioneer  paper,  the  Oregon  Spectator,  established  at 
Oregon  City  a  second  paper  called  the  Free  Press,  upon  which  Mr.  Crawford 
was  for  a  time  employed. 

During  the  early  excitement  which  followed  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the 
American  river,  California,  by  James  Marshall,  an  Oregon  immigrant  of  1844, 
Mr.  Crawford,  like  a  large  majority  of  Oregonians,  made  the  journey  to  that 
distant  Eldorado. 

In  1851,  he  became  half  owner  of  the  Hoosier,  the  first  steamboat  that  ever 
turned  a  wheel  on  the  Willamette  river.  She  plied  for  a  short  time  between 
Vancouver,  Portland  and  Oregon  City;  was  subsequently  transferred  to  the 
upper  river  and  placed  in  the  Yamhill  trade,  where  she  met  with  a  lucrative 
business. 


HON.    JOHN    D.    CRAWFORD.  67 

In  1852,  Mr.  Crawford  entered  into  partnership  with  the  late  Dr.  Newell  in 
the  mercantile  business  at  Champoeg,  which  at  that  day  commanded  quite  an 
extensive  trade.  Here  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  first  week  in  December, 
1861,  when  that  historic  village  was  completely  swept  away  by  the  great  flood 
of  that  year.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  from  Clackamas  county 
in  1872,  became  a  member  of  the  Pioneer  Association  in  1873;  was  a  member  of 
Butteville  Grange,  serving  as  its  Secretary  from  the  organization  to  the  1st  of 
January  last. 

At  the  cemetery,  the  Masonic  fraternity  took  charge  of  the  interment,  and 
during  the  performance  of  their  beautiful  burial  service,  the  remains  of  Mr. 
Crawford  were  shut  from  mortal  sight  forever.  Slowly  and  sorrowfully  the  large 
concourse  of  old  friends  and  neighbors  departed  from  the  sad  scene,  and  soon 
the  cemetery  contained  none  but  the  silent  dead. 


REV.  ELKINAH  WALKER. 


BY    REV.    G.    H.    ATKINSON. 


Rev.  Elkinah  Walker,  who  died  at  Forest  Grove,  Oregon,  Nov.  21,  1877, 
was  born  Aug.  7,  1805,  in  North  Yarmouth,  near  Portland,  Maine.  The  son  of 
a  farmer  in  that  seaport  town,  the  path  of  life  opened  naturally  to  him  and  his 
brothers  there,  either  on  the  farm  or  in  the  ship  yard,  or  upon  the  sea.  The 
sons  of  Maine  have  made  a  record  in  all  these  callings  alike  honorable  to  them 
selves  and  to  their  State. 

But  during  that  series  of  revivals  following  the  labors  of  Mills  and  Nettleton 
and  their  compeers  through  New  England  and  the  middle  States,  the  interest  in 
missions  was  invigorated  and  widely  extended.  Men  and  women  gave  up  home 
and  country  and  went  abroad  East,  West,  North  and  South,  knowing  little  that 
should  befall  them,  only  that  Christ  bade  them  "  go  and  teach  all  nations,  and 
promised  to  be  with  them  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

Such  was  the  air  intwhich  Mr.  Walker  began  to  live  and  move  after  his  con 
version  in  1831.  Shortly  after  this  he  was  led  by  a  favorite  instructor,  Rev.  Mr. 
Newell,  to  enter  the  Kimball  Union  Academy  at  Meriden,  New  Hampshire,  and 
prepare  for  college. 

But  in  1834,  instead  of  following  his  classmates  to  Dartmouth  or  Bowdoin,  he 
took  the  "short  course"  into  the  ministery,  much  to  his  regret  afterwards,  and 
entered  the  Bangor  Theological  Seminary  that  fall,  and  remained  three  years 
under  the  instruction  of  Drs.  Pond  and  Shepherd  and  other  teachers. 

The  calls  for  missionary  labor  abroad  enlisted  him,  as  it  did  his  loved  class 
mate,  Rev.  Cyrus  Hamilin,  D.  D.,  now  so  eminent  for  his  efforts  in  founding 
churches  and  schools  and  colleges  in  and  around  Constantinople. 

Mr.  Walker  and  Mr.  Eells,  his  co-worker,  from  Massachusetts,  were  soon  in 
1837  booked  for  Zulu  Land,  South  Africa.  A  few  months  passed  in  initial  pre 
parations,  when  a  tribal  war,  fierce  and  bloody  and  merciless  began  between 
the  border  chieftains  there,  Dingaan  and  Moselkatze. 


REV.     ELKINAH    WALKER.  69 

Meanwhile  a  strange  voice  had  been  heard  from  beyond  the  Rocky  mount 
ains.  Four  Flathead  Indians,  so  styled,  but  true  Nez  Perces,  had  come  that 
long  journey  to  St.  Louis  in  1832-3,  inquiring  for  the  "  white  man's  God."  It 
seemed  like  a  call  of  God.  The  Methodist  church  responded  instantly,  and 
sent  Rev.  Jason  Lee  with  the  first  company  of  missionaries  to  Oregon  in  1834. 

The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  sent  Messrs. 
Parker  and  Whitman  to  explore,  in  1835.  In  1836  Messrs.  Whitman  and  Spauld- 
ing  and  their  wives — the  first  white  women  that  ever  crossed  the  Rocky  mount 
ains — and  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Gray,  began  their  mission  work  in  the  basin  of  the  Co 
lumbia. 

Favorable  reports  of  the  journey  and  their  welcome  among  the  Indians,  and 
the  need  of  more  laborers  for  new  fields,  easily,  (on  request  ef  the  Board),  led 
Messrs.  Walker  and  Eells,  then  waiting  to  sail  for  Africa,  to  listen  and  follow 
this  providential  call  to  Oregon.  Not  many  weeks  were  given  to  preparation 
and  farewells, — for  very  early,  March  6th,  1838,  on  the  next  day  after  marriage, 
Mr.  Walker  and  wife,  started  on  their  bridal  trip  en  route  for  Boston,  New  York, 
St.  Louis  and  the  wide  plains,  roamed  by  the  buffalo,  the  Indian  and  the  trapper. 
The  enterprise,  though  tested  by  the  first  company  of  pioneer  families,  demanded 
courage,  and  to  it  he  and  his  wife,  and  Mr.  Eells  and  his  wife,  and  William  H. 
Gray, — who  had  returned, — and  his  wife,  gave  a  heroism  born  of  faith  and 
nursed  in  prayer. 

Four  thousand  miles  from  their  home  on  the  Atlantic,  they  built  their  log 
house  among  the  Spokanes,  expecting  seldom  or  never  to  see  the  faces  of  friends 
a^ain,  or  hardly  of  white  people. 

Their  mission  was  to  unfold  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  these  dark-minded  men 
and  women  and  children,  first  chiefly  by  the  example  of  their  own  Christian 
home.  A  Christian  family  is  the  best  witness  for  God.  It  ranks  higher  than 
the  school.  It  photographs  the  divine  word.  Imagine  those  two  godly  families, 
living  among  the  huts  of  the  savages,  daily  making  known  the  simple  stories  of 
the  Bible,  and  that  for  ten  years,  with  no  reward  but  the  food  and  clothing  for 
themselves  and  families,  and  you  have  a  picture  of  mission  life.  Such  was  Mr. 
Walker's  work  while  and  after  learning  the  language.  Little  was  done  or  could 
be  done  to  reduce  it  to  written  forms  or  to  print  it.  One  small  primer,  prepared 
and  printed  by  his  own  hand  on  the  mission  press  at  Lapwai,  in  1841,  was  the 
only  book  in  that  language. 

Incidental  lessons  were  in  the  garden  and  on  the  farm,  with  hoe  and  plow  and 
sickle  and  axe,  with  all  the  conveniences  that  they  could  make  for  the  comfort 
of  domestic  life.  These  latter  are  supposed  to  be  prime  in  the  steps  of  civiliza- 


70  REV.    ELKINAH    WALKER. 

tion.  The  fact  is  they  are  its  fruits.  Ideas  are  the  roots  of  things.  Out  of 
germ  thoughts  come  the  higher  forms  and  amenities  of  home  life  and  social  re 
lations.  Plant  truths  first  and  gather  fruits  afterwards.  To  that  line  of  action, 
Mr.  Walker  and  his  co-laborers  gave  a  steadfast  mind  and  patient  effort,  both 
witnesses  of  intelligent  faith  in  and  true  devotion  to  the  Great  Teacher  and  His 
methods.  Accustomed  so  long  to  address  Indians  only  in  a  conversational  way, 
it  was  hard  for  Mr.  Walker,  in  later  life,  to  be  free  from  a  tremor,  or  seeming 
timidity  before  a  common  Sabbath  audience,  but  in  prayer  he  was  happy  in 
speech  and  most  tender  in  appeal.  The  Indians  learned  to  respect  him  as  a 
man  of  true  courage,  a  quality  which  they  always  test,  and  to  esteem  him  as  a 
friend,  and  to  trust  him  as  an  honest  man.  One  of  them,  a  young  man,  who 
lived  with  him  a  year,  made  such  progress  in  new  thoughts  that  an  old  chief, 
jealous  of  his  influence  with  the  tribe,  pursuaded  him  away,  and  by  a  kind  of 
plagiarism  obtained  his  new  views  and  gave  them  to  the  tribe  as  his  own,  and 
thus  retained  his  own  influence  over  them.  That  young  man  became  a  Christian 
and  a  chief,  and  did  much  by  his  counsels  to  allay  the  war  fever  that  was  rising 
so  high  among  them  last  summer,  and  to  keep  his  part  of  the  tribe  true  to  the 
whites,  as  Rev.  Mr.  Eells  testifies,  who  was  among  them  at  the  time. 

When  the  terrible  news  came  by  a  rumor  to  the  Spokanes  in  November,  1847, 
that  the  Cay  uses  had  killed  Dr.  Whitman  and  family,  and  that  a  band  would 
soon  come  and  cut  off  the  mission  families,  a  Spokane  chief  at  once  told  Messrs. 
Walker  and  Eells,  and  said,  "Do  not  fear;  we  will  defend  you."  On  some  signs 
of  danger,  he  collected  his  armed  and  mounted  warriors,  rode  to  their  station, 
surrounded  their  dwellings,  and  thus  always  ready,  became  a  bodyguard  to 
them  and  their  households  during  the  long  winter,  until  a  company  of  Oregon 
Volunteer  Cavalry,  under  Major  Magone,  came  to  rescue  and  escort  them  to  the 
Willamette  valley  in  the  early  summer  of  1848. 

Witnesses  of  the  honesty  and  faithfulness  of  those  Indians  and  of  their  desire 
to  improve  themselves  and  their  children  come  from  many  and  various  sources. 
The  Christian  integrity  of  those  of  them  now  in  Rev.  Mr.  Cowley's  church  is  at 
tested  by  him,  and  the  loyalty  of  that  portion  ef  the  tribe  to  the  American  people 
and  government  has  been  steadfast  for  nearly  forty  years. 

Rev.  Mr.  Walker  came  to  the  Willamette  valley  almost  thirty  years  ago,  from 
the  threatening  dangers  in  the  upper  country.  His  desire  was  to  preach  the 
Gospel  here  also,  but  the  needs  of  a  large  family  called  him  to  toil  early  and 
late  for  their  support  and  education.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Oregon  Congre- 
tional  Association  of  Ministers  and  Delegates  of  the  churches,  who,  in  Septem 
ber,  1848,  by  vote,  approved  and  accepted  the  plan  suggested  by  Rev.  Theron 
Baldwin,  Secretary  of  the  American  College  Society,  to  start  an  academy  that 


KEY.     ELKINAH    WALKER.  7 1 

should  grow  into  a  college  in  Oregon.  He  voted  for  the  first  Board  of  Trustees, 
with  the  recommendations  to  adopt  the  proposed  plan  and  become  incorporated. 
He  would  no  doubt  have  been  chosen  one  of  the  Board  then  if  his  relation  to  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  had  been  dissolved.  The  idea  of  this  academy  and  college 
helped  in  his  decision  to  abide  in  Oregon  and  here  educate  his  children. 

Soon  after,  in  1848,  the  Trustees  chose  the  site  of  what  is  now  Forest  Grove — 
then  mostly  an  open  plain,  with  here  and  there  a  log  house — as  the  location  of 
the  academy  and  college.  Mr.  Walker  also  chose  it  for  his  abode  and  moved 
thither  in  1850,  having  bought  the  claim  on  which  part  of  the  village  has  grown 
up.  For  the  school  he  prayed  and  labored,  and  to  it  he  gave  $l,ooo  worth  of 
property. 

When  he  became  a  Trustee  his  counsel  and  zeal  for  it  were  more  efficient. 
Into  its  original  purpose  of  a  school  for  Christ  and  his  church  he  entered  with 
all  the  spirit  of  its  early  friends,  Baldwin,  Clarke,  Naylor  and  those  saintly  wo 
men  who  have  gone  before  to  the  heavenly  rest. 

For  about  fifteen  years  he  acted  as  pastor  or  joint  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
church  at  Forest  Grove.  Though  for  .the  most  part  self-supporting,  he  was  glad 
to  drop  all  business  and  prepare  for  the  pulpit  and  the  prayer  meeting.  He  was 
ever  ready  to  visit  the  sick  and  of  quick  sympathy  for  mourners.  At  commun 
ion  seasons,  where  he  had  the  joy  to  welcome  a  majority  of  the  church  to  mem 
bership,  at  these  seasons  in  the  general  association,  he  was  very  happy  and  tender 
in  remark  and  prayer. 

He  educated  and  joyfully  gave  one  son  to  Christ  for  China.  All  were  equally 
consecrated  and  freely  given  to  whatever  post  the  Master  shall  assign  them. 
He  was  glad  that  one  son  had  freely  done  missionary  work  for  several  years  on 
a  reservation,  and  now  that  another  has  promptly  taken  his  place,  made  vacant 
by  sickness.  He  gave  $1,000  to  build  and  complete  the  house  of  worship  at 
Forest  Grove. 

As  a  citizen  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the  growth  and  welfare  of  our  State. 
Its  progress  in  industrial  and  business  enterprises,  in  schools  and  churches,  in 
general  intelligence  and  good  society,  so  surpassed  all  his  early  expectations 
that  it  became  a  constant  surprise  and  gladness. 

An  ever  devoted  wife  and  seven  children,  six  sons  and  a  daughter,  and  four 
teen  grand  children,  survive  this  patriarch  missionary  to  bear  up  his  name  and 
exemplify  his  virtues. 

It  was  a  joy  to  him  seven  years  ago,  with  his  wife,  to  return  to  Maine  to  mingle 
for  a  few  weeks  again  with  brothers  and  sisters  and  friends  after  33  years  of  sep- 


72  REV.    ELKINAH    WALKER. 

aration,  and  to  attend  an  anniversary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  which  sent  them 
forth,  and  there  in  person,  and  before  the  churches,  give  tidings  from  his  field. 

It  was  a  greater  joy,  as  the  first  rays  of  morning  entered  his  window,  to  hear 
and  quietly  obey  the  Master's  summons  to  leave  all  and  ascend  to  the  promised 
"Mansions,"  to  join  the  company  of  Newell  and  Carruthers,  Mills  and  Nettle- 
ton,  Green  and  Treat,  Baldwin  and  Finney,  and  hosts  of  others  before  and  after 
them  who  have  been  redeemed,  and  there  before  the  Throne  to  give  an  account 
of  his  stewardship. 

A  large  audience  of  citizens,  with  Trustees,  the  Faculty  and  students  of  Pacific 
University,  attended  his  funeral  on  the  23d  of  November,  1877. 


WILLIAM  P.  PUGH. 


The  subject  of  this  notice  was  born  in  Sullivan  county,  Indiana,  on  the  9th 
day  of  March,  in  the  year  1818,  and  consequently  was  nearly  60  years  of  age  at 
'the  time  of  his  death.  Mr.  Pugh  was  one  of  our  early  Pioneers,  who  braved  the 
toil  and  dangers  of  crossing  the  plains  in  the  spring  of  1845,  in  company  with 
his  parents,  brother  and  sister,  and  arrived  here  in  the  days  of  the  trail  and  foot- 
log,  and  when  Oregon  was  a  howling  wilderness.  He  has  resided  in  Marion 
county  ever  since  that  time,  and  was  one  of  her  honored  and  respected  citizens. 
About  a  year  ago  his  left  hand  became  paralyzed  and  rendered  perfectly  useless, 
and  on  Feb.  2ist,  he  received  another  stroke,  and  his  entire  body  became  para 
lyzed,  and  after  suffering  a  few  hours  he  passed  away  and  joined  the  great  silent 
majority.  Mr.  Pugh  leaves  an  aged  wife  and  a  large  family  of  children,  three 
brothers  and  a  sister  to  mourn  his  loss. 

Thus  another  one  of  the  early  Pioneers  and  one  of  the  old  land  marks  has  been 
removed.  May  his  grave  be  ever  kept  green. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  BURNETT. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  the  city  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  on 
the  i8th  day  of  October,  1811.  When  he  was  six  years  of  age,  his  parents 
removed  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  where  he  remained  until  1846. 

On  the  1 8th  day  of  November,  1831,  he  was  married  to  Sidney  A.  Younger, 
who  survived  him.  In  1846,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  this  State,  and  in 
fall  of  1847,  took  up  a  donation  land  claim  in  Yamhill  county.  He  resided  in 
that  county  continuously  until  he  died. 

In  1868,  he  was  elected  as  a  Republican  to  the  office  of  Representative  from 
Yamhill  in  the  Legislature  of  that  year. 

Although  a  strictly  religious  man,  he  was  not  at  the  time  of  his  death,  nor  for 
some  time  prior  thereto,  connected  with  any  church.  He  had  in  former  times 
been  a  member  of  the  Christian  church,  arid  also  of  the  Baptist  church.  He 
gave  directions  that  there  should  be  no  religious  ceremonies  in  connection  with 
his  funeral  as  he  believed  such  matters  were  for  the  living  and  not  for  the  dead. 

He  was  universally  esteemed  among  his  neighbors  as  a  man  of  strict  honesty 
and  integrity.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  both  in  religion  and  politics, 
but  withal,  was  possessed  of  an  exceedingly  kind  heart.  He  was  well  beloved 
and  his  death  was  mourned  by  a  very  large  circle  of  friends. 

*The  name  was  printed  Geo.  W.  Bennett,  in  the  memorial  page. 


REGISTER    OF    MEMBERS. 


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REGISTER    OF    MEMBERS. 


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TRANSACTIONS 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION 


faneer  Iss 


1878; 


MSfftt  &DDEB5S  CEUVESED  gf  SOS.  W«.  ST1016, 


TOGETHER  WITH 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDEESS    BY    HON.    J.    QUINN    THORNTON,  AND 
OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTEREST. 


SALEM,   OKEGON: 

E.    M.    WAITE,    STEAM   PBINTEB  AND  BOOKBINDEE. 
1879. 


SIXTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION. 


STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,  ") 

SALEM,  June  14,  i878.      j 

The  morning  of  June  14,  1878  was  ushered  in  with  a  bright 
sunshine  and  a  pleasant  day.  At  an  early  hour  many  teams  con 
taining  pioneer  families  and  friends  hastening  to  participate 
in  the  festivities  of  the  occasion,  on  the  State  Agricultural  Fair 
Grounds,  that  had  been  generously  thrown  open  for  the  occasion. 
Trains  from  the  north  and  south  swelled  the  throng  from  each 
end  of  the  valley,  all  anticipating  a  day  of  recreation  and  renewal 
of  old  acquaintances. 

At  102  o'clock,  Wm.  J.  Herren,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Asso 
ciation,  called  the  audience  to  order,  when  a  devout  prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  R.  C.  Hill,  of  Albany;  after  which  the  President 
introduced  Judge  Wm  Strong,  the  Orator  of  the  Day,  who  de 
livered  an  address  of  one  and  a  half  hours,  replete  with  historical 
information  and  eloquent  passages,  reflecting  great  credit  upon 
the  speaker. 

At  the  close  of  the  Annual  Address,  the  audience  was  dismissed 
to  partake  of  an  old  fashioned  pic-nic  dinner,  and  the  scene  was 
very  picturesque  as  they  were  scattered  in  groups  through  the 
beautiful  oak  grove,  partaking  of  the  good  things  that  the  Pio 
neer  ladies  had  prepared,  and  it  can  be  said  without  any  fear  of 
contradiction,  that  all  are  adepts  in  culinary  art,  as  the  speci 
mens  amply  verified.  Groups  visited  each  other  without  reserve, 
old  friends  met  again  who  had  not  seen  each  other  for  years;  in 
quiries  were  made  of  absent  ones,  and  incidents  recalled  that  had 


4  SIXTH    ANNUAL   RE-UNION. 

not  been  brought  to  memory  for  years.     Good  feeling  prevailed 
among  all. 

At  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  the  President  called  the  audience  to  order, 
and  Judge  J.  Quinn  Thornton  was 'introduced,  who  delivered 
an  interesting  historical  address  on  the  emigration  of  1846,  con 
fined  mostly  to  that  portion  who  came  into  the  Willamette  valley 
by  the  Southern  route,  he  being  one  of  the  number. 

After  the  close  of  the  Occasjonal  Address  by  Judge  Thornton, 
Gen.  Joel  Palmer  was  called  upon  to  address  the  audience,  which 
he  complied  with  in  a  very  acceptable  manner,  although  he  was 
quite  feeble  from  a  late  severe  sickness. 

CAMP    FIRE. 

In  the  evening  the  Camp  Fire  was  lighted  and  different  per 
sons  were  called  upon  to  narrate  their  experiences. 

The  first  called  upon  was  Mr.  Wm.  Barlow  of  Clackamas 
county,  who  gave  an  interesting  account  of  his  youthful  experi 
ence  when  Oregon  was  new,  and  grew  quite  eloquent  over  the 
grand  old  days  when  we  lived  under  the  Provisional  government. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Myers  of  Jackson  county,  also  entertained  the  au 
dience  with  a  few  well  chosen  remarks,  especially  that  portion 
referring  to  the  early  settlement  of  that  county. 

Joseph  Watt  who  came  to  Oregon  in  1843,  sa^  *hat  amid  all 
the  vicissitudes  and  hardships  encountered,  the  mind  of  the  Pio 
neer  never  faltered,  never  gave  up,  nor  was  there  a  time  when  the 
camp  was  not  livened  with  humor,  while  the  same  could  be  said 
of  the  days  when  the  early  homes  were  made. 

Captain  William  Shaw,  who  is  better  known  as  {<  Uncle  Billy 
Shaw,"  who  was  in  his  84th  year  was  loudly  called,  and  he  some 
what  surprised  the  audience  with  his  remarkable  strength  for  a 
man  of  his  years.  He  was  Captain  of  one  of  the  earliest  wagon 
trains  across  the  plains,  and  gave  an  interesting  account  of  the 
trip,  its  cares  and  responsibilities  that  he  was  compelled  to  assume 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  5 

on  account  of  the  position  imposed  upon  him.  He  was  a  Pio 
neer  from  boyhood,  as  he  was  born  on  the  ocean  shores  of  North 
Carolina,  constantly  beating  west,  until  now  he  resided  in  the  far 
sun-down  State  of  the  Union  whose  shores  were  washed  by  the 
great  Pacific,  actually  going  from  ocean  to  ocean.  He  stated 
that  he  was  induced  to  emigrate  hither  at  that  time  to  save  this 
fair  land  to  our  common  country  and  partly  through  the  repre 
sentations  held  out  by  Senator  Linn's  bill  in  regard  to  donations. 

Mrs.  Mary  Minto  also  responded  in  a  happy  style,  giving  inci 
dents  of  the  hardships  that  a  girl  of  thirteen,  who  grew  to  wo 
manhood  in  the  then  wilds  of  Oregon.  The  way  that  she  obtain 
ed  her  first  pair  of  shoes,  was  that  when  going  to  a  neighbor's 
through  the  mud,  she  met  a  young  man  who  was  a  shoemaker,  and 
who  found  and  measured  her  track,  surprising  her  a  few  days  af 
terwards  by  presenting  her  with  a  pair. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith  was  loudly  called  and  responded  in  his 
usual  happy  style,  giving  many  laughable  incidents  that  transpired 
while  upon  the  plains.  He  also  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  those 
who  braved  all  dangers  to  reach  this  country  and  force  the  Uni 
ted  States  Government  to  accept  the  gift  and  incorporate  it  in  the 
possessions  of  the  Union. 

Mr.  Wm.  J.  Herren  give  a  thrilling  account  of  a  night  advent" 
ure  when  he  found  a  mother  and  two  daughters  lost  in  the  mount 
ains  by  their  cries  of  distress,  and  took  them  to  his  camp  and 
made  them  as  comfortable  as  possible  until  morning  when  he 
had  the  pleasure  of  restoring  them  to  their  husband  and  father. 

Mr.  James  Morris  made  a  good  speech  of  old  times,  glorifying 
that  he  had  helped  to  accomplish.  He  told  a  good  story  of  how 
envious  his  neighbors  became,  when  his  wife  succeeded  in  dyeing 
his  buckskin  pants  black. 

Gep.  B.  Jackson  sung  several  songs  that  he  had  sang  upon  the 
plains  and  in  Oregon,  over  a  third  of  a  century  before,  also  one 
that  he  sang  of  Yankee  valor  at  an  entertainment  on  board  of  the 


6  SECRETARY'S  REPORT, 

British  ship  Modeste  lying  in  the  Columbia  river  at  that  time, 
his  temerity  astonishing  our  British  cousins  considerably. 

After  remarks  by  various  persons  the  meeting  adjourned  to 
meet  again  at  the  same  place  at  the  Annual  Re-Union;  the 
Camp  Fire  had  gradually  gone  down,  and  the  congregation  dis 
appeared  in  the  surrounding  darkness  as  in  the  days  they  retired 
for  the  night  in  crossing  the  plains.  But  not  all  will  meet  again, 
for  some  who  were  there  have  fulfilled  their  mission  on  earth  and 
passed  away. 

PIONEER    BALL. 

At  the  time  of  the  Camp  Fire  meeting*  the  Pioneer  Ball  was 
going  on  in  the  pavilion,  which  was  well  attended,  and  at  times 
there  were  twenty  sets  upon  the  floor  at  once;  all  entering  heart 
ily  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  occasion.  Dancing  was  kept  up 
until  5  o'clock  the  next  morning. 


SECOND  DAY. 

At  loj  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  members  met  in  the  oak  grove  and 
and  was  called  to  order  by  the  President,  Wm.  J.  Herren,  for 
the  purpose  of  hearing  the  reports  of  the  officers  and  holding  the 
annual  election. 

The  Recording  Secretary  submitted  the  following  report: 
SECRETARY'S  REPORT. 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association .' 

The  operations  of  the  office  and  affairs  of  the  Association  have  not  been  very 
extensive,  but  the  influence  of  the  organization  is  gradually  and  surely  spread 
ing,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  all  the  Pioneers  of  Oregon  will  become  members. 

There  has  been  but  few  deaths,  Rev.  E.  Walker,  who  came  to  Oregon  in 
1838,  and  Mrs.  J.  L.  Starkey,  who  came  in  1852,  were  reported  to  the  Secretary 
during  the  year. 

INDIAN    ANTIQUITIES. 

I  would  recommend  that  a  committee  be  elected  for  the  purpose  of  collect- 


TREASURER'S  REPORT.  7 

ing  relics  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  Oregon,  that  they  may  be  preserved  in  the  As 
sociation's  museum;  such  as  bows  and  arrows,  quivers,  horse  trappings,  and 
other  articles  that  went  to  make  up  an  Indian's  out-fit  in  the  early  days  of  Ore 
gon's  history. 

PIONEER  ROOMS. 

Governor  S.  F.  Chadwick  has  generously  assigned  a  room  in  the  State  Capi 
tol  building  for  the  use  of  this  Association,  for  the  purpose  of  the  safe-keeping 
of  our  property,  books,  papers,  etc.,  which  was  granted  upon  application  by  a 
resolution  passed  by  the  Board  of  Directors. 

EXTENSION  OF  TIME. 

I  would  suggest  that  the  limit  of  membership  be  extended  to  the  year  1854, 
so  as  to  allow  many  who  came  to  this  country  then  to  join  us.  It  seems  to  me, 
that  any  person  who  has  resided  in  Oregon  from  that  date  should  be  considered 
a  Pioneer. 

MEMBERSHIP  DUES. 

There  are  582  contributing  members  upon  our  rolls,  and  if  all  would  pay  the 
amount  of  dues  that  they  are  expected,  the  affairs  of  the  Association  would  be 
in  a  much  more  prosperous  condition,  and  some  means  should  be  devised  to 
collect  up  the  amount. 

GATE 


The  subject  of  collecting  a  small  gate  fee,  say  twenty-five  cents,  is  one  that 
should  be  considered;  the  amount  is  small,  but  would  aggreate  a  sum  sufficiently 
large  to  relieve  us  considerably.  The  officers  serve  the  Association  without 
any  compensation  whatever  and  the  members  certainly  should  pay  up  their  dues 
which  is  only  one  dollar  per  year. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  HENRY  BROWN, 

Recording  Secretary. 

Mr.  John  M.  Bacon  submitted  the  following  as  the 
TREASURER'S  REPORT. 

To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association : 

OREGON  CITY,  June  14,  1878. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  the  pleasure  of  again  presenting  this  my  third  annual 
report  of  the  transactions  of  the  Treasurer's  office  for  the  year  past. 


8  TREASURER'S  REPORT. 

1877.  RECEIPTS. 

June  15,  To  amount  on  hand  as  per  report $    437 

"      Received  from  J.  Henry  Brown 472  83 

"  "  "    E.M.  Waite 2700 

16,          '«  "     Ball 33000 

"  "  "    E.M.Waite 500 

««  "  "    J.  M.  Bacon,  loan 10  oo 

"  "  •«    W.H.Reese    «'    10  oo 

"  "  "    John  Minto,      "  10  oo 

««  "  ««    Jos.  Watt,         "  1000 

•«  "  "    J.  H.  Brown,     "  250 

"  •'  "    Chris.  Taylor,  "  10  oo 

«'  "  «'    E.M.Waite,    " 1250 

"  ••  "    L.  Savage 250 

"  «'  "     J.  F.  Miller 975 

"  "  "    To  balance 51 

$916  96 

EXPENDITURES. 

June  16,  By  warrant  No.  23,  E.  M.  Waite $202  oo 

«  «          "    24,  Bean  &  Davidson  ! . . .       8  oo 

"  «•          "    27,  Adams  &  Chamberlain 1325 

«  "          "    29,  Lumbering  Co 6589 

«•  "         •«    30,  L.  S.  Bates 45° 

"  "          ««    31,  Himes 1700 

««  ««         «'    32,  W.  J.  Herren 8470 

««  •«         ««    33,  John  Hughes 27  88 

•'  "          «{    35,  Breyman  Bros 5  25 

•«  "         «'    37,  Geo.  Foss 250 

«•  «'          "    38,  J.  D.  Belt 200 

•«  "          ««    39,  J.  G.  Wright 1537 

11  "          "    40,  A.  G.  Walling 750 

"  ««          "    42,  W.  Graves 350 

"  "          ««    43,  J.  G.  Wright 238 

««  ««         "44,  "        ••••          8^ 

•'  ««          "    45,  L.  Mauzey 650 

«•  ««         "    46,  E.  M.  Waite 197  n 

"  "         "    47,  J.  Minto 25  oo 

"  "          "    48,  J.  H.  Haas loo  oo 

«  "         ««    49,  E.  K.  Miller 600 

"  "         "    50,  W.  H.  Brown 5  75 


TREASURER'S  REPORT.  9 

June  16,  By  warrant  No.  5 1,  D.  H.  Pugh $  17  50 

«•  "          "    52,  Chemeketa  Hotel 900 

«  "          ««    53,  Geo.  Williams 750 

"  "          "    55,  Mrs.  Titus 500 

"  "          ««    54,  J.  Henry  Brown 2000 

"  <«          "    56,  J.  M.  Bacon 500 

"  "         »«    57,  C.  A.  Reed 5000 

$916  96 

Rspectfully  submitted, 

J.  M.  BACON, 

Treasurer. 

On  motion,  the  Treasurer's  report  was  adopted. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  by  acclamation  to  serve  for 
the  ensuing  year. 

President,  M.  Crawford,  Dayton. 
Vice  President,  W.  L.  White,  Oregon  City. 
Recording  Secretary,  J.  Henry  Brown,  Salem. 
Corresponding  Secretary,  Willard  H.  Reese,  Butteville. 
Treasurer,  John  M.  Bacon,  Oregon  City. 

DIRECTORS. 

William  Barlow,  Canby. 

F.  X.  Mathiew,  Butteville. 

Thomas  Montieth,  Albany. 

On  motion  the  Association  adjourned. 

WM.  J.  HERREN,  President 
J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


SALEM,  Feb.  6,  1879. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  met 
in  the  Recording  Secretary's  office,  pursuant  to  previous  call  of 
the  President. 

*  Present,  M.  Crawford,  President;  W.L.  White,  Vice  President; 
J.  Henry  Brown,  Recording  Secretary;  John  M.  Bacon,  Treas 
urer;  F.  X.  Mathieu  and  Wm.  Barlow,  of  the  Board  of  Directors, 
and  several  members  of  the  Association. 

Absent,  Thomas  Monteith,  member  of  Board. 

On  suggestion  of  the  President,  J.  M.  Bacon  and  the  Secretary, 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  arrange  an  Order  of  Business,  and 
the  following  was  submitted : 

1.  Selecting  the  place  of  holding  the  Annual  Re-Union. 

2.  Order  of  Exercises. 

3.  Appointing  Committee  on  Printing. 

4.  Appointing  Committee  on  Ball. 

5.  Election  of  Chief  Marshal. 

6.  Election  of  Chaplain. 

7.  Miscellaneous  Business. 

On  motion,  the^Qrder  of  Business  was  adopted. 

The  subject  of  selecting  the  place  of  holding  the  Annual  Re- 
Union,  elicited  considerable  discussion,  and  on  motion,  was  laid 
on  the  table  until  7  o'clock,  p.  M. 

The  following  were  appointed  as  Committee  on  Printing:  J. 
Henry  Brown,  F.  X.  Mathieu  and  Wm.  Barlow. 


MEETING   OF   THE    BOARD   OF   DIRECTORS.  II 

On  motion,  1,000  copies  of  Transactions  were  ordered  printed. 
James  Elkins  of  Albany,  was  elected  Chief  Marshal. 
Rev.  J.  S.  Griffin,  was  elected  Chaplain. 
The  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

Reoolved,  That  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  in 
vite  the  Granges  of  this  State  to  participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  Annual 
Re-Union  of  this  Association,  in  June,  1879. 

The  selection  of  Willard  H.  Reese  to  deliver  the  Annual  Ad 
dress,  and  Ralph  C.  Geer,  to  deliver  the  Occasional  Address, 
pertaining  to  the  immigration  of  1847,  was  confirmed. 

On  motion,  the  price  of  the  ball  tickets  was  placed  at  $2. 

On  motion,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions 
for  the  music  at  our  next  Re-Union.  W.  J.  Herren  and  E.  M. 
Waite,  were  appointed,  and  they  to  select  the  third  member. 

On  motion,  the  Secretary  was  authorized  to  send  out  invita 
tions  and  solicit  renewal  of  membership,  also  photographs,  with 
date  of  arrival  in  Oiegon,  age,  etc. 

On  motion,  adjourned  until  7  o'clock,  p.  M. 

EVENING  SESSION. 

Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

On  motion,  it  was  decided  to  employ  a  brass  band  at  the  cele 
bration. 

On  motion,  the  Secretary  was  authorized  to  correspond  with 
the  different  brass  bands  throughout  the  State,  and  employ  ac 
cording  to  his  judgment  that  would  give  the  most  general  satis 
faction. 

On  motion,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted : 

Whereas,  Samuel  C.  Upham,  of  Philadelphia,  has  presented  to  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association,  his  valuable  book  on  early  days  of  California,  entitled  "El 
Dorado,  or  Days  of  '49  and  '50,  in  California."  therefore, 

Resolved,  By  the  Board  of  Directers,  that  the  thanks  of  the  Association  are 


12  MEETING   OF   THE   BOARD    OF   DIRECTORS. 

hereby  tendered  Mr.  S.  C.  Upham  for  his  kindness  and  hope  that  his  book  may 
meet  with  the  sale  it  deserves. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  are  hereby  ten 
dered  to  the  Sacramento  Pioneers  of  California  for  the  magnificent  collection  of 
photographs  of  109  members  of  their  Society,  and  that  we  hope  to  be  able  to 
reciprocate  the  favor  in  kind. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  is  hereby  ten 
dered  the  Territorial  Pioneers  of  California  for  the  present  of  one  of  their  mag 
nificent  membership  certificates. 

On  motion,  John  W.  Minto  was  authorized  to  organize  the 
Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  annual  ball. 

The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  correspond  with  the  various 
transportation  companies  in  reference  to  the  fare  of  members  and 
friends  to  and  from  the  Re-Union. 

On  motion,  the  following  Committee  of  Arrangements  was  ap 
pointed:  John  W.  Minto,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Clarke,  Mrs.  Werner 
Breyman,  Mrs.  Jos.  Holman,  J.  A.  Baker  and  Lewis  Savage. 

On  motion,  it  was  decided  to  hold  at  the  next  Re-Union  at 
the  Fair  Grounds  near  Salem. 

The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  print  badges  of  the  Associa 
tion  to  be  worn  by  the  members  in  attendance. 

On  motion,  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Historical  Society  was  invited 
to  attend  the  Re-Union,  also  the  Southern  Oregon  Re-Union 
Society. 

On  motion,  the  Board  adjourned  sine  die. 

M.  CRAWFORD,  President. 
J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 


THE  AMUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY  HON.   WILLIAM  STRONG. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

The  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  meets  to-day,  here  in  the  beautiful  capital 
or  our  youug  State,  for  the  sixth  Annual  Re-Union  of  its  members;  that  we  may 
spend  a  short  time  in  social  intercourse,  greet  old  companions  and  friends,  and 
by  mutual  converse  refresh  the  memory,  each  of  the  other,  in  the  incidents  at 
tending  the  settlement  of  Oregon. 

Many  who  first  planted  the  seeds  of  civilization  in  this  portion  of  our  country, 
are  here  present,  living  witnesses  of  all  that  has  been  done  in  the  redemption  of 
this  land  from  the  wilderness  of  nature,  and  its  transformation  into  a  beautiful 
abode  and  home  for  civilization.  They  were  the  actors,  and  they  can  look 
around  with  pride  upon  the  great  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  they 
first  set  foot  in  Oregon,  and  congratulate  themselves  that  this  is  their  work. 
Long  may  they  live  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  their  labors. 

An  important  object  of  this  Association,  and  of  the  Annual  Re-Union  is  to 
redeem  from  oblivion  and  place  upon  enduring  record  among  its  archives,  such 
important  or  interesting  incidents  in  the  history  of  the  early  settlement  ot  Ore 
gon,  as  rest  in  tradition,  in  the  memory  of  living  actors,  or  have  place  only  in 
newspapers  and  other  ephemerial  publications. 

Much  that  is  valuable  has  already  been  saved  from  loss,  and  may  be  found 
recorded  among  the  Transactions  of  this  Association. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  devote  much  time  to  what  transpired  prior  to  the  year 
1840.  All  the  pioneer  work  has  been  done  since  that  date,  and  although  a  few 
missienaries  then  had  established  missions  in  what  is  now  Oregon,  yet  these 
looked  only  to  the  conversion  of  Indians  and  not  to  the  general  settlement  of  the 
country.  A  few  white  men  had  come  to  Oregon  before  that  date,  principally 
traders  with  the  Indians,  and  now  and  then,  a  straggler  had  made  his  home  in 
Oregon,  for  the  reason  probably,  that  in  his  aimless  wanderings,  he  had  struck 
the  Pacific  ocean,  which  rendered  his  further  progress  west  by  land  impossible. 


14  THE   ANNUAL   ADDRESS. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1840.  there  were  about  two  hundred  persons  in  Ore 
gon,  exclusive  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  its  employees,  and  of  the  na 
tive  Indians. 

Some  few  Americans  citizens  had  come  to  Oregon  prior  to  1840  left  over  or 
strayed  from  various  vessels  and  trading  expeditions  and  a  few  persons  not  con 
nected  with  the  missionaries  or  with  any  organized  party,  came  during  the  year 
1840.  Quite  a  number  of  mountain  men  who  had  been  cut  loose  by  the  break 
ing  up  of  the  independent  free  trading  companies,  also  came  to  Oregon  in  1840, 
bringing  with  them  their  native  wives  and  the  children  that  had  been  born  to 
them  during  their  nomad  life.  All  these  numbered  about  37.  The  Protestant 
missionaries,  counting  ministers,  lay  members,  and  women  and  children,  were 
about  100,  and  the  French  Canadians  old  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany,  but  at  this  time  settled  in  the  Willamette  valley  numbered  about  63; 
these  were  principally  Catholics,  and  among  these  were  three  Catholic  priests. 

The  title  to  the  entire  country  from  the  Rocky  mountains  on  the  east  to  the 
ocean  on  the  west,  and  from  the  Russian  possessions  on  the  north,  to  Mexico  on 
the  south,  was  in  dispute  between  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  but  was  then  open  for  commercial  pursuits  under  the  treaty  of  joint  occu 
pation. 

Great  Britain  was  represented  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  a  powerful 
corporation,  which  for  many  years  had  had  possession  of  the  entire  Indian  trade 
and  had  trading  posts  among  the  Indians  all  over  Oregon.  Its  influence  with 
the  Indians  was  immense,  and  until  the  boundary  treaty  of  1846,  it  controlled 
the  Canadian  settlers. 

The  United  States  was  represented  by  the  missionaries  and  the  few  Americans 
I  have  before  spoken  of. 

The  outlook  for  an  American  State  at  this  time  was  not  very  promising.  The 
settled  portions  of  the  States  were  two  thousand  miles  distant.  No  emigration 
had  yet  crossed  the  plains.  The  practicability  of  taking  wagons  any  further 
than  Fort  Hall  had  not  been  demonstrated. 

An  emigration  of  44  families  containing  ill  persons  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  Willamette  valley  in  the  fall  of  1842.  They  however  left  their  wagons  at 
Fort  Hall,  but  brought  considerable  stock  with  them. 

In  the  fall  of  1843,  a  large  emigration  of  from  900  to  1,000  persons  arrived, 
bringing  with  them  a  large  number  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  also  their  wagons. 

In  both  these  emigrations  were  quite  a  number  of  able  and  educated  men 
who  have  since  held  positions  of  trust  in  the  Territory  and  State,  with  honor  to 
themselves  and  profit  to  the  public. 


THE   ANNUAL   ADDRESS.  1$ 

The  arrival  of  the  emigration  of  1843,  ma7  be  considered  the  turning  point  in 
the  history  of  Oregon.  It  gave  to  the  American  population  of  the  Territory, 
control  of  its  civil  affairs;  attracted  the  attention  and  excited  the  interest  of  the 
citizens  and  public  authorities  of  the  United  States  to  this  then  almost  unknown 
land,  and  thus  contributed  materially  to  the  determination  of  the  boundary 
question. 

It  made  Oregon  of  too  great  importance  to  permit  diplomacy  to  trifle  it  away. 
It  brought  to  the  valley  a  large  band  of  improved  horses  and  cattle  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Indian  pony  and  the  long  horned,  light  bodied  and  half  wild  Span 
ish  cattle,  which  had  been  imported  from  California  by  the  Willamette  Cattle 
Company  in  1837.  It  afforded  the  settlers  means  of  making  themselves  at  home 
in  the  country,  and  filled  their  hearts  with  hopes  at  being  again  surrounded  by 
American  citizens. 

Other  large  emigrations  of  men  from  the  western  States  bringing  their  wives 
and  little  ones,  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  all  their  household  goods  with 
them,  followed  in  1844,  1845,  1846,  and  the  succeding  years,  until  by  their  la 
bors,  the  wilds  of  Oregon  were  turned  into  cultivated  fields,  and  her  territory 
made  the  home  of  a  numerous  and  happy  people. 

The  overland  emigration  by  team  and  wagon  from  the  borders  of  the  western 
States  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains  to  Oregon  has  not  yet  ceased  its  flow.  No 
inconsiderable  number,  coming  in  that  manner  arrived  last  summer  and  fall, 
[1877],  in  Eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory. 

August  5th,  1846,  the  treaty  of  the  I5th  of  June,  1846,  settling  the  boundary 
line  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
was  proclaimed.  This  treaty  gave  Oregon  to  the  United  States,  much  to  the 
satisfaction  of  its  Pioneer  settlers. 

On  the  2Qth  day  of  November,  1847,  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  his  wife,  and 
nine  other  American  citizens,  connected  with  the  Whitman  mission  at  Wailatpu, 
were  murdered  by  the  Cayuse  Indians,  among  whom  the  Doctor  had  carried  on 
a  mission  for  some  eight  years.  Doctor  Whitman  was  a  man  much  loved  and 
respected,  not  only  in  Oregon  but  at  the  East  for  high  Christian  character  and 
devoted  to  his  missionary  enterprise,  and  his  massacre  by  the  Indians  filled  the 
community  with  horror,  and  inspired  in  the  public  mind  a  determination  that 
that  his  murderers  should  be  punished. 

The  causes  that  led  to  this  massacre  are  briefly  these:  The  Doctor,  who  was 
an  educated  physician,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  administering  medicine  to  the 
sick  applying  at  the  mission.  There  was  at  this  time  an  epidemic  prevailing 
among  the  Indians  and  many  had  applied  for  and  received  treatment  and  medi 
cine.  Many  of  them  died — some  thirty  or  more,  who  had  taken  medicine  from 


l6  THE   ANNUAL   ADDRESS. 

the  Doctor,  and  in  their  ignorance  and  superstition,  the  survivors  attributed  the 
mortality  to  the  treatment  they  had  received,  and  killed  the  medicine-man  in 
revenge  for  the  death  of  his  patients. 

Such  has  been  the  almost  universal  custom  among  Indians.  The  man  who 
practices  medicine  among  them,  be  he  a  white  or  an  Indian  doctor,  takes  his  life 
in  his  hand ;  if  the  patient  dies,  he  must  pay  the  penalty  of  his  own  life  or  sat 
isfy  the  friends  of  the  deceased  by  presents. 

A  war  between  the  citizens  of  the  Territory  and  the  Indians  ensued,  known 
as  "  The  Cayuse  War ;"  which,  after  some  fighting,  resulted  primarily  in  driving 
the  tribe  out  of  the  reach  of  their  foes,  and  ultimately  in  the  surrender  of  the 
active  participators,  and  their  trial  and  execution  at  Oregon  City  in  the  year  1850. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  this  war;  suffice  it  for 
the  present  to  say  that  in  their  conduct  of  the  war,  the  citizens  and  officers  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  exhibited  in  a  high  degree  the  fortitude,  courage 
and  energy  naturally  to  be  expected  of  those  who  had  first  planted  and  main 
tained  American  institutions  on  this  coast. 

On  the  I4th  of  August,  1848,  the  Act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States,  or 
ganizing  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  was  approved  by  James  K.  Polk,  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  As  this  act  recognized  the  lawful  existence  of  the  Provis 
ional  Government,  and  ratified  its  laws,  acts  and  proceedings,  (with  some  special 
exceptions),  Oregon  may  be  considered  to  have  been  an  organized  Territory  from 
the  5th  day  of  July,  1843; — that  being  the  date  of  its  ratification  by  the  peo 
ple,  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  held  at  Champoeg  in  the  county  of  Marion.  It 
continued  in  existence  until  the  4th  of  March,  1849,  when  it  was  superceded  by 
the  Territorial  Government  under  the  Act  of  Congress  of  the  I4th  August,  1848. 
On  that  day,  Gen.  Joseph  Lane,  the  Governor  appointed  by  President  Polk  arri 
ved  at  Oregon  City  and  assumed  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  office.  He 
superceded  George  Abernethy,  who  had  been  Governor  under  the  Provisional 
Government  since  June,  1845,  at  which  date  he  had  been  elected  by  the  people. 
Gov.  Abernethy  had  exhibited  great  prudence  in  the  administration  of  his  office, 
and  retired  with  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  passed  the  last  years  of 
his  life  in  the  city  of  Portland,  where  he  died  during  the  year  1877. 

In  the  spring  of  1849,  Wm-  p-  Bryant  appointed  Chief  Justice,  and  O.  C. 
Pratt,  Associate  Justice,  arrived  in  Oregon  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of 
their  duties.  Peter  G.  Burnett,  who  had  been  appointed  one  of  the  Associate 
Justices,  had  removed  to  California  and  declined  the  office,  and  the  speaker  was 
on  the  1 7th  day  of  September,  1849,  appointed  his  successor.  At  about  the 
same  time  General  E.  Hamilton  was  appointed  Secretary. 

The  office  of  Governor,  in  place  of  General  Lane,  was  tendered  Abraham 


THE   ANNUAL   ADDRESS.  17 

Lincoln,  and  he  was  asked  by  telegram  whether  he  would  accept.  His  answer 
was  characteristic,  "  No  Sir-ee."  He  little  knew  then  the  destiny  to  which  he 
reserved  himself.  Then  known  to  few  by  name  even,  now  his  life's  history  and 
melancholy  death,  at  a  time  when  his  fame  and  future  were  or  seemed  to  be  at 
the  zenith,  are  inseperably  connected  with  the  most  eventful  period  of  our  coun 
try's  history,  and  are  known  at  home  and  abroad  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

Major  John  P.  Gaines,  who  had  gained  distinction  in  the  Mexican  war,  was 
then  appointed  Governor  and  accepted  the  appointment.  At  that  time  the  Cal 
ifornia  gold  excitement  was  at  its  height,  and  thousands  of  American  citizens 
were  rushing  in  every  possible  way  in  search  of  fortunes,  to  the  new  El  Dorado. 
There  were  three  ways  of  getting  to  Oregon  :  First,  across  the  plains ;  second, 
by  ship  around  Cape  Horn ;  and  third,  by  steamer  to  Aspinwall,  then  by  land 
and  river  travel  in  all  conceivable  ways  across  the  isthmus  to  Panama,  then  by 
vessel  or  steamer,  (if  the  line  on  this  coast  was  then  established  of  which  I  am 
not  sure,)  to  San  Francisco. 

The  first  route  was  tedious,  and  owing  to  the  immense  rush  across  the  plains, 
the  traveler  was  exposed  to  great  privation  and  hardship.  The  second  by  sea 
around  Cape  Horn,  was  a  long  way  round  and  took  more  time,  but  then  it  could 
be  made  comfortable,  and  household  goods  and  supplies  could  be  better  con 
veyed  to  this  distant  shore  than  by  either  routes.  The  route  by  the  isthmus  was 
the  shortest,  but  much  suffering  and  sickness  prevailed  between  Aspinwall  and 
Panama. 

The  United  States  store  ship  Supply  was,  when  we  were  appointed,  fitted  out 
at  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard  for  a  voyage  to  San  Francisco  with  stores  for  the  Pa 
cific  squadron  and  our  party  was  tendered  a  passage  on  her,  but  required  to  find 
our  own  supplies. 

The  Supply  was  a  fine  ship  of  750  tons  burden,  famous  as  the  one  which  con 
veyed  the  exploring  party  of  Commodore  Lynch  to  Palestine,  where  he  had  dis 
covered  (as  reported),  on  the  shores  of  the  Dead  sea,  Lot's  wife  in  a  pillar  of 
salt,  into  which  she  had  been  transformed  for  turning  her  face  to  catch  a  last 
lingering  look  of  Sodom,  as  Lot's  family  were  fleeing  from  that  devoted  city, 
and  there  she  has  remained  forever. 

We  accepted  the  offer  and  on  the  3d  day  of  January,  1850,  our  party  consist 
ing  of  Gov.  Gaines  and  family,  Gen.  Hamilton  and  family,  and  myself  and  fam 
ily,  set  sail  from  New  York  city  for  Oregon.  A  sea  voyage  is  necessarily  mo 
notonous,  and  I  will  not  weary  your  patience  or  consume  the  time  by  describing 
the  incidents  of  the  trip.  A  long  trip  by  sea  upon  a  sailing  vessel  is  unspeaka 
bly  tedious,  especially  to  persons  who  have  no  duties  to  perform  on  board  the 


i  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

ship.  I  am  not  sure  but  it  is  more  trying  to  the  temper  and  disposition  than  a 
trip  "  the  plains  across,"  though  I  cannot  say  that  any  one  of  our  party  lost  their 
religion  upon  the  voyage — an  accident  which  it  is  said  has  not  unfrequntly  hap 
pened  to  travelers  on  the  plains,  but  according  to  my  recollection  our  patience 
was  often  sorely  tried. 

At  Rio  Janeiro  where  we  first  stopped,  we  met  the  wife  of  Mr.  Morehead,  late 
U.  S.  Consul  at  Valparaiso  on  her  way  home,  a  passenger  in  the  U.  S.  frigate 
Saratoga.  We  learned  from  the  officers  of  the  vessel,  that  Mr.  Morehead  had 
rented  all  the  flouring  mills  in  Chile  and  was  sure  of  making  a  half  million  of 
dollars  by  the  monopoly  of  flour  in  San  Frannisco  market.  When  we  arrived  at 
Valparaiso  we  were  informed  that  on  account  of  large  supplies  shipped  from  the 
Eastern  States,  the  speculation  would  prove  ruinous.  On  our  arrival  at  San 
Francisco,  however,  we  learned  that  the  party  had  cleared  a  million  and  a  half 
dollars.  This  incident  is  mentioned  to  show  the  vicisitudes  of  trade  in  those 
days.  How  much  truth  there  was  in  the  statement,  I  never  fully  learned .  The 
speculation  I  believe,  turned  out  very  remunerative. 

As  San  Francisco  was  the  end  of  the  voyage  of  the  Supply,  we  exchanged 
vessels  there  and  came  to  Oregon  on  the  sloop-of-war  Falamouth,  Commander 
Pettigru,  arriving  at  Astoria  on  the  I4th  day  of  August,  1850.  Our  voyage  con 
sumed  7  months  and  u  days— 224  days  in  all.  As  we  stopped  9  days  at  Rio 
Janeiro,  21  at  St.  Catherines,  10  at  Valparaiso  and  loat  San  Francisco,  in  all  50 
days,  our  sailing  time  was  174  days.  Our  ship  was  a  fine  sailer  and  might  have 
made  the  voyage  in  much  shorter  time,  but  government  vessels  are  not  pressed 
on  as  are  merchant  ships;  they  take  their  time  and  exercise  unusual  prudence  in 
making  and  shortening  sail. 

There  was  nothing  of  particular  interest  in  the  voyage  to  the  public.  Except 
for  the  great  length  of  time  consumed,  it  was  more  comfortable  and  pleasant 
than  either  of  the  other  modes  of  moving  a  family  to  Oregon  could  have  been. 
Our  stoppage  at  St.  Catherines,  a  port  300  miles  south  of  Rio,  was  rendered 
necessary  on  account  or  the  yellow  fever,  which  we  took  aboard  at  Rio.  Some 
of  our  party  and  a  large  part  of  the  officers  and  crew,  were  taken  down  with  it» 
At  one  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  ship  would  be  entirely  disabled  before  we  could 
reach  a  port.  It  proved  fatal,  however,  in  only  four  cases.  Our  eldest  son  four- 
and-a-half  years  of  age,  was  the  first  victim,  and  was  buried  at  sea,  in  the  Atlantic 
whose  waves  washed  the  distant  shores  of  his  native  land.  A  young  seaman,  in 
whom  we  all  took  great  interest,  next  died;  and  Governor  Gaines  lost  two 
daughters,  interesting  and  accomplished  young  ladies,  who  had  been  the  life  of 
our  party. 

It  was  a  bright  and  beautiful  morning  when  we  entered  the  Columbia.     The 


THE   ANNUAL   ADDRESS.  19 

air  was  delightful,  the  scenery  grand;  the  shores  were  covered  with  a  dense 
green  foliage  ,the  hills  crowned  with  magnificent  evergreens.  On  our  voyage 
up  the  western  coast  of  South  America,  we  had  seen  little  except  brown  and 
hazy  sun-burnt  mountains — nothing  green  was  visible.  Around  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco,  everything  at  that  season  of  the  year  looked  dry  and  barren.  The 
hills  having  recently  been  burned  over,  consuming  the  crop  of  wild  oats  with 
which  they  had  been  luxuriantly  covered,  presented  a  black  and  desolate  ap 
pearance.  The  great  contrast  which  the  shores  of  the  Columbia  presented,  was 
cheering  to  the  heart.  The  first  impressions  of  our  new  home  were  delightful. 

When  Astoria  was  pointed  out  as  we  rounded  the  point  below,  I  confess  to  a 
feeling  of  disappointment.  Astoria,  the  oldest  and  most  famous  town  in  Oregon- 
We  had  expected  to  find  a  larger  place.  We  saw  before  us  a  straggling  hamlet 
consisting  of  a  dozen  or  so  small  houses,  irregularly  planted  along  the  river 
bank,  shut  in  by  the  dense  forest.  We  became  reconciled  and  indeed,  somewhat 
elevated  in  our  feelings  when  we  visited  the  shore,  and  by  it  enterprising  pro 
prietors  were  shown  the  beauties  of  the  place.  There  were  avenues  and  streets, 
squares  and  public  parks,  wharves  and  warehouses,  churches,  schools  and  thea 
ters,  and  an  immense  population — all  upon  the  map.  Those  proprietors  were 
men  of  large  ideas,  large  hopes.  They  assured  us  that  in  no  short  time  Astoria 
was  to  become  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Some  of  those 
proprietors  have  passed  away  and  gone  where  they  are  beyond  the  reach  of  hope 
or  fear.  Some  remain,  and  though  their  eyes  sparkle  and  brighten  when  they 
talk  of  the  future  grandeur  of  Astoria,  they  manifest  a  slight  feeling  of  sadness 
and  drop  the  subject  with  the  remark  :  This,  may  not  be  in  our  day,  but  it  will 
surely  come.  You  and  I  may  not  see  it,  but  our  children  will. 

Astoria  at  that  time  was  a  small  place,  or  rather,  two  places— the  upper  and 
lower  town  between  which  there  was  great  rivalry.  They  were  about  a  mile 
apart,  with  no  road  connecting  them  except  by  water  and  along  the  beach.  The 
upper  town  was  known  to  the  people  of  lower  Astoria  as  "  Adairville."  The 
lower  town  was  designated  by  its  rival  as  "  old  Fort  George,"  or  "McClure's 
Astoria."  A  road  between  the  two  places  would  have  weakened  the  differences 
of  both,  isolation  being  the  protection  of  either.  In  the  upper  town  was  the 
custom  house,  in  the  lower  two  companies  of  the  First  U.  S.  Engineers  under 
command  of  Major  J.  S.  Hathaway.  There  were  not,  excepting  the  military 
and  those  attached  to  them  and  the  custom  house  officials,  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  to  exceed  25  men  in  both  towns. 

At  the  time  of  our  arrival  in  the  country,  there  was  considerable  commerce  car 
ried  on,  principally  in  sailing  vessels  between  the  Columbia  river  and  San  Fran 
cisco.  The  exports  were  chiefly  lumber;  the  imports  general  merchandise. 


20  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

The  Pacific  Mail  steamer  Caroline  had  made  a  trip  in  the  month  of  May  or 
June,  1850,  bringing  up  furniture  for  the  Grand  Hotel  at  Pacific  City,  and  as 
passengers  Dr.  Elijah  White,  Judge  Alonzo  Skinner,  J.  D.  Holman,  and  others' 
who  were  the  founders  and  proprietors  of  the  city.  Some  of  the  proprietors  still 
live,  but  the  city  has  been  long  since  buried  and  the  place  where  it  stood  has 
returned  to  the  primeval  forest  from  which  it  was  taken.  The  Mail  Company's 
steamers  Oregon  and  Panama  had  each  made  one  trip  to  the  river  that  summer, 
but  regular  mail  service  by  steamer  from  San  Francisco,  was  not  established 
until  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  Columbia  in  the  winter  or  spring  of  1850-51. 
The  usual  length  of  time  of  receiving  letters  from  the  States  was  from  six  weeks 
to  two  months.  It  took  however  three  months  to  send  and  get  an  answer  from 
an  interior  State,  and  postage  on  a  single  letter  was  40  cents.  After  the  arrival 
of  the  Columbia,  they  came  with  great  regularity  once  a  month,  and  a  year  or 
two  afterwards  semi-monthly. 

In  1852  the  railroad  across  the  Isthmus  was  completed  thus  greatly  improving 
that  route.  A  route  had  been  established  across  Nicaragua  which  for  a  time 
was  quite  popular,  but  was  finally  abandoned  on  account  of  internal  disturban 
ces  in  the  country  in  part,  and  in  part  on  account  of  competition  and  increased 
facilities  upon  the  Isthmus  route.  The  date  when  the  Nicaragua  route  com 
menced  to  be  used  and  was  discontinued,  I  am  not  able  at  this  time  to  give. 
The  price  of  passage  by  the  Isthmus  route  before  their  opposition,  was  from  $200 
to  $250,  which  included  only  a  limited  amount  of  baggage.  Freights  were  ex 
traordinarily  high,  amounting  to  a  prohibition  upon  all  excepting  merchandise. 

In  1857,  the  Overland  Stage  Company  was  organized  and  commenced  carry 
ing  the  letter  mail  between  St.  Joe,  Missouri,  and  Placerville,  California,  under 
a  contract  with  the  Postmaster  General,  under  an  act  of  Congress,  approved 
March  3d,  1857-  The  Act  authorized  a  semi-monthly,  weekly,  or  semi-weekly 
service,  at  a  cost  per  annum  not  exceeding  $300,000  for  semi-monthly;  $450,000 
for  weekly,  and  $600,000  for  semi- weekly  service;  the  mail  to  be  carried  in  good 
four-horse  coaches  or  spring  wagons,  suitable  for  passengers,  through  in  25  days. 
The  original  contract  was  for  six  years,  but  was  extended  and  the  line  run  until 
the  railroad  was  completed  in  1869.  After  the  route  was  opened,  22  days  was 
the  schedule  time.  The  stages  run  full  both  ways,  fare  $250.  The  starting 
and  arrival  of  the  stages  were  great  events  at  both  ends  of  the  line.  A  pony 
express  from  San  Francisco  to  St.  Joe  was  started  in  1859,  and  run  about  a  year 
and  a  half.  It  made  the  trip  in  ten  days. 

The  first  river  steamboat  in  Oregon  was  the  Columbia,  built  by  Gen.  Adair, 
Capt.  Dan  Frost  and  others,  at  Upper  Astoria  in  1850.  She  was  a  side  wheel 
boat  90  feet  in  length,  of  about  75  tons  burthen,  capable  of  accommodating  not 


THE  ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

to  exceed  20  passengers,  though  I  have  known  of  her  carrying  on  one  trip  over 
100.  Though  small,  her  cost  exceeded  $25,000.  Mechanics  engaged  in  her 
construction  were  paid  at  the  rate  of  $16  per  day,  and  other  laborers  $5  to  $8 
gold.  She  made  her  first  trip  in  June,  1850,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Frost, 
McDermott,  enginer.  It  generally  took  about  24  hours  to  make  the  trip.  She 
tied  up  nights  and  in  foggy  weather.  Fare  was  $25  each  way.  She  was  an 
independent  little  craft  and  not  remarkably  accommodating,  utterly  ignoring 
lower  Astoria.  All  freight  and  passengers  must  come  on  board  at  the  upper 
town.  She  ran  for  a  year  or  two,  when  her  machinery  was  taken  out  and  put 
into  the  Fashion.  Her  hull  afterwards  floated  out  to  sea. 

The  Lot  Whitcomb,  also  a  side  wheeler  was  the  next.  She  was  built  at  Mil- 
waukie,  then  one  of  the  most  lively  and  promising  towns  in  Oregon,  by  Lot 
Whitcomb,  Col.  Jennings,  S.  S.  White  and  others,  and  launched  on  Christmas 
day,  1850.  That  was  a  great  day  in  Oregon;  hundreds  from  all  parts  of  the 
Territory,  came  to  witness  the  launch.  The  festivities  were  kept  up  for  three 
days  and  nights.  There  was  music  instrumental, — at  least  I  heard  several  fid 
dles — and  vocal,  dancing  and  feasting.  The  whole  city  was  full  of  good  cheer; 
every  house  was  open  and  all  was  free  of  charge — no  one  would  receive  pay. 
Sleeping  accommodations  were  rather  scarce,  but  there  was  plenty  to  keep  one 
awake. 

The  Lot  Whitcomb  had  a  fine  model,  a  powerful  engine  and  was  staunch  and 
fast.  Her  keel  was  12x14  inches,  160  feet  long,  a  solid  stick  of  Oregon  fir 
Her  burden  was  600  tons,  had  a  17  inch  cylinder,  7  feet  stroke  and  cost  about 
$80,000.  She  proved  a  safe  and  comfortable  boat.  Fare  upon  her  was  reduced 
to  $15  between  Portland  and  Astoria.  She  ran  upon  Oregon  waters  until  the 
latter  part  of  1853,  when  she  was  taken  to  San  Francisco,  and  ran  for  some  years 
on  the  Sacramento.  Capt.  John  C.  Ainsworth  took  command.  This  was  his 
first  steamboating  in  Oregon;  Jacob  Kamm  was  her  engineer.  Capt.  Ainsworth 
was  from  Iowa,  where  he  had  been  engaged  in  steamboating  on  the  Mississippi 
between  St.  Louis  and  Galena,  about  five  years.  He  was  a  young  man  about 
28  years  of  age  when  he  commenced  in  Oregon  and  had  nothing  to  begin  with 
but  the  ordinary  capital  of  an  Oregon  pioneer — a  sound  head,  brave  heart,  will 
ing  hands,  energy  and  fidelity  to  trust.  I  have  known  him  through  his  whole 
career  in  Oregon.  The  fortune  and  position  he  has  acquired  are  not  the  result 
of  accident  or  chance,  but  have  been  secured  by  industry,  integrity,  ability, 
hard  labor  and  prudence.  Such  fortune  and  such  position  come  to  all  who  work 
as  hard,  as  long  and  well  as  Captain  Ainsworth. 

Jacob  Kamm  the  engineer,  was  the  right  man  in  the  right  place  on  such  a 
boat,  under  such  a  Captain.  He  proved  himself  skillful  and  prudent;  no  acci- 


22  THE   ANNUAL  ADDRESS. 

dent  ever  occured  through  his  want  of  skill  and  care  during  the  long  period  in 
which  he  ran  engineer  on  Oregon  steamboats.  The  fortune  he  has  acquired  has 
been  built-up  by  hard  labor,  increased  and  preserved  by  skill  and  prudence. 

The  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  a  New  York  corporation  which  had  the 
mail  contract  between  Panama  and  Oregon,  brought  out  a  large  iron  steamer 
called  Willamette.  She  was  built  for  the  company  at  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
and  brought  around  Cape  Horn  under  sail  as  a  three  masted  schooner,  arriving 
in  the  fall  1851.  She  was  soon  fitted  up  and  commenced  running  under  Capt. 
Durbrow,  between  Portland  and  Astoria  in  connection  with  the  Company's  sea 
steamer.  She  was  an  elegant  boat  in  all  her  appointments;  had  fine  accommo 
dation  for  passengers,  and  great  freight  capacity.  In  fact,  she  was  altogether  too 
large  for  the  trade,  and  in  August,  1852,  her  owners  took  her  to  California,  and 
run  her  on  the  Sacramento.  One  good  thing  she  did,  she  put  fare  down  to  $10. 
Fare  on  this  route  went  down  slowly;  first  $26,  then  $15,  then  $io,  then  $8,  then 
$5;  it  is  now  $2.  It  is  only  within  a  few  years  that  the  passenger  trade  on  the 
lower  Columbia  has  been  of  any  considerable  value,  or  would  support  a  single 
weekly  steamboat.  It  has  now  become  of  more  importance. 

Time  will  only  permit  me  to  touch  upon  the  important  events  which  make 
eras  in  the  commerce  of  Oregon. 

Navigation  upon  the  Willamette  above  the  falls  at  Oregon  City  by  steamboats 
was  opened  by  the  Hoosier,  built  at  Oregon  City  below  the  falls,  and  taken  up 
early  in  1851.  She  ran  between  Canemah  and  Dayton  on  the  Yamhill. 

Early  in  1851,  Abernethy  &  Go's,  barque,  the  Success  from  New  York,  ar 
rived  at  Oregon  City  with  a  general  cargo  of  merchandise  and  three  steamboats 
two  of  them  were  small  iron  propellers  and  the  third,  the  Multnomah  was  a  side 
wheel  boat  built  of  wood.  The  Eagle  was  very  little  larger  than  an  ordinary 
ships  yawl-boat.  She  was  owned  and  run  between  Portland  and  Oregon  City, 
by  Captains  Wm.  Wells  and  Richard  Williams.  When  Wells  was  Captain, 
Williams  was  mate,  fireman  and  all  hands;  when  Capt.  Dick  took  the  wheel, 
Wells  became  the  crew.  She  carried  freight  for  $15  per  ton,  passengers  $5  each. 
Pretty  good  pay  for  a  12  mile  route.  She  made  more  money  according  to  her 
size  than  any  boat  in  Oregon.  Out  of  her  earnings  the  owners  built  the  iron 
steamboat  the  Belle,  and  made  themselves  primcipal  owners  in  the  Senorita. 
Two  for  that  day  first  class  steam  boats.  The  Washington  was  somewhat  larger, 
owned  by  Alexander  S.  Murry  who  commanded  her.  He  took  the  boat  up 
above  the  falls  in  June,  1851  run  her  there  until  the  fall  or  winter  1851-2,  when 
he  brought  her  down  and  run  her  between  Portland  and  Oregon  City  until  the 
spring  of  1853,  when  she  was  again  taken  above  the  falls  where  she  ran  until 
July  of  the  same  year,  when  her  owners  there,  Allan  McKinlay  &  Co.,  brought 


THE  ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  2$ 

her  below  and  sent  her  under  steam  around  to  the  Umpqua  river.  She  arrived 
there  in  safety,  crossing  the  bars  of  both  rivers,  and  ended  her  days  there  in  the 
service  of  her  owners.  She  was  known  after  her  sea  voyage  as  the  "Bully  Wash 
ington."  The  only  money  ever  made  out  of  her,  was  made  by  her  first  owner, 
Capt.  Murray.  He  was  a  sharp  Scotchman,  came  from  Australia  here  and  re 
turned  there  when  he  left  Oregon.  He  is  said  to  be  the  fathei  of  internal  navi 
gation  in  Australia.  He  made  money,  and  when  I  last  heard  of  him,  was  en- 
gated  in  the  navigation  of  Murray's  river,  which  empties  into  the  ocean  at  Ade 
laide. 

The  next  and  most  famous  of  the  steamers  that  were  brought  out  on  the  Suc 
cess,  was  the  Multnomah.  She  came  in  sections,  and  was  set  up  at  Canemah 
by  two  or  three  army  or  naval  officers  of  the  United  States,  who  had  brought 
her  out,  Doctors  Gray  and  Maxwell  and  Captain  Bincle;  was  built  of  oak  staves 
two  inches  in  thickness  and  of  the  width  and  length  of  ordinary  boat  plank, 
bound  with  hoops  made  of  bar  iron,  keyed  up  on  the  gunnels;  was  100  feet  in 
length,  with  good  machinery  and  like  her  principal  owner,  Dr.  Gray,  fastid 
iously  nice  in  all  her  appointments.  She  had  no  timbers  except  her  deck  beams 
and  the  frame  upon  which  her  engine  and  machinery  rested,  and  was  as  staunch 
as  oak  and  iron  could  make  her.  It  was  as  difficult  to  knock  her  to  pieces  from 
the  outside  as  it  is  for  a  boy  to  kick  in  a  well  hooped  barrel.  She  commenced 
running  above  the  falls  shortly  after  the  Washington,  and  run  there— her  highest 
point  being  Corvallis,  then  Marysville — until  May,  1852,  when  she  was  brought 
below  on  ways  in  a  cradle,  and  thereafter  run  on  the  lower  Willamette  and  Co 
lumbia,  part  of  the  time  making  three  trips  a  week  to  Oregon  City  and  three 
trips  to  the  Cascades.  She  brought  down  many  of  the  emigrants  of  1852.  She 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Abernethy  &  Co.,  and  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1853,  ran 
between  Portland  and  Oregon  City  in  connection  with  the  Lot  Whitcomb.  On 
the  failure  of  Abernethy  &  Co.,  she  fell  into  the  hands  of  their  creditors  and  had 
different  Captains  every  few  trips  for  a  year  or  two.  She  was  then  purchased 
by  Captain  Richard  Hoyt,  and  run  on  the  lower  Columbia  route  until  his  death 
in  the  winter  or  spring  of  1861-2.  She  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Ore 
gon  Steam  Navigation  Company,  and  after  much  more  useful  service  laid  her 
bones  in  the  bone-yard  below  Portland. 

About  the  same  time,  1851,  a  small  wooden  boat,  a  propeller,  called  the 
Black  Hawk,  ran  between  Portland  and  Oregon  City.  She  made  money  very 
rapidly  for  her  owners. 

The  other  boats  built  for  or  run  above  the  falls  of  the  Willamette  were  the 
Portland,  built  opposite  Portland,  in  1853,  by  A.  S.  Murrey,  John  Torrance  and 
James  Clinton.  She  was  afterwards  taken  above  the  falls  where  she  ran  for 


24  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

some  time.  On  the  i;th  of  March,  1857,  she  was  carried  over  the  falls  in  high 
water,  leaving  hardly  a  vestige  of  the  boat,  and  drowning  her  Captain,  Arthur 
Jaimison,  and  one  deck  hand. 

There  were  seven  brothers,  Jaimeson,  young  Scotchmen,  came  to  this  coast, 
all  energetic  and  reliable  men,  of  whom  six  lost  their  Hues  by  accidents  on  the 
water — two  killed  by  a  boiler  explosion  on  Frazier  river,  two  drowned  in  the 
waters  of  British  Columbia,  the  other  lost  on  the  Portland,  as  I  have  just  related. 

There  was  the  Canemah,  side  wheels,  built  in  1851  by  A.  F.  Hedges,  Charles 
Bennett,  afterwards  killed  by  the  Indians  in  Col.  Kelly's  fight  on  the  Touchet 
in  1856  ;  Alanson  Beers  and  Hamilton  Campbell.  She  run  between  Canemah 
and  Corvallis.  The  heaviest  load  she  ever  carried  was  thirty-five  tons.  Passage 
on  her  was  #5  to  Salem.  She  made  little  or  no  money  for  her  owners  though 
she  had  a  mail  contract. 

The  Oregon,  built  and  owned  by  Ben  Simpson  &  Co.,  in  1852,  was  a  side 
wheel  boat  of  good  size,  but  proved  very  poor  property. 

The  Shoal  water,  built  by  the  owners  of  the  Canemah  in  1852-3  as  a  low- 
water  boat,  commanded  by  Capt.  Lem  White,  the  pioneer  captain  upon  the 
upper  Columbia,  proved  to  be  a  failure.  She  changed  her  name  several  times, 
was  the  Fenix,  Franklin  and  Minnie  Holmes.  Her  bad  luck  followed  her  under 
every  alias.  In  the  spring  of  1854,  she  collapsed  a  flue  near  Rock  Island  while 
stopping  at  a  landing.  None  were  killed,  but  several  were  more  or  less  seri 
ously  injured  and  all  badly  scared.  H.  N.  V.  Holmes,  a  prominent  resident  of 
Polk  county,  was  badly  injured,  but  jumped  overboard  and  swam  across  the 
river  to  the  eastern  shore  before  he  knew  that  he  was  hurt. 

Next  was  the  Wallamette,  also  built  by  the  owners  of  the  Canemah,  in  1853. 
She  was  a  large  and  expensive  boat  of  the  Mississippi  style.  Run  above  the 
falls  until  July,  1854,  when  she  was  taken  below,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  was  sold  and  taken  to  California.  She  proved  a  failure  everywhere  and 
came  near  breaking  her  owners.  The  current  seemed  to  be  against  her  whether 
she  ran  up  or  down  stream. 

In  the  summer  of  1853,  a  company  of  California  capitalists  bought  the  land 
and  built  a  basin  and  warehouse  on  the  west  side  of  the  Willamette  at  the  falls, 
near  where  the  canal  and  locks  now  are.  Their  first  boat  was  burned  on  the 
stocks  Oct.  6,  1853.  The  second  was  the  ill-fated  Gazelle,  a  large  and  beauti 
ful  side  wheel  steamer.  She  made  her  first  trip  on  the  i8th  of  March,  1854. 
On  the  5th  of  April,  1854,  when  lying  at  Canemah,  her  boiler  exploded  causing 
great  loss  of  lives.  Over  twenty  persons  were  killed  outright,  and  as  many 
wounded,  three  or  four  of  whom  died  shortly  afterwards.  The  Rev.  J.  P.  Miller, 
a  Presbyterian  minister  of  Albany,  in  this  State,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Judge  Wilson, 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  25 

now  a  widow  and  Postmaster  at  The  Dalles,  (Postmistress  is  not  known  under 
the  postoffice  laws).  Mrs.  Kelley,  wife  of  Col.  Kelly,  late  U.  S.  Senator  from 
this  State,  now  resident  of  Portland,  and  Mrs.  Grover,  the  wife  of  Gen.  Cuvier 
Grover.  Many  other  valuable  citizens  of  Oregon  were  among  the  killed.  The 
wreck  was  bought  by  Captains  R.  Hoyt,  William  Wells  and  A.  S.  Murry,  taken 
down  over  the  falls  on  the  nth  day  of  August,  1855,  and  converted  into  the 
Senorita  of  which  I  have  before  spoken.  The  Warehouse  Company  afterward 
built  the  Oregon,  which  was  sunk  and  prove  a  total  loss.  The  property  passed 
into  other  hands;  the  buildings  were  afterwards  burned  and  all  was  swept  away 
in  the  flood  of  December,  1861. 

The  first  stern-wheeler  upon  the  upper  Willamette,  was  the  Enterprise,  built 
in  the  fall  of  1855,  by  Archibald  Jamison,  (a  brother  of  the  one  lost  on  the  Port 
land  when  she  went  over  the  falls  in  March,  1854),  Capt.  A.  S.  Murry,  Amory 
Holbrook,  John  Torrance,  and  others.  She  was  115  feet  in  length,  15  feet  in 
width  and  had  neat  cabin  appointments.  She  run  on  the  upper  river  under 
Capt.  Jamison — the  first  really  successful  boat  on  that  part  of  the  river — and 
after  some  years'  service  was  sold  to  Capt.  Tom  Wright,  son  of  Commodore, 
better  known  as  Bully  Wright  of  San  Francisco,  who  took  her  to  Frazier  river 
on  the  breaking  out  of  the  mines  there,  where  she  finished  her  course;  as  I  now 
recollect,  she  was  blown  up. 

In  1856,  Captains  Cochrane,  Gibson,  Cassidy  and  others,  built  the  James 
Clinton;  afterwards  called  the  Surprise.  She  was  in  her  day  the  largest  and 
best  stern-wheeler  upon  the  Willamette. 

The  Success  built  at  a  later  period  by  Captain  Baughman,  belied  her  name 
and  had  a  short  and  unprofitable  career. 

There  were  other  steamboats  during  this  time  and  afterwards  upon  that  por 
tion  ot  the  river  which  time  forbids  me  to  name.  What  I  have  already  stated  is 
sufficient  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  growth  of  navigation  up  to  the  time  when 
corporations  commenced  their  operation.  These  boats  that  I  have  named,  and 
others  built  and  owned  by  private  individuals,  held  the  field  until  1862-3  when 
the  People's  Transportation  Company,  a  corporation  under  the  general  incorpo 
ration  law  of  Oregon,  entered  upon  its  career.  They  built  the  canal,  basin  and 
warehouse  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  carried  on  a  profitable  trade  be 
tween  Portland  and  the  various  points  up  the  river,  finally  selling  out  to  Ben 
Holladay,  who,  with  his  railroad  and  river  steamboats  then  held  command  of 
the  trade  of  the  entire  Willamette  valley. 

An  account  of  the  internal  commerce  of  Oregon,  would  be  incomplete  without 
a  history  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company. 
I  shall  speak  of  it  historically  only,  how  it  originated  and  what  it  has  ac- 


26  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

complished.  Whether  its  influence  has  been  good  or  bad,  whether  on  the 
whole,  it  has  been  or  is  likely  to  be  detrimental  to  the  true  interests  of  our  peo 
ple  are  questions  that  are  no,t  to  be  discussed  here.  Time  will  only  permit  me 
to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  prominent  points  in  its  history.  It  is  an  Oregon  in- 
institution,  established  by  Oregon  men  who  made  their  start  in  Oregon.  Its 
beginnings  were  small,  but  it  has  grown  to  great  importance  under  the  control 
of  the  men  who  originated  it. 

In  April,  1859,  the  owners  of  the  steamboats  Carrie  Ladd,  Senorita,  and 
Belle,  which  had  been  plying  between  Portland  and  Cascades,  represented  by 
Captain  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  agent,  the  Mountain  Buck,  by  Col,  J.  S.  Ruckel,  its 
agent,  the  Bradford  horse  railroad  between  the  middle  and  upper  Cascades,  by 
its  owners,  Bradford  &  Co.,  who  also  had  a  small  steamboat  plying  between  the 
Cascades  and  The  Dalles,  entered  into  a  mutual  arrangement  to  form  a  trans 
portation  line  between  The  Dalles  and  Portland,  under  the  name  and  style  of 
Union  Transportation  Company.  There  were  some  other  boats  running  on  that 
route,  the  Independence  and  Wasco,  in  the  control  of  Alexander  Ankney  and 
George  W.  Vaughn;  also  the  Flint  and  Fashion  owned  by  Capt.  J.  O.  Van 
Bergen.  -As  soon  as  practicable,  these  interests  were  harmonized  or  purchased. 

At  this  time,  freights  were  not  large  between  Portland  and  the  upper  Colum 
bia,  and  the  charges  were  high.  There  was  no  uniform  rule  ;  the  practice  was 
to  charge  according  to  the  exigency  of  the  case.  Freights  had  been  carried  in 
sail  boats  from  Portland  to  the  Cascades  at  $20  per  ton.  I  have  before  me  an 
advertisement  in  an  early  number  of  the  Weekly  Oregonian,  that  the  schooner 
Henry,  owned  by  F.  A.  Chenoweth.  now  a  practicing  lawyer  at  Corvallis,  and 
Geo.  L.  Johnson,  would  carry  at  that  rate. 

On  the  i Qth  day  of  December,  1860, — there  being  then  no  law  under  which  a 
corporation  could  be  established  in  Oregon — the  proprietors  of  the  Union  Trans 
portation  Line,  procured  from  the  Washington  Territory  Legislature,  an  act 
incorporating  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  G.  F.  Bradford,  J.  S.  Ruckel,  R.  R.  Thompson, 
and  their  associates  under  the  name  and  style  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 
Company.  R.  R.  Thompson  and  Lawrence  Coe,  who  then  first  became  inter 
ested  with  the  other  parties,  had  built  a  small  steamboat  called  the  Col.  Wright, 
above  The  Dalles,  which  went  into  the  line  and  made  up  their  shares  of  the 
capital  stock.  This  was  the  second  boat  they  had  built  at  that  point.  The  first 
when  partially  completed,  was  carried  over  the  falls  and  down  the  rfver  in  high 
water.  There  the  hull  was  sold,  fitted  up  and  taken  to  Frazer  river  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  gold  mine  excitement  on  British  Columhia,  and  much  to  the 
credit  of  its  builders,  made  the  highest  point  ever  reached  by  a  steamboat  on 
that  river. 


THE     ANNUAL   ADDRESS.  27 

The  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company,  or  O.  S.  N.  Co.,  as  it  has  been  more 
generally  called  and  known  since  organized  under  the  act,  J.  C.  Ainsworth  was 
the  first  President,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  single  year,  when  J.  S.  Ruckel 
held  the  position,  has  been  its  President  ever  since.  Its  principal  office  was  lo 
cated  at  Vancouver,  and  its  property  formed  no  inconsiderable  addition  to  the 
taxable  property  of  Washington  Territory.  It  might  have  remained  there  until 
this  time,  had  it  received  fair  treatment.  But  the  citizens  thought  they  had  the 
goose  that  laid  the  golden  egg,  and  they  killed  it.  By  unfriendly  legislation 
and  unjust  taxation,  the  company  was  driven  from  the  Territory,  and  in  Octo 
ber,  1862,  it  incorporated  under  the  general  act  of  Oregon,  where  it  has  ever 
since  existed  an  Oregon  corporation,  in  fact,  as  it  has  always  been  in  ownership 
and  name.  Its  railroads,  steamboats,  warehouses,  wharf-boats  and  wharves, 
have  all  been  built  and  established  by  the  company,  without  public  aid  except 
the  patronage  by  the  public  after  they  were  completed. 

All  its  founders  started  poor.  They  have  accomplished  nothing  that  has  not 
been  equally  within  the  power  of  others  by  the  exercise  of  equal  foresight,  labor 
and  perseverance.  They  had  no  exclusive  rights.  The  rivers  are  wide  enough 
for  all  the  steamers  which  can  be  built,  and  the  passes  at  the  Cascades  and  the 
Dalles  are  broad  enough  for  all  the  railroads  that  may  be  found  desirable.  They 
are  still  unoccupied  and  open  to  all. 

The  O.  S.  N.  Co.  have  diminished  the  price  of  carrying  freight  and  passen 
gers  wherever  it  has  established  lines  of  the  great  cost  of  transportation  of  the 
early  times,  fares  have  come  down  to  $5  between  Portland  and  the  Dalles;  $12 
to  Wallula;  $20  to  Lewiston;  $2  to  Astoria,  and  freights  have  been  correspond 
ingly  reduced.  Wheat  and  flour  were  last  season  brought  down  from  Lewiston 
for  $8,  and  from  Wallula  for  $6  per  ton,  including  handling  over  the  boat  lines 
and  two  railroads. 

Of  one  thing  the  citizens  of  Oregon  may  well  boast.  Taking  into  considera 
tion  what  has  been  done  by  private  enterprise  alone,  there  is  no  young  State  in 
the  Union  where  so  much  in  the  way  of  internal  improvements  has  been  accomp 
lished  in  so  short  a  time. 

The  canal  and  locks  in  the  Willamette  at  Oregon  City,  in  the  main  constructed 
by  private  means,  have  worked  wonders  for  the  commerce  on  that  river.  There 
original  cost  was  near  half  a  million  dollars.  Soon  we  may  hope  to  see  a 
canal  and  locks  at  the  Cascades,  constructed  by  the  United  States,  which  will 
be  of  equal  value  to  the  commerce  upon  the  Columbia  river. 

The  pioneers  of  Oregon  were  brave  and  sturdy  men.  The  more  I  study  the 
history  of  their  acts,  the  greater  my  admiration.  The  Provisional  Government 


28  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

they  established  is  a  monument  to  their  wisdom.  It  shows  that  they  had  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  true  principles  of  republican  government.  They  carried  on 
that  government  for  thirteen  years,  under  great  difficulty,  with  great  prudence 
and  success — acting  in  all  emergencis  with  such  consummate  prudence  and  for- 
sight,  that  events  have  pointed  out  no  better  course  which  they  could  have  pur 
sued. 

The  Pioneers  were  young  then;  we  are  getting  along  in  years  now.  Yet  as 
we  set  around  the  camp  fire  and  talk  over  the  days  of  our  youth,  we  feel  young 
again.  We  tell  the  friend  that  we  now  see  for  the  first  time  since  we  traveled 
in  Oregon,  that  we  feel  as  young  as  we  ever  did.  We  see,  as  the  fire  brightens, 
that  he  has  grown  old.  His  grey  hairs,  his  wrinkled  brow  and  feeble  steps 
excite  our  sympathy.  We  attempt  to  rise  to  assist  him;  our  stiffened  limbs  fail 
to  respond  to  the  will,  and  we  find,  alas!  that  age  has  also  fallen  upon  us. 

My  friends,  we  shall  soon  pass  away.  Year  by  year  these  Re-Unions  of  the 
old  Pioneers  will  grow  smaller  and  smaller.  I  trust  we  shall  continue  to  our 
latest  breath  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  each  other  and  in  the  State 
where  we  have  so  long  lived,  and  which  we  have  contributed  so  much  to  create 
and  build  up.  Let  us  not  forget  to  act  well  our  part  to  the  end.  Let  us  see  to 
it,  that  we  impress  upon  the  minds  of  our  children  and  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us,  those  lessons  of  patriotism  which  were  handed  down  to  us  by  our  fathers. 
Let  us  do  all  that  we  can  to  impress  upon  them,  that  free  government  consists 
in  equal  rights,  regulated  and  controlled  by  wise  and  just  laws,  which  punish 
and  restrain  the  guilty,  that  the  innocent  may  be  protected.  True  liberty  is 
only  to  be  found  in  a  government  where  the  laws  are  just  and  faithfully  admin 
istered. 

Oregon  owes  by  far  the  most  of  its  prosperity  and  rapid  progress  to  the  early 
formation  of  the  Provisional  Government,  the  wise  laws  which  were  enacted, 
and  the  inflexible  justice  with  which  they  were  administered. 


OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


HON.  J.  QUINN  THORNTON,  A.  M.,  D.  C.  L.,  L.L.D. 

CORRESPONDING   MEMBER  OF  THE   AMERICAN   INSTITUTE;  FORMERLY  JUDGE  OF 
THE   SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  ORE 
GON;   AUTHOR   OF  THE   HISTORY   OF  THAT   GOVERN 
MENT;  AND  AUTHOR  OF  "  OREGON  AND 
CALIFORNIA   IN    1848." 

MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOW  CITIZENS  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  Associ- 
TION: 

This  Annual  Re-Union  has  devolved  upon  me  the  duty  of  presenting  for  your 
consideration  in  this  "  Occasional  Address,"  the  leading* historical  facts  of  the 
emigration  of  1846. 

And  first  permit  me  to  express  the  obligation  I  feel  for  the  compliment  con 
veyed  in  the  confidence  implied,  by  my  having  been  thus  placed  in  a  position 
which  presupposes,  at  least,  a  willingness  on  my  part  to  contribute  something 
toward  the  facts  and  reliable  history  of  the  early  settlement  of  Oregon,  for  such 
I  understand  to  be  the  object  of  our  organization. 

You  will  next  permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  simply  wonderful  differ 
ence  between  our  condition,  when  weary,  wayworn,  and  exhausted  in  all  our  re 
sources,  save  that  spirit  of  self-reliance  which  "  Alis  volat  propriis"  so  aptly 
expresses,  we  first  entered  the  Willamette  valley,  when  contrasted  with  the  cir 
cumstances  which  now  surround  us,  as  on  this  interesting  gala  day,  we  come  up 
to  the  capitol  from  all  parts  of  the  State  with  hearts  glowing  with  gratitude  to 
to  Almighty  God,  while  cheerfulness  beaming  from  every  countenance  ex 
presses  our  social  affections  and  our  appreciation  of  the  blessings  of  that  Provi 
dence,  which  led  us  all  the  way  through  a  dreadful  wilderness,  to  this  goodly 
land,  where  the  soil  has  never  been  known  to  withhold  a  large  reward  to  the 
skillful  hand  of  consenting  toil. 

To  open  a  communication  between  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Paci 
fic  ocean,  became  the  a  prime  object  with  prominent  statesmen.  This  induced 
Mr.  Jefferson  to  send  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1804,  to  explore  the  line  of  the  Mis- 


30  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

souri  and  Columbia  rivers,  as  a  means  of  communication  with  India  and  the  na 
tions  occupying  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia.  It  was  believed  that  two  circum 
stances  would  facilitate  the  introduction  of  East  India  goods  upon  the  route  of 
the  Columbia  and  Missouri  rivers.  First,  the  goods  to  be  introduced  were  of 
little  weight,  small  bulk  and  great  value;  secondly,  the  river  to  be  ascended 
was  short,  the  one  to  be  descended  was  long,  and  it  was  believed  that  the 
American  trade  to  China  and  to  India,  might  result  in  pouring  a  flood  of  com 
merce  upon  our  western  coast  which  would  flow  eastward  by  the  channels  I  have 
named.  It  was  known  that  this  commerce  had  enriched  the  world,  and  that 
through  thousands  of  years;  all  the  great  nations  of  the  earth  have  enjoyed  the 
riches  of  the  East,  and  have  sought  in  turn  to  control  the  commerce  of  these 
countries  which  enabled  Solomon  to  adorn  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  with  jewels 
and  gold:  which  built  up  Tyre  and  Sidon;  which  found  its  way  to  Egypt,  and  at 
and  at  last  to  Rome,  to  France,  Portugal,  Spain,  Holland,  England;  and  finally 
to  this  great  republic.  It  was  seen  that  this  vast  and  almost  incomperhensibly 
rich  commerce  had  never  ceased  from  the  highest  point  of  Jewish  splendor  to 
supply  the  civilized  world  with  all  that  man  can  desire  for  his  ease,  comfort  or 
enjoyment. 

Moreover  it  was  believed  that  upon  the  people  of  Eastern  Asia,  the  establish 
ment  of  a  civilized  power  upon  the  opposite  coast  of  America,  could  not  fail  to 
produce  great  and  wonderful  benefits.  Science,  liberal  principles  in  govern 
ment,  and  true  religion,  might  cast  their  lights  across  the  intervening  ocean. 
The  valley  of  the  Columbia  might  become  the  granary  of  China  and  Japan,  and 
an  outlet  to  their  imprisoned  and  exuberant  population.  The  oldest  and  newest 
nations  on  the  globe,  the  most  despotic  and  freest  government,  would  become 
the  neighbors,  and  peradventure  the  friends  of  each  other,  standing  together 
upon  a  sense  of  common  interests  and  mutual  respect  and  confidence. 

At  length  the  subject  began  to  be  very  fully  discussed  in  Congress,  and  the 
establishment  of  military  posts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  insisted  upon  as 
a  means  of  settlement  looking  to  the  East  India  and  China  trade,  the  control  of 
which  had  in  all  the  world's  history  given  supremacy  and  naval  strength  to  the 
nation  possessing  it. 

The  attention  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  was  thus  attracted,  and  when 
the  dispute  between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  that  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  as  to  the  title  to  the  country,  came  up,  it  was  seen  by  American  statesmen, 
that  actual  settlement  was  nesessary  to  give  strength  to  our  claim  if  regard  was 
had  to  the  laws  of  nations.  The  American  heart  became  fired,  and  public  men 
encouraged  emigrants  to  go  and  build  houses  and  make  farms  in  the  country  of 
which  Mr.  Barbour  of  Virginia,  said  in  Congress,  Feb.  26,  1825:  "Oregon 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  31 

can  never  be  one  of  the  United  States.  *  *  *  *  Would  to  heaven 
there  was  a  perpetual  decree,  that  should  forever  secure  to  the  aboriginies  of 
that  soil,  the  quiet  possession  of  the  country  they  now  enjoy."  But  then  it  was 
not  so  decreed.  And  whatsoever  is  not  "  decreed"  does  not  "  come  to  pass" 
according  to  my  theology.  It  certainly  did  "come  to  pass"  that  the  emigrants 
began  to  come  to  Oregon,  and  very  soon  thereafter  rendered  it  very  clear  to  the 
dullest  apprehension  that  there  was  not  "  a  perpetual  decree,  that  should  forever 
sgecure  to  the  aboriginees  of  that  soil,  the  quiet  possession  of  the  country  they  do 
not  now  enjoy." 

The  public  feeling  soon  manifested  itself  in  the  fact  that  considerable  num 
bers  commenced  to  emigrate  to  Oregon. 

The  town  of  Independence,  Missouri,  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  where  they 
were  accustomed  to  come  together  for  the  purpose  c  f  completing  their  purchases 
as  the  necessary  outfit  for  the  contemplated  journey,  and  for  making  other  final 
preparations. 

Most  of  the  emigrants  had  as  early  as  the  i8th  of  April,  1846,  already  departed. 
Some  were  assembled  at  Indian  Creek;  a  lew  were  still  at  Independence,  not 
yet  quite  prepared  to  leave. 

In  the  countenances  of  the  emigrants  thus  assembled  at  this  place,  there  was 
a  peculiar  blending  of  sunshine  and  shadow,  such  as  I  had  never  before  seen. 
And  yet,  it  was  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  their  hopes  and  fears  had  altern 
ately  been  greatly  excited  during  several  preceding  weeks,  while  preparing  for 
their  long  and  arduous  journey,  and  in  bringing  themselves  to  submit  to  the 
severance  of  those  endearing  ties  that  bound  them  to  the  place  and  to  the  peo 
ple  of  their  former  homes.  They  seemed  to  have  even  a  painful  sense  of  the 
fact  that  they,  too,  were  about  to  enter  upon  scenes  in  which  they  were  to  endure 
great  mental  and  physical  suffering,  and  that  to  nerve  them  for  the  trials  before 
them,  it  was  necessary  to  lay  under  contribution  all  the  resources  which  God 
and  nature  had  made  available,  to  prepare  the  mind  and  heart  and  body  to  suc 
cessfully  encounter  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  long,  exhausting  and 
dusty  road,  which  stretched  away,  away,  away  in  weary  miles  of  multiplied 
hundreds,  over  scorching  deserts  of  sand  and  sage  brush  toward  the  ever  re 
ceding  west. 

The  town  Independence  was  at  this  time  a  Babel  on  the  border  of  "that  great 
and  dreadful  wilderness,"  which  extended  thence  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  There 
was  seen  the  slave  of  African  descent  having  a  shining  black  face,  driving  his 
master's  six  horse  team  of  red  bays,  and  swinging  from  side  to  side  as  he  sat 
upon  the  saddle  horse  and  listened  with  pride  and  ever  increasing  pleasure  to 


32  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

the  incessant  tinkling  of  the  bells.  In  one  street,  just  driving  out  of  town,  was 
an  emigrant,  who.  having  completed  all  his  preparations,  was  moving  forward 
to  an  advance  place  of  rendezvous  in  the  great  prairie  wilderness.  He  whistled 
as  though  his  mouth  had  been  made  for  nothing  else,  and  he  seemed  to  be  as 
happy  as  a  robin  in  June  sitting  upon  the  topmost  bough  of  a  tree,  from  which  with 
the  melody  of  song,  he  cheers  his  silent  and  incubating  mate. 

Here,  too  was  seen  the  indolent  dark  skinned  Spaniard,  smoking  a  cigar  as  he 
leaned  against  the  sunny  side  of  a  house.  He  wore  a  sharp  conical  felt  hat 
with  a  red  baud  around  it;  a  blue  roundabout,  with  little  brass  buttons,  duck 
pantaloons  open  at  the  side  as  high  as  the  knee,  exhibiting  his  white  cotton 
drawers  between  his  knee  and  the  top  of  his  low  half  boots,  completed  his  ap 
parel  and  made  him  feel  as  happy  as — but  on  second  thought,  I  think  I  had 
better  not  say  what. 

Santa  Fe  wagons  were  coming  in,  having  attached  to  them  eight  and  ten,  and 
even  twelve  mules,  some  of  them  being  driven  by  persons  of  Spanish  descent, 
some  by  Americans  resembling  Indians,  some  by  negroes,  and  others  by  per 
sons  of  all  possible  crosses  between  these  various  races;  each  showing  in  his 
dress,  as  well  as  in  his  face,  some  distinctive  characteristic  of  his  blood  and  race, 
the  dirty  poncho  always  marking  those  of  Spanish  or  Mexican  descent.  Traders 
had  been  out  to  Santa  Fe,  and  having  exchanged  their  goods  for  gold  dust,  dol 
lars  and  mules,  were  then  daily  coming  in  from  the  plains;  the  dilapidated  and 
muddy  condition  of  their  wagons  and  wagon  sheets,  and  the  sore  backs  of  their 
mules,  all  giving  evidence  of  the  length  and  toil  of  the  journey  they  had  per 
formed  and  were  now  about  to  terminate. 

Merchants  were  doing  all  in  their  power  to  effect  the  sale  of  supplies  to  emi 
grants,  some  of  whom  were  hurrying  to  and  fro,  looking  care-worn,  and  many 
of  them  sad,  as  though  the  cloud  of  sorrow  had  not  yet  quite  passed  away,  that 
had  come  over  their  spirit,  and  as  they  painfully  and  with  regret  tore  themselves 
from  friends  and  scenes  around  which  had  clustered  the  memories  of  the  heart. 
One  was  seen  just  starting  out,  and  calling  to  his  oxen,  cracking  his  whip  in  a  man 
ner  evinsive  of  a  high  sense  of  pleasure  and  of  the  individuality  of  one  who  re 
garded  himself  as  being  capable  of  subduing  a  continent  of  forest;  and  although 
he  probably  knew  nothing  of  Latin,  he  was  certainly  the  very  personification  of 
the  spirit  of  self  reliance,  which  "  Alls  volat  propriis^  so  aptly  expresses.  Al 
though  some  four  or  five  children  in  the  wagon  were  crying  in  all  possible  and 
even  impossible  keys,  he  drove  on  utterly  oblivious  to  the  music,  and  looking  as 
undisturbed  as  though  he  was  quite  accustomed  to  that  sort  of  din,  and  withaj 
looking  as  cheerful  and  happy  as  if  he  was  perfectly  sure  that  he  was  going  to 
a  country  where  the  valleys  flowed  with  milk  and  honey  and  the  hill  sides 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  33 

abounded  with  deer  and  elk.  Behind  the  wagon,  with  her  nose  almost  over  the 
end  board,  an  old  mare  slowly  and  patiently  stepped  along,  evincing  as  much 
care,  as  though  she  knew  that  she  was  carrying  "  mother  and  the  baby,"  (may 
God  bless  them),  and  therefore  must  not  stumble  on  any  account. 

Having  on  the  I2th  of  May,  completed  all  the  arrangements  that  were  deemed 
necessary,  previous  to  leaving  the  settlements,  a  large  company  bade  farewell 
to  the  sublimely  muddy  Missouri,  with  a  feeling  which  might  well  have  taken 
form  and  expression  in  the  language  of  Scotia's  favorite  bard: 

"  Green  be  your  woods,  and  fair  your  flowers, 
Your  waters  never  drumlie." 

During  the  day,  many  immense  wagons  were  passed  carrying  from  60  to  70 
cwt.  of  goods  for  the  Santa  Fe  market.  Many  wagons  were  also  met  returning 
empty  to  Independence;  the  proprietors  having  sold  their  merchandise  were  on 
their  way  in  to  the  settlements  with  gold  dust,  Mexican  dollars  and  mules.  The 
drivers  of  the  teams  and  loose  mules  presented  that  peculiar  appearance  I  have 
already  remarked  upon;  of  mongrels,  puppies,  whelps  and  hounds,  and  curs  of 
low  degree. 

The  weather  was  clear,  warm  and  dry;  the  bees  were  out  in  search  of  flowers, 
and  the  large  gray  flies  were  blowing  their  mellow  little  horns.  The  daisies, 
first  born  daughters  of  spring,  were  lifting  their  little  faces  to  be  kissed  by  their 
father  the  sun.  The  birds  were  rapidly  passing  from  one  twig  to  another,  twit 
tering  as  though  their  hearts  were  brim  full  of  happiness.  At  one  time  they 
were  seen  darting  into  one  thicket,  and  then  into  another  to  find  a  suitable  place 
for  rearing  their  little  families.  Some  were  building  their  nests;  others  poured 
their  love  songs  into  the  ears  of  their  mates;  and  one  might  almost  have  fancied 
that  the  eye  could  be  seen  to  sparkle  and  the  heart  to  heave  as  with  stooping 
wing,  the  too  happy  bird  received  a  promise  that  she  would  indeed  be  his.  Na 
ture  here,  and  all  in  nature,  appeared  to  be  too  happy  to  leave  behind.  The 
emigrants  also  appeared  to  know  now  no  sadness  or  pangs,  occasioned  by  the 
recent  sundering  of  old  ties;  and  they  were  now  as  happy  as  the  birds,  and  with 
them  drank  in  the  general  joy. 

A  little  before  noon  of  the  I3th,  the  emigrants  passed  the  last  fixed  abode  of 
a  white  man — the  last  cabin — and  immediately  afterward  they  entered  the  ter 
ritory  of  the  Shawnees.  During  the  day,  wagons  were  continued  to  be  met  re 
turning  from  Santa  Fe.  Thirty  Indians  were  also  met.  In  the  afternoon,  the 
company  came  up  with  ex-Gov.  Boggs  and  other  emigrants. 

On  the  I5th,  a  company  of  63  wagons  were  overtaken  under  Col.  Russel,  who 
were  considered  as  being  still  in  some  sense  at  the  place  of  rendezvous,  having 
moved  forward  a  little,  but  having  halted  again  for  persons  they  expected  to 


34  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

join  them.  We  were  immediately  invited  to  attach  ourselves  to  their  party,  and 
to  remain  with  them  until  those  of  us  who  intended  to  go  to  Oregon,  should  find 
ourselves  in  sufficient  numbers  by  new  accessions,  to  form  a  company  of  our  own 
sufficiently  strong  to  repel  an  attack  of  Indians. 

We  all  crossed  the  Wokaruska  creek,  and  encamped  for  the  night  in  a  most 
beautiful  piece  of  woods,  which  skirted  both  sides  of  the  stream.  The  impres 
sion  made  upon  the  mind  by  the  neighing  of  horses,  the  braying  of  the  mules, 
the  groups  of  men,  the  little  knots  of  women,  the  loud  merry  laugh  of  some  of 
the  children,  the  crying  of  others,  the  mingling  of  voices,  the  sound  of  footsteps 
of  persons  passing  to  and  fro,  the  ascending  smoke  in  front  of  the  clean  white 
tents  scattered  among  the  trees  and  shrubbery,  was  very  agreeably  novel. 

In  the  evening,  an  inquiry  was  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
sufficiency  of  the  wagons,  teams  and  provisions;  the  number  and  sort  of  arms;  the 
amount  of  powder  and  lead;  the  number  of  persons  capable  of  bearing  arms, 
and  the  number  and  sex  of  all  other  persons: 

Wagons, 72 

Men  capable  of  bearing  arms, 13° 

Women, 65 

Children, 125 

Breadstuff,  pounds, 69,420 

Bacon,  pounds,    40,200 

Powder,  pounds, 1 , 100 

Lead,  pounds, ifiyz 

Guns,  mostly  rifles, 155 

Pistols, 104 

Cattle  and  horses, 710 

The  wagons  were  generally  new,  strong  and  well  painted.  They  were  all 
covered  with  either  linen  or  cotton  drilling  ;  some  of  them  being  either  painted 
or  thoroughly  saturated  with  boiled  linseed  oil,  so  as  more  effectually  to  exclude 
the  rain.  Some  of  the  wagons  had  "  California,"  painted  on  the  cover  ;  some 
of  them  displayed  "  Oregon"  in  letters  so  large,  that  "  even  he  who  ran  might 
read;"  some  added  in  yet  larger  letters,  "  The  whole  or  none,  "others  same  "  54° 
40",  or  fight;"  while  many  were  not  distinguished  at  all.  The  work  cattle  were 
fat  and  strong;  the  tents  new  and  clean;  and  the  food  was  of  a  good  quality  and 
abundant.  Many  of  the  emigrants  were  almost  boisterous  in  their  mirth.  Nearly 
all  were  strangers  to  each  other,  and  there  was  a  manifest  effort  on  the  part  of 
each,  to  make  the  most  favorable  impression  he  could  upon  every  other.  All 
were  obliging  and  kind,  and  there  was  even  an  extraordinary  absence  of  selfish 
ness.  Suffering,  want  and  privation;  mental  anxiety,  hardship  and  exhausting 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  35 

labor;  and  a  continued  sense  of  a  present  but  concealed  danger,  demanding  an 
unceasing  watchfulness,  which,  at  length,  terribly  wears  upon  the  nervous  sys 
tem,  had  not  yet  blunted  the  moral  perceptions  of  any,  or  excited  their  cupidity 
and  selfishness,  nor  dried  up  the  fountains  of  the  heart's  best  and  purest  affec 
tions. 

Every  thing  seemed  calculated  to  put  all  persons  in  a  good  humor  with  each  other. 
The  green  coated  frogs  were  heard  in  great  numbers  among  the  plashy  ponds 
and  along  the  reedy  margin  of  the  stream;  and  the  sound  was  far  from  being 
disagreeable.  Indeed,  there  was  a  music  in  it  appropriate  to  the  place,  the 
scene  and  the  circumstance  ;  and  it  had  a  soothing  and  quieting  affect  upon  the 
excited,  nevous  system.  The  birds  poured  forth  their  most  joyous  notes.  The 
water  was  gushing  through  a  thousand  veins  of  the  earth,  although  it  had  until 
very  recently,  been  congealed  by  the  frost  of  winter.  The  sap  was  coursing  its 
way  through  the  plants,  and  the  vital  fluid  moved  through  human  veins  with 
increased  velocity  and  a  new  thrill  of  delight.  A  narrow  strip  of  the  richest 
and  most  beautiful  forest  trees,  about  half  a  mile  in  width,  skirted  each  side  of 
the  Wokarusha,  from  which  spread  out  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  a  plain, 
broken  into  gentle  swells,  and  covered  with  a  heavy  coat  of  grass,  while  a  green 
carpet  spotted  with  flowers  covered  the  hills  and  the  little  intervening  valleys  ; 
and  a  robe  of  as  deep  a  green,  variegated  with  beautiful  blossoms,  hung  upon 
the  thickets.  Flies  and  insects  emerged  from  their  hiding  places  and  were  hum 
ming  drousily.  The  shrill  chirping  of  birds,  the  plaintive  cooing  of  the.  turtle 
dove,  as  he  sat  alone  among  the  shady  boughs,  all  told  that  the  beautiful  spring 
had  returned  to  gladden  every  heart.  The  children  were  wandering  in  the  woods, 
making  them  echo  with  their  merry  shouts.  They  appeared  to  have  been  let 
loose  to  play  and  to  gather  leaf  buds,  dandelions,  butter-cups,  daisies,  and  a 
thousand  flowers  of  every  hue,  that  lift  their  soft,  mild  eyes  to  heaven  in  thank 
fulness  for  the  sun's  warmth  and  light. 

It  was^indeed  with  emotions  of  the  purest  delight,  that  from  this  emigrant 
camp  on  the  Wokarusha,  I  looked  upon  jubilant  nature,  dressed  in  her  most 
beautiful  holiday  attire;  and  I  could  not  but  think  that  these  grateful  and  inspir 
ing  influences  would  find  a  ready  response  in  every  heart. 

Up  to  this  point,  we  seemed  not  to  have  fairly  and  fully  set  out  upon  our 
journey.  This  was  not  exactly  the  place  of  rendezvous,  but  rather  the  end  of 
rendezvous — the  last  place  of  waiting  for  emigrants  to  come  up.  Our  arrange 
ments  were  therefore  made  for  a  final  departure.  The  tents  were  all  accordingly 
hastily  taken  up,  and  the  cooking  utensils  packed.  The  men  hurried  to  and 
fro,  collecting  their  oxen  and  yoking  them  to  the  wagons.  The  sound  of  the 
ox-rings  working  in  the  steples,  the  jinkling  of  the  chains,  and  the  confused 
voices,  sometimes  raised  into  a  key  denoting  a  little  impatience,  made  up  a 


36  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

scene  which  was  both  novel  and  agreeable.  The  women  put  on  their  bonnets, 
and  the  children  were  hastily  lifted  into  the  wagons.  In  a  short  time,  the  teams 
began  to  move  on,  and  soon  there  was  a  long  line  and  slowly  moving  white 
covered  wagons,  drawn  by  large  fat  oxen,  driven  by  men  who  walked  by  the 
side  of  their  teams  and  ever  an  anon,  cracked  their  whips  and  then  their  jokes  in 
most  blissful  ignorance  of  the  dangers  and  hardships  which  awaited  them. 

All  were  rilled  with  high  hopes  and  expectations  for  the  future,  and  all  were 
animated  and  sprightly.  The  most  of  the  emigrants  were  even  polite  in  their 
manners  and  deportment,  and  they  were  certainly  obliging  in  their  conduct  and 
intercourse  with  each  other.  Many  who  had  large  families  of  children  (for  these 
seemed  to  be  as  numerous  here  as  the  birds  among  the  bushes),  were  removing 
to  Oregon  with  the  hope  of  finding  a  more  salubrious  climate  than  the  one  they 
had  left,  and  of  obtaining  from  the  government  of  the  United  States  a  grant  of 
of  land  which  would  enable  them  to  maintain  their  families  in  an  honorable  in 
dependence.  Some  had  become  involved  in  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and 
having  sold  their  property  to  pay  their  creditors,  could  not  consent  to  remain 
where  they  must  necessarily  see  their  former  pleasant  homes  in  other  hands,  and 
they  had  resolved  upon  making  an  effort  to  retrieve  their  fallen  fortunes  in  Ore 
gon,  where  they  flattered  themselves  that  if  they  accomplish  no  more,  they 
would  at  least  avoid  a  position  in  which  the  wealth  and  showy  equipages  of 
others,  would  upbraid  them  for  their  poverty.  Others  had  during  a  long  time, 
their  yearly  acquisitions  taken  from  them  by  eager  creditors  who  had  thus  crip 
pled  their  resourses,  depressed  their  energies,  and  deprived  them  of  all  hope  of 
either  paying  their  debts  or  of  being  able  to  educate  their  children.  They  hoped 
that  by  emigrating  to  Oregon  they  would  during  a  few  years  at  least  escape  the 
harrassing  observation  of  their  creditors,  and  be  thus  enabled  to  accumulate  the 
means  of  meeting  all  of  their  engagements.  Many  were  in  pursuit  of  health. 
Some  were  actuated  by  mere  love  of  change  ;  many  more  by  a  spirit  of  enter 
prise  and  adventure ;  and  a  few,  I  believe,  knew  not  exactly  why  they  were  thus 
upon  the  road.  With  these  reasons,  were  more  or  less  mixed  up  as  a  very  im 
portant  element, — a  desire  to  occupy  the  country  as  a  basis  of  title  in  the  dis 
pute  between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  that  of  Great  Britain. 

The  motives  which  thus  brought  this  multitude  together,  were  in  fact,  almost 
as  various  as  their  features.  They  agreed  in  one  general  object — that  of  better 
ing  their  condition,  but  the  particular  means  by  which  each  proposed  to  attain 
this  end,  were  as  various  as  can  well  be  imagined. 

Nor  were  the  people  less  different  in  their  general  appearance,  manners,  edu 
cation,  and  principles.  There  were  representatives  from  nearly  all  of  the  States 
from  Maine  in  the  east,  to  Missouri  in  the  west;  and  from  the  great  lakes  in  the 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  37 

north  to  the  greater  gulf  in  the  south.  The  majority,  however,  were  plain, 
honest,  substantial,  intelligent,  enterprising  and  of  good  principles.  They  were 
indeed,  very  much  superior  to  those  who  usually  settled  a  new  country;  and 
they  were  for  the  most  part  persons,  the  loss  of  whom  was  felt  and  regretted  by 
those  they  left  behind. 

During  the  day,  a  man  belonging  to  one  of  the  advance  companies,  overtook 
us,  bringing  with  him  a  Missouri  Republican,  containing  an  account  of  the  de 
feat  and  capture  of  Capt.  Thornton  andhis  command  by  the  Mexicans. 

On  the  iyth  the  emigrants  crossed  the  Kansas  by  a  very  tedious  and  laborious 
process,  and  camped  on  a  small  tributary  of  that  stream,  having  traveled  only 
eight  miles  during  the  day.  Mr.  Webb,  editor  of  the  Independence  Expositor, 
and  a  Mr.  Hay,  arrived  in  camp  a  little  after  dark,  having  come  direct  from  the 
settlements,  to  communicate  to  us  last  reliable  intelligence  received  before  arriv 
ing  at  the  Pacific.  From  letters  and  papers  thus  received,  information  was  ob 
tained  of  the  commencement  of  regular  hostilities,  and  that  the  gallant  Taylor 
was  in  perilous  condition. 

At  10  o'clock  in  the  night  of  the  i8th,  Mrs.  Hall,  now  of  Buena  Vista,  be- 
came  the  happy  mother  of  twin  boys. 

A  number  of  changes  having  taken  place  in  the  company,  a  new  census  was 
taken  on  the  igth,  which  resulted  in  showing  that  there  were: 

Fighting  men, , 98 

Women, 50 

Wagons, 46 

Cattle, 350 

On  the  2ist.  we  witnessed  a  peculiar  and  very  violent  storm.  The  early 
part  of  the  day  had  been  clear  and  warm,  but  about  12  o'clock  the  clouds  be 
gan  to  mass  themselves  in  the  west.  In  a  short  time,  peals  of  thunder  were 
heard  in  the  distance,  the  intervals  gradually  diminishing  and  the  sound  as 
gradually  becoming  louder.  The  clouds  continued  to  roll  up  toward  the  zenith 
with  green  edges,  but  very  dark  and  murky  in  the  main  body,  and  to  sweep  up 
ward  like  a  vast  body  of  smoke  ascending  from  a  partially  smouldering  volcano. 
In  a  brief  period,  the  sun  was  obscured.  A  green  haziness  began  to  fill  the  at 
mosphere  and  the  whole  space  between  the  moving  clouds  and  the  earth,  and 
to  threw  a  sort  of  dull  green  disastrous  twilight  upon  all  below.  The  lightning 
followed  quickly  by  sharp  peals  of  thunder  was  observed  at  length  to  leap  from 
cloud  to  cloud.  A  murmering  sound  of  a  somewhat  extraordinary  nature  was 
heard  in  the  west,  which  became  each  moment  more  distinct.  In  a  few  minutes 
a  blinding  flash  of  lightning  followed  quickly  by  an  almost  deafening  crash  of 


38  THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS. 

thunder,  seemed  to  give  the  sign  for  a  general  and  most  terrible  elemental 
strife.  The  wind  instantly  laid  the  weeds  and  grass  prostrate  to  the  earth,  and 
the  air  became  at  the  same  time  filled  with  leaves  and  twigs  swept  before  the 
violence  of  the  tempest.  The  winds  passed  on  and  heaven's  artillery  seemed  at 
once  to  open  from  every  cloud,  and  immediately  the  earth  was  deluged  with 
rain  as  I  had  never  seen  it  before.  Flash  followed  flash  in  rapid  succession, 
casting  a  lurid  glare  upon  every  object;  and  thunder  seemed  to  war  upon  thunder 
in  a  manner  that  subdued  every  faculty  of  the  mind  and  hushed  every  emotion 
but  that  of  the  sublime.  The  clouds  rolled  forward  their  dark  green  masses, 
and  at  length  passed  far  away  to  the  east — the  thunder  becoming  less  and  less 
distinct,  until  they  were  heard  in  only  low  rumbling  sounding  sounds,  although 
the  lightning  at  intervals,  was  seen  running  along  the  clouds.  The  declining 
sun  at  length  appeared,  and  hung  out  a  most  beautiful  rainbrow  as  a  token  that 
the  elemental  strife  was  no  more,  and  that  nature  was  again  at  peace.  The 
landscape  resumed  its  wonted  appearance  of  tranquility,  in  no  respect  changed, 
except  that  it  looked  more  fresh  and  beautiful.  Green  hills  stretched  away  in 
the  distance,  some  of  them  being  covered  with  forests  of  primeval  vastness  and 
magnificence,  while  others  were  clothed  in  velvet  of  green  made  more  fresh  by 
the  recent  rain.  The  little  groves  of  timber  scattered  over  the  plain,  were  not 
wholly  unlike  clusters  of  islands  that  dot  a  waveless  sea.  The  green  hills  of 
the  Kansas,  too,  lifted  up  their  heads  in  vernal  freshness  ;  and  the  view  more 
beautiful  for  being  seen  far  away  stealthily  flowed  along  at  their  base  in  its 
smooth  and  unresisted  course,  irrigating  and  fertilizing  the  grassy  and  luxuriant 
meadows  below.  There  appeared  indeed,  to  be  over  and  about  the  whole 
scenery,  as  it  then  presented  itself  to  my  view,  most  wonderful  show  in  every  ex 
ternal  object  whilst  every  element  between  the  verdant  earth  below  and  the  blue 
sky  above,  ministered  delight  to  some  one  of  the  senses.  Columns  of  mist  be 
gan  to  ascend  from  the  earth,  like  the  incense  of  the  grateful  heart  going  up  to 
heaven  for  God's  proviclental  care  and  goodness.  The  sun  then  sank  to  rest, 
and  night  with  her  curtain  adorned  with  gems  shut  out  the  day,  and  the  weary 
emigrant,  and  his  not  less  weary  work  cattle,  sought  a  much  needed  repose. 

Mr.  Alphonso  Boone,  a  grandson  of  the  celebrated  Daniel  Boone,  and  a 
brother-in-law  of  Ex-Governor  Boggs,  came  up  with  the  company. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  May,  thirteen  wagons,  near  half  of  which  belonged 
to  Mr.  Gordon  from  Jackson  county,  Missouri,  separated  from  our  party,  assign 
ing  as  a  reason  for  so  doing,  that  the  company  was  too  large  to  move  with  the 
necessary  celerity.  A  restlessness  of  disposition,  and  often  dissatisfaction,  pro 
duced  by  trifling  causes,  as  also  a  wish  to  rule  rather  than  to  be  ruled  ;  to  lead, 
rather  than  to  be  led  ;  began  even  in  this,  the  early  part  of  our  journey,  to  be 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  39 

the  causes  of  those  divisions  and  sub-divisions  of  companies,  which  at  length 
became  so  frequent  and  often  reduced  us  to  such  a  degree  of  weakness  as  to  in 
vite  attack  from  the  savages. 

When  we  came  to  a  careful  analysis  of  the  causes  of  the  divisions  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  and  thus  trace  them  to  their  primary  elements,  we  will  find  selfish 
ness  to  have  been  the  impelling  force.  And  whoever  rightly  considers  the  sub 
ject  will,  I  believe,  come  to  regard  selfishness  as  the  source  of  all  the  moral 
evils  with  which  humanity  afflicts  itself.  As  little  doubt  can  be  entertained, 
that  the  present  peace  and  future  happiness  of  man  is  increased  in  proportion  to 
the  extent  to  which  he  becomes  unselfish,  by  means  of  the  power  of  the  Christian 
religion,  chastening  and  subduing  this  natural  propensity,  The  unselfish  man 
considered  only  as  an  inhabitant  of  this  world,  and  not  as  a  probationer  for  an 
other,  greatly  adds,  by  means  of  his  noble,  generous,  self-sacrificing,  self-deny 
ing  spirit,  to  the  sum  of  his  own  enjoyments.  Reason  having  moderated  his 
wishes,  and  expectation  doubled  every  present  good,  his  heart  is  neither  gan 
grened  with  envy  nor  corroded  by  care.  The  elements  all  minister  to  his  hap 
piness;  and  those  blessings  which  are  usually  regarded  as  coming  round  in  the 
regular  operation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  are  to  him  new  and  valued  acquisitions, 
for  which  his  heart  devoutly  glows  with  gratitude,  love  and  thankfulness  to  the 
Supreme  Giver  of  every  perfect  gift.  The  blessings  of  Providence  and  the  bless 
ings  of  grace  are  regarded  by  him  as  descending  from  the  same  source,  and  he 
would  as  soon  think  of  drawing  to  himself,  the  sum  of  the  one  as  that  of  the  other. 

On  the  evening  of  the  3oth,  Ex-Gov.  Boggs,  Mr.  J.  F.  Reed,  Mr.  Geo.  Don- 
ner,  and  some  others,  including  myself,  convened  in  a  large  tent,  according  to 
an  appointment  made  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  emigrants,  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  a  system  of  laws  to  govern  the  company.  We  prepared  a  few  laws, 
without  however,  believing  that  they  would  possess  much  authority.  But 
among  these,  I  remember  that  we  made  provision  for  the  appointment  of  a  court 
of  arbitrators,  to  hear  and  decide  disputes,  and  to  try  offenders  against  the  peace 
and  good  order  of  the  company. 

At  this  time,  we  were  encamped  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Great  Blue  Earth  river 
where  we  arrived  at  2  o'clock,  p.  M.,  only  a  few  hours  before  the  meeting  of 
"Legislative  Committee."  We  found  the  stream  greatly  swollen  by  the  rain 
of  the  previous  afternoon,  so  that  we  were  likely  to  be  detained  several  days  by 
high  water  and  drift  wood. 

On  the  night  of  the  26tn,  we  had  another  of  those  tremendous  storms  of  rain, 
thunder  and  lightning,  such  as  I  had  never  witnessed  before  commencing 
this  journey,  and  have  not  since,  except  along  the  Platte  river.  But  to  sketch 
an  accurate  picture  of  the  storm  is  as  impossible  as  to  paint  the  rainbow,  or  to 


40  THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS. 

throw  upon  canvass  the  inimicable  hues  of  a  magnificent  and  gorgeous  sunset. 
But  the  morning  of  the  27th,  dawned  clear,  cloudless  and  peaceful,  and  the  re 
turning  light  showed  no  traces  of  the  previous  nights'  tempest,  except  that  na 
ture  seemed  to  have  put  on  a  robe  more  fresh  and  green,  and  to  have  assumed 
an  aspect  more  smiling  and  lovely  than  before,  as  she  turned  aside  the  curtains 
of  darkness,  and  showed  her  pleasant  face,  covered  with  new  charms  and  glow 
ing  with  radiant  beauties. 

The  gladdening  rays  of  the  sun  soon* dissipated  the  little  vapor  that  in  a  few 
places  slowly  and  dreamily  floated  along  the  surface  of  the  ground,  as  the  bright 
orb  of  day  fully  appeared  above  the  line  of  hills  and  the  tops  of  the  trees.  A 
genial  warmth  filled  the  atmosphere,  and  the  vernal  breeze  burdened  and  almost 
oppressed  with  the  scent  of  flowers,  slightly  stirred  the  boughs  and  foliage  where 
sat  a  mocking  bird  and  his  mate.  He  appeared  to  imitate  every  other  bird  of 
the  wood  with  a  brilliancy  of  execution  the  most  surprising,  since  it  not  only 
equalled  but  even  excelled  the  notes  of  many  rivals,  carrolling  their  own  several 
proper  notes.  Rich  and  mellow  songs  were  poured  forth  from  the  little  throat 
of  the  happy  bird,  with  a  wonderful  and  unequalled  compass  and  modulation 
that  seemed  to  express  and  ever  increasing  sense  of  pleasurable  existence,  and 
I  could  almost  have  persuaded  myself  that  I  saw  his  heart  swelling  with  bird- 
spring-time  delight,  and  his  eyes  sparkling  with  pleasure,  as  he  sang  with  all 

his  might: 

"  Brignel  banks  are  fresh  and  fair, 
And  Greta  woods  are  green." 

A  meeting  was  held  about  9  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  27th,  to  hear  and 
decide  up^n  the  report  of  the  Legislative  Committee  of  which  I  have  spoken. 
A  man  named  E.,  made  use  of  violent  language  against  the  leader  Col.  Russell, 
and  the  sub-Captain,  Mr.  Jacobs,  a  modest  and  aimiable  young  man.  E.  had 
been  disappointed  in  not  being  elected  to  the  office  held  by  Mr.  Jacobs.  He 
finally  moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  try  the  officers,  when  charged 
with  neglect  of  duty,  or  improper  treatment  of  any  party.  There  was  nothing 
improper  in  the  measure  itself,  but  the  animus  was  so  apparent  that  upon  the 
motion  prevailing,  the  officers  all  resigned.  A  few  moment's  reflection  served 
to  bring  clearly  into  view  the  very  grave  consequences  of  permitting  E.  to  con 
trol  the  company  in  any  degree.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  resolution  was 
rescinded  by  a  large  majority,  and  the  former  officers  were  re-elected  by  accla 
mation. 

Mr.  Grayson  and  others  having  gone  out  in  the  morning  to  search  for  bee  trees, 
came  back  with  several  buckets  full  of  honey.  The  game  hunters  and  fisher 
men  returned  less  successful. 

On  the  2gth  of  May.  Mrs.  Keyes,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  J.  F.  Reed,  died.     John 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  4! 

Denton,  an  Englishman,  from  Sheffield,  busied  himself  in  preparing  a  decent 
head  stone,  with  a  suitable  inscription  to  mark  the  last  resting  place  of  the  aged 
Christian  woman.  A  humble  grave  was  dug  under  the  spreading  boughs  of  a 
venerable  oak,  and  there  her  remains  were  followed  by  a  silent,  thoughtful  and 
solemn  company  of  emigrants,  thus  so  forcibly  reminded  that  they  too  were 
travellers  to  a  land  "  from  whose  bourne  there  is  no  return."  Rev.  J.  A.  Corn- 
well,  improved  the  occasion  to  deliver  to  us  an  impressive  sermon  as  we  sat 
around  that  new  made  grave  in  the  wilderness,  so  well  calculated  to  impress  upon 
the  mind  the  incalculable  importance  of  seeking  another  and  better  country, 
where  there  is  no  sickness  and  no  death. 

I  had  often  witnessed  the  approach  of  death;  sometimes,  marking  his  progress 
by  the  insidious  work  of  consumption;  and,  at  others,  assailing  his  victim  in  a 
less  doubtful  manner.  I  had  seen  the  guileless  infant,  with  the  light  of  love 
and  innocence  upon  its  face,  gradually  fade  away,  like  a  beautiful  cloud  upon 
the  sky  melting  into  the  dues  of  heaven, 'until  it  disappeared  in  the  blue  ethe 
real.  I  had  beheld  the  strong  man,  who  had  made  this  world  all  his  trust, 
struggling  violently  with  death,  and  had  heard  him  him  exclaim  in  agony,  "I 
will  not  die.'1'1  And  yet  death  relinquished  not  his  tenacious  grasp  upon  his 
victim.  The  sound  of  the  hammer  and  the  plane  have  ceased  for  a  brief  space; 
the  ploughman  has  paused  in  the  furrow,  and  even  the  school  boy  with  his  books 
and  satchel  has  stood  still,  and  the  very  atmosphere,  has  seemed  to  assume  a 
sort  ot  meloncholy  tinge,  as  the  tones  of  the  tolling  bell  have  come  slowly,  sol 
emnly,  and  at  measured  intervals  upon  the  moveless  air,  and  hushing  the  mind 
to  breathless  thoughts  that  fain  would  know  the  whither  of  the  departed.  But 
death  in  the  wilderness — in  the  solitude  of  nature,  and  far  from  the  fixed  abodes  of 
busy  men,  seemed  to  have  in  it  solemnity  that  very  far  surpassed  all  this. 

On  the  3  ist  we  completed  the  crossing  of  the  Great  Blue  Earth  river  by  means 
of  two  large  canoes  made  for  the  purpose,  and  so  lashed  together  that  the 
wagons  were  one  after  another,  let  down  into  them  after  the  removal  of  the 
team,  and  then  pulled  over  by  means  of  ropes.  A  chilling  wind  commenced 
very  soon  after  crossing,  and  many  of  the  men  who  had  been  constrained  to  be 
in  the  water  much  of  the  day,  came  up  shivering  violently  into  our  place  of  en 
campment  one  mile  from  the  stream.  The  perpetual  vexations  and  continued 
hard  labor  of  the  day,  had  kept  the  nerves  of  most  of  the  men  in  a  state  of  great 
irritability.  Two  drivers  fought  with  fists  at  first,  but  with  knives  at  last. 
They  were  however,  separated  without  serious  injury  to  either.  , 

On  the  2d  day  of  June,  20  wagons  including  mine,  separated  from  the  main 
body,  proceeded  on  in  advance. 

On  the  6th,  we  saw  some  of  our  former  travelling  companions,  among  whom 
were  West,  Russell,  and  Kirquendall. 


42  THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

On  the  7th,  we  saw  the  Pawnee  face  for  the  first  time.  As  the  sun  was  about 
to  set  behind  the  hills,  twenty-three  warriors,  mounted  on  horseback,  and  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows,  appeared  upon  the  top  of  a  distant  eminence,  between 
us  and  the  declining  sun.  After  reconoitering  our  position  during  a  few  minutes, 
headed  by  their  Chief,  the  came  sweeping  down  the  long  and  gentle  slope  at  a 
double  quick  charge.  There  was  something  in  their  appearance  not  exactly 
warlike,  but  as  having  rather' the  insolent  bearing  of  confident  robbers,  whose 
eyes  brightened  with  the  sight  of  the  spoil  they  already  regarded  as  wrested 
from  the  hands  of  weak  and  defenseless  emigrants.  We  immediately  went  out 
to  meet  them  with  our  rifles.  The  wary  Chief  of  these  roving  robbers,  compre 
hending  in  a  very  brief  space  of  time,  that  we  were  likely  to  give  them  a  recep 
tion  very  different  from  the  one  they  had  looked  for,  changed  his  whole  demeanor 
and  aspect,  from  that  of  a  cruel  and  plundering  savage  to  the  bland  and  pleas 
ant  aspect  of  a  friend,  who  comes  to  courteously  solicit  a  favor.  He  made 
signs  for  our  "  big  man,"  and  upon  our  pointing  to  Rice  Dunbar  as  "  Captain" 
or  "  Chief,"  they  were  immediately  in  each  other's  arms,  locked  in  a  most  fra 
ternal  embrace,  and  apparently  as  happy  as  two  pups  rollicking  in  door-yard 
grass.  A  half-breed,  wearing  a  new  hat  and  a  clean  check  shirt,  at  length  came 
forward,  and  in  imperfect  English,  informed  us  that  they  were  a  buffalo  hunting 
party,  and  that  they  had  been  unsuccessful.  They  appeared  much  better  than 
either  the  Kansas  or  the  Shawnee  Indians;  but  they  were  very  troublesome,  in 
solent  and  pertinacious  in  their  alternate,  absolute  demands  for  food,  and  beg- 
ing  solicitations  for  it. 

Much  has  been  said  upon  the  subject  of  the  character  of  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  which  I  believe  to  be  far  from  a  correct  representation  of  their  real 
character.  And  in  nothing  touching  them,  are  there  such  erroneous  views  very 
generally  entertained,  as  those  which  relate  to  their  heroism.  The  Indian  will 
indeed,  smoke  his  pipe,  sing  his  song,  boast  of  his  victories,  or  taunt  and  insult 
his  tormentors,  while  burning  in  a  slow  fire;  and  he  will  perhaps,  seek  to  pro 
voke  his  foes,  by  telling  them  that  they  are  novices,  and  inexpert  in  the  work  of 
death;  and  that  he  has  often  tormented  their  warriors  with  far  more  ingenuity. 
When  the  war-club  is  raised  above  the  head  of  a  tortured  captive,  to  inflict  a 
fatal  blow,  his  firm  and  unflinching  look  evinces  the  same  spirit  which  would 
enable  him  to  smoke  the  pipe,  if  devouring  flames  were  seizing  upon  his  vitals. 
This,  however,  is  not  that  Spartan  courage  for  which  they  have  received  so  much 
unmerited  praise  ffom  a  class  of  writers  who  are  much  inclined  to  soar  away  on 
the  wings  of  their  imagination  into  the  higher  realms  of  fancy,  leaving  far  be 
low  them  the  sober  world  of  fact  and  reality.  Even  the  suggestion  of  the 
thought  that  three  hundred  such  savages,  could  under  any  possible  combination 
of  circumstances,  be  induced  to  make  a  stand  against  myriads  at  another  Ther- 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  43 

mopyli-e,  is  simply  ludicrous.  Theirs  is  a  harsh  and  stoical  insensibility,  un 
worthy  of  being  ranked  among  the  virtues  of  civilization,  and  to  confound  this 
brutal  insensibility,  with  patriotic  courage  and  true  heroism,  would  be  to  oblit 
erate  the  lines  of  distinction  between  virtue  and  vice,  and  to  confound  right  and 
wrong,  the  noble  and  ignoble,  in  chaotic  confusion.  No  man  in  his  senses,  ever 
thought  of  dignifying  with  the  name  of  heroism  the  conduct  of  the  Spartan  boy, 
who,  having  stolen  the  fox,  and  concealed  it  under  his  clothing,  permitted  it  to 
eat  into  his  bowels,  rather  than  to  betray  the  theft.  And  yet,  the  conduct  of 
the  Indian  at  the  stake,  and  that  of  the  boy  with  the  fox,  are  actions  resulting 
from  the  same  sort  of  training,  every  part  and  every  step  of  which  tends  to  in 
spire  shame  and  contempt  for  the  slighest  exhibition  of  a  sense  of  pain  and 
suffering,  under  such  circumstances.  The  Spartans'  training  proceeded  farther 
and  enabled  him  to  go  to  the  straits  of  Thermopylae,  and  to  place  his  body  as  a 
bulwark  between  his  country  and  the  enemies  that  were  about  to  overwhelm  it. 
An  Indian  would  have  considered  this  an  egregerous  piece  of  folly.  He  would 
have  fought  without  doubt,  had  he  been  associated  with  the  millions,  and  would 
have  scalped  and  mangled  the  dead,  or  tortured  the  wounded  and  captive,  had 
there  been  any  such.  But,  to  say  that  for  the  sake  of  his  country,  a  North  Amer 
ican  Indian  would  have  embarked  his  destiny  with  the  three  hundred  Spartans, 
is  what  no  writer  will  assert,  who  prefers  fact  to  fiction;  and  what  no  one  cer 
tainly  will  believe,  who  is  not  very  credulous.  The  fact  is,  that  Indians  are 
generally  cowards;  and  they  will  seldom,  fight  without  a  decided  advantage  in 
numbers,  weapons  and  position.  In  short,  the  virtues  usually  attributed  to  them, 
are  pigments  of  the  brain,  having  not  even  a  remote  resemblance  to  the  facts 
which  constitute  the  real  Indian  character.  Indeed  virtue  is  a  plant  which  does 
not  grow  in  the  coldness  and  darkness  of  barbarism,  but  in  the  genial  warmth 
and  benignant  light  of  civilization  and  Christianity. 

On  the  I3th,  we  came  up  with  thirty  wagons  and  a  great  number  of  cattle, 
from  that  portion  of  Missouri  known  as<-The  Platte  country."  They  were  a 
part  of  a  company  consisting  of  sixty  wagons  that  had  been  ahead  of  us,  the  pro- 
proprietors  of  which,  not  being  able  to  agree,  had  finally  consented  to  disagree, 
and  to  separate  in  peace.  We  found  among  them  Mr.  J.  Baker,  and  David  But- 
terfield  with  their  families  who  had  been  requested  by  the  emigrants  to  leave 
their  company  at  Wokaru^ka.  The  reason  assigned  for  this  inhospitable  and 
selfish  proceeding  was  that  these  persons  having  about  140  head  of  cattle,  in  ad 
dition  to  six  ox  teams,  each  consisting  of  from  six  to  eight  steers,  would  neces 
sarily  be  a  burthen  to  the  company.  Probably  the  true  cause,  was  in  the  fact 
that  Messrs.  Baker  and  Butterfield  would  not  kill  their  calves  and  sell  the  veal. 
On  this  day,  four  wagons  left  us- in  consequence  of  something  to  which  they  seri 
ously  objected.  Two  of  these  were  Mr.  Crump's,  one  of  a  Mr.  Clark's  and  one 


44  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

of  a  German,  who  had  a  name  which  your  speaker  can  neither  spell  nor  pro 
nounce.  My  German  fellow  traveller  attached  himself  to  the  company  of  Messrs. 
Baker  and  Butterfield.  The  other  two  proceeded  forward  and  joined  a  company 
of  seven  wagons  that  had  separated  from  a  much  larger  company  in  the  rear. 

Messrs.  Van  Bebber  and  Lard  not  having  returned  from  their  bison  hunt  of  the 
I2th,  it  was  feared  that  they  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  savages  with  which 
the  country  was  infested. 

Three  companies  encamped  near  each  other,  June  I4tb,  which  was  Sabbath, 
and  as  if  by  previous  arrangement,  determined  to  spend  the  day  in  resting. 

All  of  one  of  these  companies  had  without  much  ceremony,  been  invited  to 
attend  a  wedding  at  the  tent  of  Mr.  Lard  in  the  evening.  Rev.  J.  A.  Cornwell 
acted  as  the  officiating  minister,  who  proceeded  at  once  to  unite  Miss  Lard  and 
a  Mr.  Mootry  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock.  The  bride  was  arrayed  very  decently 
but  somewhat  gaily.  The  groom  had  on  his  best.  Some  of  the  young  women 
present  were  dressed  with  tolerable  degree  of  taste,  and  with  even  some  degree 
of  elegance.  Among  the  men  there  were  no  long  beards,  dirty  hands,  begrimed 
faces,  soiled  linen  or  torn  garments.  Indeed,  at  that  time  and  place,  there  were 
four  others  who  expected  to  be  married  in  a  few  days.  I  cannot  say  I  approved 
of  this  marrying  on  the  road.  It  looked  to  me  very  much  as  though  the  women 
at  least  was  making  a  sort  of  a  hop,  skip  and  jump,  into  matrimony,  without 
knowing  what  her  feet  will  come  down  upon,  or  whether  they  may  not  be 
wounded  or  bruised. 

During  the  afternoon,  a  boy's  leg  was  amputated  by  one  not  a  surgeon,  the  in 
struments  employed  being  a  butcher  knife  and  an  old  dull  hand  saw.  He  bore 
his  sufferings  with  the  most  wonderful  fortitude  and  heroism.  He  seemed 
scarcely  to  move  a  muscle.  A  deathlike  paleness,  would  sometimes  cover  his 
face,  but  instead  of  groaning,  he  would  use  some  word  of  encouragement  to  the 
almost  shrinking  operator,  or  some  expression  of  comfort  to  his  afflicted  friends. 
The  limb  was  at  length  severed,  the  arteries  were  secured,  and  the  flap  brought 
down  in  one  hour  and  forty-five  minutes  from  the  time  of  making  the  first  incis 
ion.  An  emigrant  who  had  been  frequently  compelled  to  retire  from  the  afflict 
ing  spectacle,  but  who  at  the  time  the  operation  was  completed,  held  the  boy's 
hands  in  his,  observing  that  he  seemed  much  exhausted,  tenderly  inquired  if  he 
suffered  much  pain .  The  boy  withdrew  his  hands,  clasped  them  together  and 
partially  raising  them,  exclaimed,  "  O!  yes  I  am  suffering!  I  am  suffering  so 
much  !  "  His  hand  fell  upen  the  breast,  his  white  lips  quivered  a  few  mo 
ments;  his  eye  balls  rolled  back,  and  his  spirit  went  to  God.  He  was  buried  in 
the  night;  and  the  silent  and  sad  procession  strangely  contrasted  with  the  wed 
ding  festivities  at  a  neighboring  tent,  by  the  light  of  torches  to  the  lonely  grave 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  45 

so  hastily  dug  in  the  solitude  and  almost  unbroken  silence  of  that  far  away  wil 
derness. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  that  same  evening  another  interesting  event  trans 
pired,  the  birth  of  a  child  on  the  same  plain;  so  that  the  three  great  epochs  of  life 
a  marriage,  a  birth,  and  a  death,  were  there  all  represented  at  nearly  the  same 
time  and  place. 

On  the  1 6th  a  company  of  men  were  met  on  mules  from  Oregon  City,  which 
place  they  had  left  March  1st,  for  Independence,  Missouri.  Some  of  them  had 
suffered  in  their  faces  from  the  effect  of  frost,  in  crossing  the  mountains.  One 
of  them  brought  an  evil  report  of  the  country,  saying  that  in  Oregon,  it  rained 
so  much  and  so  continouosly  that  a  goose  could  not  get  to  grass.  Most  of  them 
however,  gave  a  favorable  report  of  the  country.  They  stated  likewise,  that 
they  had  met  750  wagons,  the  greater  number  of  which  were  going  to  Oregon, 
but  that  some  were  going  to  California.  The  .company  encamped  at  the  first 
ford  of  the  South  fork  of  the  Nebraska,  where  was  found  one  company  consisting 
of  29  wagons,  and  another  of  eight,  which  by  being  there  before  us  acquired  the 
right  of  first  passing  over.  During  the  day  vast  herds  of  bison  were  seen.  These 
animals  constite  the  poetry  of  these  vast  prairies,  and  the  Indians  their  romance 
— or  it  may  be  the  tragedy. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i8th,  Rev.  J.  A.  Cornwall  performed  the  marriage  cer- 
mony,  by  which  Miss  Dunbar  became  the  wife  of  Morgan  Savage,  and  Miss 
Mary  Hall  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Croysnt. 

On  the  igth,  the  wagon  beds  had  blocks  placed  under  them  so  as  to  raise 
them  about  ten  inches,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  them  above  the  water  of  the 
South  Fork  of  the  Nebraska,  which  was  here  a  mile  and  half  wide  and  having  a 
quicksand  bottom,  which  made  the  fording  very  dangerous.  All  were  finally 
gotten  over  without  any  material  accident. 

On  the  igth,  we  traveled  over  the  most  desolate  countiy  we  had  seen.  The 
hot  sands  were  blown  about  in  a  manner  the  most  distressing  to  the  mouth,  nos 
trils,  eyes  and  ears.  Towards  the  close  of  the  afternoon,  nature  wore  a  more 
pleasing  aspect.  The  day  had  been  clear  and  hot,  and  although  the  winds  were 
high,  yet  they  seemed  to  have  become  greatly  heated  by  passing  over  a  sandy 
region  of  great  extent.  At  sunset  they  died  away,  and  not  even  a  zephyr  ruf 
fled  the  surface  of  the  North  branch  of  the  Nebraska.  Before  nightfall,  a  bank 
of  dark  clouds  were  seen  to  be  heaped  up  in  the  west.  In  about  two  hours  they 
gradually  rose,  the  front  leading  the  way  towards  the  east,  until  the  heaviest  and 
darkest  masses  appeared  to  be  overhead;  when  the  most  tremendous  winds  burst 
in  a  moment,  and  with  a  roaring  sound  upon  the  stillness,  followed  almost  im 
mediately  by  flashes  of  lightning,  that  for  a  brief  time,  blasted  the  sight;  crashes 


46  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

of  thunder  that  deafened  the  ears,  and  torrents  of  rain  that  deluged  the  hills 
with  a  flood  descending  in  foaming  torrents,  that  threatened  to  submerge  all  the 
plain.  During  the  space  of  half  an  hour  the  clouds  hurled  their  thunderbolts 
along  the  sky,  and  so  thickly  through  the  atmosphere  overhead,  that  it  presented 
a  glare  of  lured  light,  which  gave  a  fierce*  and  appaling  aspect  to  the  descend 
ing  waters.  The  thunder  bursts  became  at  length  more  distant  and  less  violent, 
until  they  passed  far  away  to  the  east  in  low  and  almost  inaudable  mutterings. 
At  length  the  stars  appeared  in  all  their  accustomed  brilliancy,  and  the  scene, 
from  being  one  of  awful  and  terrible  sublimity,  became  indescribably  beautiful. 

On  the  following  night  we  encountered  another  storm.  The  day  had  been 
clear  and  warm;  but  toward  evening  clouds  presented  themselves  in  a  variety  of 
forms.  Sometimes  they  appeared  in  detached  masses,  at  others,  they  rolled  up 
from  behind  the  western  horizon,  black  and  portentious.  At  length,  clouds  hav 
ing  thin,  feathery  edges,  thickening  fast  as  they  extended  back,  and  presenting 
a  black  mass  of  an  angry  appearance,  formed  suddenly,  and  extended  rapidly, 
and  then  passed  off  to  the  south-east,  where  only  a  few  low  thunder  mutterings 
gave  any  tokens  of  elemental  disturbance. 

These  clouds  were  soon  succeeded  by  other  clouds  in  the  same  quarter  of  the 
heavens  from  which  the  first  came,  more  threatening,  ponderous  and  black;  hav 
ing  immense  thunder  heads,  and  huge  aerial  forms,  piled  upon  and  writhing 
around  each  other.  But  these,  too,  passed  off  to  the  south-east,  with  menacing 
rumbling  sounds;  while  the  forked  lightning  gleamed  in  the  main  body  of  the 
threatening  mass.  The  shades  of  evening  at  length  closed  in,  and  there  seemed 
to  be  a  probability  that  we  would  have  a  pleasant  night.  About  II  o'clock, 
however,  a  cloud  appeared  in  the  north-west,  which  hung  upon  the  horizon  for 
some  time,  black,  heavy  and  ominous.  It  finally  began  to  move,  grew  larger 
rapidly,  increased  in  velocity,  as  it  hung  out  heavy  folds,  and  thus  continuing 
to  ascend,  it  soon  reached  the  zenith,  where  cloud  warred  upon  cloud;  the 
live  thunder  leaping  from  one  side  of  the  heavens  to  the  other,  with  rapidity  and 
crashing  that  seemed  to  rend  heaven  and  earth,  while  fountains  of  living  fire 
descended  and  ran  like  shining  serpents  along  the  ground. 

On  the  24th,  we  witnessed  a  natural  phenomena  known  as  the  mirage  by 
which  travellers  across  extensive  deserts,  who  long  for  water  "  as  the  heart 
panteth  for  the  thirsty  water-brook,"  have  so  often  been  cheated  into  a  delu 
sive  hope,  by  being  caused  to  imagine  they  perceived  before  them,  lakes  reflect 
ing  from  their  clear  and  smooth  surfaces,  trees,  plants,  rocks,  and  hills.  What 
we  saw,  was  in  short  a  phonomena  depending  upon  the  same  general  principles 
as  those  which  produced  the  "  Spector  of  the  Brocken,"  which  for  so  many 
years  was  the  terror  of  the  superstitious  and  the  wonder  of  the  scientific. 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  47 

During  the  day  we  passed  Chimney  Rock,  which  is  one  of  the  many  turious 
and  interesting  objects  which  the  action  of  the  wind  and  rain  operating  during 
thousands  of  years  upon  the  soft  marly  foundation  of  the  country,  has  wrought 
into  curious  objects,  which  seen  in  the  distance,  are  remarkable  imitations  of 
magnificent  works  of  art,  partially  in  ruins.  One  of  these  called  the  Court 
House,  was  in  full  view  during  the  afternoon  of  the  22d.  It  had  the  appear 
ance  of  a  vast  edifice,  with  its  roof  fallen  in;  the  great  door  ways  partially  ob 
structed,  some  of  the  window  spaces  filled  with  rubbish,  and  many  of  the  arches 
broken  and  fallen,  while  others  seemed  to  remain  as  perfect  and  massive  as  if 
they  had  really  been  built  thousands  of  years  ago  by  a  people,  who  had  gone 
down  in  the  vortex  of  revolutions,  or  been  swept  away  by  the  resistless  current 
of  mighty  events,  leaving  not  a  page  of  their  history  nor  a  trace  of  their  exist 
ence,  save  these  remains  of  architectural  grandeur  and  magnificence,  now  lifting 
up  their  forms  amid  surrounding  desolation,  befiting  monuments  of  man's  pass 
ing  glory  and  of  the  vanity  of  his  hopes. 

Far  off  to  the  left  of  the  plains  between  Chimney  Rock  and  Scott's  BlufF,  were 
many  views  of  remarkable  and  picturesque  beauty,  owing  their  origin  to  the  ac 
tion  of  the  winds  and  rains  upon  the  same  peculiar  formation.  The  bluffs  pre 
sented  the  appearance  of  a  vast  ancient  city.  In  one  locality  there  could  be  no 
difficulty  in  recognizing  a  royal  bath.  In  the  immediate  vicinity,  there  was  a 
vast  amphitheater,  having  on  one  side  what  appeared  to  be  an  immense  niche, 
with  a  platform  before  it  supported  by  pillars.  Here  it  might  well  have  been 
imagined  that  a  monarch  had  sat,  surrounded  by  obsequious  and  servile  court 
iers,  while  the  life  blood  of  men  even  better  than  himself,  was  being  shed  to 
make  him  a  holiday  especially  distinguished  by  a  spectacle  of  rich  and  rare  in 
terest.  Not  far  away  was  seen  a  splendid  mausolem,  a  fitting  receptacle  of  the 
ashes  of  a  royal  ancestry  extending  back  into  a  pre-historic  period.  Towering 
above  all,  was  the  temple  of  Belus,  with  its  stairs  ascending  around  a  grandually 
diminishing  surface.  Here  was  the  Old  Palace — there  the  new  one.  In  front 
of  one  of  them  stood  the  towers  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  tunnel  un 
der  the  river  connecting  the  two.  Near  at  hand  were  the  celebrated  hanging 
gardens  considerable  portions  of  them  remaining  in  such  a  state  as  to  indicate  that 
such  they  had  really  been,  and  showing  in  many  places  hardy  shrubs,  that  having 
sent  down  their  long  roots  into  the  partial  openings  supporting  arches,  still  smiled 
in  beautiful  and  refreshing  green,  amid  general  desolation.  Numerous  streets 
having  on  either  side  what  were  once  magnificent  buildings  and  lofty  domes, 
sublime  in  their  dimensions  and  proportions,  and  graceful  in  the  outline  and  de 
tail  of  their  architecture,  extended  far  away,  so  that  their  remote  ends  were  lost 
in  the  distance.  A  fortification,  large  enough  to  contain  the  army  with  which 
Napoleon  invaded  Russia,  showed  enormous  bastons,  frowning  in  massive 


48  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

strength,  while  the  workmanship  of  its  parapets,  covered  ways,  glacis  and 
towers  presented  a  very  remarkable  fulness  of  detail.  Away  the  west,  stood  a 
long  line  of  the  city  wall  with  its  yet  remaining  battlements  and  loupholes  for 
out-look  and  other  military  purposes.  Midway  was  the  vast  arch  beneath  which 
flowed  the  river  through  the  midst  of  the  city,  until  turned  by  Cyrus  the  Great 
into  a  new  channel,  where  it  still  flows  at  the  further  side  of  the  plain,  spread  out 
in  broad  shallow  and  turbid  streams  that  sluggishly  creep  among  the  sand-bars 
of  what  was  the  Euphrates  once,  but  which  is  the  Nebraska  now. 

Upon  approaching  still  nearer,  the  mind  was  fillen  with  strange  images  and 
impressions.  The  silence  of  death  reigned  over  a  once  populous  city,  which 
had  been  a  nursery  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  the  seat  of  a  great  inland  com 
merce.  It  was  a  Tadmer  of  the  Desert,  in  ruins.  No  signs  of  life  were  visible, 
a  whole  people  were  extinct.  The  imagination  wandered  back.  The  city  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  beleaguring  and  sanguinary  foe.  No  quarter  had 
been  given.  All  had  fallen  without  distinction  of  age,  sex  or  condition,  victims 
to  a  spirit  of  revenge  and  retaliation,  and  to  the  worst  passions  of  the  human 
heart,  intensified  by  a  thirst  for  gold  and  a  sense  of  the  utter  helplessness  to  which 
the  conquered  had  been  reduced  after  a  long  and  obstinate  resistance.  The 
evening  succeeding  this  day  of  undistinguishing  slaughter,  was  one  which  the 
ascending  fires  had  made  terribly  sublime.  The  flames  had  spread,  and  in  a  few 
brief  but  dreadful  hours,  wrapped  temple  and  dome,  the  palaces  of  the  royal, 
the  mansions  and  pavilions  of  the  rich,  and  the  cottages  and  hovels  of  the  poor, 
in  one  vast  sheet  of  consuming  fire,  that  licked  up  the  very  dust  of  her  thousand 
streets  and  blackened  many  of  the  yet  stony  walls  which  the  rains  of  thous 
ands  of  years  had  not  yet  whitened .  Many  vast  multitudes  of  the  inhabitants 
in  attempting  to  escape  from  the  doomed  city,  had  been  slain  by  the  relentless 
foe,  who  had  heaped  up  the  bodies  of  the  dead  in  promiscuous  masses  about  the 
gates;  and  under  these  very  walls  which  had  withstood  the  power  of  time  through 
a  long  and  unknown  series  of  ages.  In  one  day,  the  anxious  crowds  of  citizens, 
and  the  thousands  of  contending  soldiers,  were  swept  away  by  a  slaughtering 
foe,  who  had  left  none  to  bewail  the  dead,  or  to  gather  from  beneath  the  ruins 
the  bones  of  those  who  had  perished. 

My  imagination  being  thus  excited  by  the  remarkable  and  picturesque  views, 
in  shapes  which  the  action  of  the  winds  and  rains  had  wrought  in  the  soft  marly 
formation  of  the  country,  I  permitted  it  to  wander  at  will,  and  tc  fill  the  mind 
with  images  and  scenes  such  as  I  have  described. 

On  the  27th,  we  met  at  a  point  ten  miles  east  of  Fort  Laramie,  a  company  of 
packers,  consisting  of  persons  of  both  sexes,  some  of  whom  were  from  Oregon, 
and  some  from  California,  returning  to  the  States,  and  taking  back  with  them 
an  evil  report  of  the  Pacific  coast. 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS.  49 

We  arrived  at  Fort  Laramie  the  afternoon  of  June  28th,  where  we  had  inten 
ded  to  remain  encamped  until  the  3oth.  But  some  Sioux  Indian  chiefs  advised 
us  through  Mr.  Bodeau  who  had  charge  of  the  fort,  to  proceed  immediately  on 
our  way,  and  to  join  ourselves  to  larger  parties  of  emigrants  in  advance,  their 
people  being  in  great  force  among  the  hills  some  miles  distant,  preparing  to 
send  out  a  large  war  party  to  fight  the  Crows,  and  their  allies,  the  Snakes,  through 
whose  country  we  had  to  pass.  That  several  hundred  lodges  would  be  gathered 
on  the  following  morning;  and  as  they  were  not  pleased  with  the  whites,  they 
might  greatly  annoy  us  by  at  least  begging  and  stealing,  if  not  open  robbery. 

On  the  next  morning,  being  again  admonished  to  hasten  forward,  so  as  to 
unite  with  others  for  defence,  we  broke  camp  at  an  early  hour. 

On  the  3Oth,  a  great  confusion  prevailed  in  camp,  in  consequence  of  some  of 
Californians  whom  we  had  overtaken  in  the  morning  and  some  of  our  party  de 
siring  to  remain  in  camp  while  others  wished  to  proceed.  Finally,  the  Cali 
fornians  all  determined^  to  go  forward.  Messrs.  Crump,  Luce,  and  Van  Bebber, 
who  had  left  us  on  the  28th,  continuing  with  them. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  Rev.  Mr.  Cornwall  left  our  company  and  joined  himself  to 
the  Californians. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  having  the  last  guard,  I  fired  my  rifle  and  revolv 
ing  pistol,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  as  a  salute  in  honor  of  the  anniversary  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Californians  remained  in  camp.  We  re 
sumed  our  journey  at  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  4th. 

On  the  5th,  we  passed  two  companies  of  Oregon  emigrants,  the  one  being  led 
by  Mr.  Crabtree,  and  the  other  by  Jimmy  Campbell,  a  better  man  than  whom 
never  came  to  Oregon. 

The  7th  was  the  warmest  day  we  had  experienced,  and  s,and  and  dust  filled 
the  lungs,  mouth,  nose,  ears  and  hair.  We  continued  to  travel  over  a  barren 
and  desolate  country  until  10  o'clock  at  night,  when  we  camped  at  a  place  of 
beautiful  springs,  although  there  was  no  fuel,  and  grass  was  scant.  Here  we 
found  four  companias  as  tired  as  we  were.  It  was  a  very  hard  day  for  our  cat 
tle.  One  of  Rice  Dunbar's  sank  down  at  sunset  and  was  left. 

Many  circumstances  transpired  from  time  to  time,  which  were  very  painfully 
calculated  to  impress  the  mind  of  even  only  a  tolerably  careful  observer,  that  we 
were  beyond  the  pale  of  statute  law,  and  that  in  the  wilderness,  too  many  were 
inclined  to  act  upon  the  license  which  it  was  regarded  as  giving.  The  first 
very  marked  practical  effect  of  this  spirit  manifested  on  the  8th,  when  G.  came 
with  D.  to  the  wagon  of  one  whom  we  will  call  Belzebub  for  short  and  for  con 
venience  as  well,  when  G.  cooly  informed  Beelzebub,  that  it  was  his  intention 

4 


50  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

to  take  from  him  two  ox-yokes  and  their  chains.  He  might  have  added  and  two 
yoke  of  oxen,  for  the  effect  of  the  intended  robbery,  would  have  been  to  deprive 
the  last  named  personage  of  that  number  of  oxen  and  left  him  and  his  wife  a  help 
less  prey  to  the  savages.  One  yoke  and  chain  were  taken  ere  Beelzebub  could 
believe  his  sense. 

It  was  now  seen  that  the  spirit  that  had  long  been  observed,  must  be  met  and 
promptly  subdued,  if  the  intended  victim  of  this  proposed  lawlessness  had  not 
brought  his  mind  to  accept  for  himself  and  Mrs.  Beelzebub  a  very  romantic 
death  in  the  wilderness,  and  thus  became  the  hero  and  heroine  of  a  lachrymose 
story.  Beelzebub  thought  he  wouldn't,  and  with  some  emphasis,  he  said  she 
shouldn't.  So  when  G.  returned  and  took  up  the  second  yoke  and  loaded  him 
self  with  it  and  the  chain,  Beelzebub  took  up  a  musket,  which  although  not 
loaded,  had  a  bayonet  upon  it,  and  immediately  came  down  upon  G.  in  a  solid 
body  with  fixed  bayonet,  charging  with  undaunted  spirit,  deploying,  extending 
his  flanks,  and  executing  with  great  skill  and  precision,  a  number  of  most 
masterly  military  manouvers,  always  keeping  in  view  Napoleon's  grand  idea  of 
charging  on  the  center  to  insure  a  victory.  The  enemy  soon  commenced  re 
treating,  panic  stricken  and  in  great  precipitation,  disorder  and  confusion,  throw 
ing  aside  as  he  fled  the  yoke  and  chain.  But  G.  was  not  to  be  thus  let  off,  for 
Beelzebub  going  back  to  his  wagon,  got  a  revolver  and  returning  to  G.  com 
pelled  him  to  carry  back  both  yokes  and  their  chains.  This  having  been  done 
with  great  docility,  Beelzebub  presented  the  cocked  pistol  within  three  feet  of 
G's  mouth,  then  said  a  good  many  things  in  a  very  eloquent  and  impressive 
manner  but  not  classical  after  the  Greek  style. 

I  will  now  say,  probably  once  for  all,  that  a  journey  such  as  we  were  making 
tries  the  temper  and  disposition,  no  less  than  it  does  the  bodily  frame  and  the 
strength  of  moral  principle.  And  in  this  same  connection  I  wish  to  observe  that 
when  G.  came  to  Oregon,  he  married  respectably,  raised  a  family,  and  after 
living  the  life  a  law  abiding  man,  made  his  last  remove  to  a  land  from  which  he 
will  never  return.  Peace  to  his  ashes. 

D.  also  raised  a  respectable  and  useful  family;  became,  as  I  have  reason  to 
believe,  an  earnest  Christian  man  and  died  a  good  man's  death,  and  is  now  I 
am  sure  where  the  weary  are  at  rest  and  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling. 

On  the  i8th,  we  crossed  through  the  South  Pass  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
where  we  found  that  the  face  of  nature  had  changed ;  that  the  grass  had  entirely 
passed  away,  leaving  nothing  but  everlasting  grey  rocks  that  lifted  up  their  heads 
in  naked  sterility,  or  were  imperfectly  covered  with  artemisia  tridentata.  Every 
thing  seemed  to  have  undergone  a  change.  There  was  a  gloomy  vastness  in  the 
distant  prospect,  and  an  awful  solitude  in  the  immediately  surrounding  scene; 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  5  I 

a  sense  of  which,  when  associated  with  the  conviction  that  we  were  about  to 
drink  of  the  waters  that  flowed  into  the  great  Pacific,  made  the  day  one  of  great 
sadness  as  we  journeyed  through  the  pass,  realizing  as  all  seemed  to  do,  that 
the  temperature,  the  atmosphere,  the  face  of  the  heavens,  the  appearance 
of  the  earth  had  changed  and  with  these  the  whole  future  of  each  human  being 
then  upon1  the  road. 

We  passed  during  the  afternoon,  several  work  oxen  who  having  became  wholly 
unequal  to  the  toils  and  hardships  of  the  journey  had  sunk  down  in  the  team, 
been  hastily  relieved  from  the  yoke  and  left  by  the  way-side  to  die.  The  future 
possibilities  of  the  journey  which  the  pitable  sight  of  these  faithful  worn  out 
servants  suggested  were  by  no  means  pleasant  to  contemplate.  On  that  night 
we  encamped  at  the  Pacific  Springs. 

On  Sabbath,  the  igth  of  July,  we  traveled  over  a  desolate,  undulating,  and 
sandy  country,  the  air  being  filled  with  the  scent  of  artemissa  tridentata,  and 
.loaded  with  clouds  of  drifting  sand  and  flying  dust,  making  the  day  one  of  such 
to\l  and  discomfort,  that  when  near  its  close,  we  encamped  on  Little  Sandy,  we 
felt  that  the  small  stream  of  clear,  cold  water  had  a  blessing  in  each  drop  of  it. 

Here  we  found  a  large  number  of  Oregon  and  California  emigrants,  among 
whom  I  may  mention  Messrs.  West,  Crabtree,  Campbell,  Boggs,  Dunbar,  and 
George  and  Jacob  Donner.  I  had  at  one  time  or  another  become  acquainted 
with  all  of  these  persons  in  these  companies,  and  had  traveled  with  them  from 
the  Wakaruska,  and  until  the  subsequent  divisions  and  subdivisions  had  sepa 
rated  us,  after  which  we  had  often  passed  and  repassed  each  other,  and  fre 
quently  encamped  together  by  the  same  water  and  grass.  In  fact,  the  particu 
lar  history  of  the  Oregon  emigration  of  1846,  is  the  general  history  of  the  Cali 
fornia  emigration  of  the  same  year.  The  two  histories  stand  so  nearly  related, 
that  they  seem  to  illustrate  each  other  and  to  be  parts  of  one  history.  This  fact 
is  mentioned  now,  because  I  may  furnish  a  paper  to  this  Association  having 
"  The  History  of  the  Donner  Party,"  for  its  subject.  I  shall,  therefore,  dismiss 
that  subject  here,  with  the  remark  that  the  greater  number  of  the  Californians, 
and  especially  the  companies  in  which  George  Donner,  Jacob  Donner,  James  F. 
Reed  and  Wm.  H.  Eddy,  and  their  families  traveled,  here  turned  to  the  left, 
for  the  purpose  of  going  by  the  way  of  Fort  Bridger,  to  meet  Lansford  W.  Hast 
ings,  who  had  informed  them  by  letter,  that  he  had  found  a  much  nearer  and 
better  route  than  the  old  one  leading  by  the  way  of  Fort  Hall  and  the  head 
waters  of  Humboldt  river. 

The  Californians  were  generally  much  elated  with  the  prospect  of  a  nearer 
and  much  better  road,  to  the  country  of  their  destination.  Mrs.  George  Donner 
was,  however,  an  exception,  being  gloomy,  sad  and  disspirited,  because  of 


52  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

the  fact  that  her  husband  and  others  could  think  for  a  moment,  of  leaving  the 
old  road  and  confide  ;n  the  statements  of  a  man  of  whom  they  knew  next  to 
nothing,  and  of  whose  motives  they  knew  still  less. 

On  the  2 1st,  we  remained  in  camp  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  our  cattle, 
previous  to  entering  upon  a  forty  mile  dry  drive,  known  as  Greenwood's  cut-off. 

On  the  22d,  having  filled  all  our  kegs  with  water,  we  set  off  very  early  in  the 
morning.  At  3  o'clock,  p.  M.,  on  the  second  day,  we  arrived  at  Green  river, 
and  after  having  crossed,  encamped  on  its  banks  some  distance  below,  where 
we  found  several  other  companies,  where  Gov.  Boggs,  Wm.  Boggs,  Mr.  Turner 
Crump  and  myself,  united  ourselves  to  a  company  led  by  Wm.  Kirquendall. 
We  encamped  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  July  25,  about  three  miles  below  our 
encampment,  were  we  first  came  to  Green  river,  on  a  beautiful  tributary  of  that 
stream.  Our  traveling  companions,  Messrs.  Boone,  Norris,  Van  Bebber  and 
Luce  remained  behind. 

One  of  the  sorest  evils  of  the  road  the  emigrants  encountered  during  about  one 
month  preceding  this  time,  was  the  flying  dust  apd  drifting  sand.  Eastern 
Oregon  up  to  this  point,  exceeded  in  dreariness  and  sterility  anything  we  had 
seen. 

About  noon  on  the  28th,  we  came  up  to  where  a  small  company  of  emigrants 
were  about  to  bury  the  dead  wife  of  Jimmy  Campbell,  she  having  died  that 
morning  at  sunrise.  Our  company  halted,  and  as  many  as  could  leave  the  teams, 
joined  in  the  solemn  procession,  sympathizing  travellers,  though  covered  with 
the  dust  of  .a  toilsome  way,  mingled  their  tears  with  those  of  the  bereaved  hus 
band.  Her  body  was  committed  to  the  keeping  of  that  lone  grave,  more  than 
a  thousand  miles  from  the  abode  of  civilized  persons;  and  I  fancied,  as  I  saw 
the  stricken  suivivor  turn  away  from  the  lowly  resting  place  of  that  dear,  dead 
wife,  to  resume  the  toil  of  his  yet  long,  arduous  and  perilous  journey,  that  he 
seemed  bowed  down  and  almost  broken  hearted.  Every  lineament  of  his  coun 
tenance  seemed  to  express  how  deeply  sensible  he  was,  that  the  living  eye  which 
had  often  brightened  at  his  approach,  even  in  her  last  painful  and  protracted 
illness,  would  beam  on  him  no  more;  that  he  would  never  again  on  earth  hear 
the  sweet  music  of  her  voice;  never  more  would  she  inquire  into  his  cares  and 
toils;  or  whisper  an  encouraging  word  or  affectionate  approval  of  his  efforts,  and 
a  desire  to  share  his  toils  with  him.  His  hand  ever  ready  to  anticipate  and 
minister  to  her  wants,  would  never  again  press  with  tender  care  that  poor 
aching  head,  which  would  no  more  feel  exhaustion,  pain  and  disease.  Her 
calm  and  peaceful  spirit  was  gone,  and  there  remained  nothing  to  him  to  fill 
the  painful  void  an  to  assuage  the  deep  sorrow  of  his  almost  bursting  heart,  but 
the  pleasant  remembrance  of  her  gentle  purity,  sweet  humility,  winning  man- 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  53 

ners,  generous  and  devoted  affection,  and  her  more  than  womanly  wisdom;  her 
pleasant  expression  of  face,  which  was  want  to  diffuse  sunshine  and  smiles  all 
about  her,  and  the  heavenly  radiance  of  her  lovely  and  beautiful  character, 
were  to  beam  on  him  no  more. 

Slowly  and  in  silence,  we  resumed  oar  journey,  as  we  turned  away  from  that 
far  off  grave,  much  sadder  than  when  we  came,  and,  as  I  hope,  better  for  the  re 
flections  suggested  by  the  scene. 

After  travelling  twelve  miles  on  the  next  day,  we  encamped  at  4  o'clock, 
upon  Bear  river,  in  a  lovely  and  interesting  valley,  where  our  cattle  were  turned 
loose  to  feed  upon  the  dry  grass,  our  white  tents  pitched,  and  the  smoke  began 
to  ascend  lazily  from  our  camp-fires,  around  which  our  wives  were  busy  in  pre 
paring  the  evening  meal,  the  whole  presented  a  pleasant  picture  of  great  pas- 
tural  beauty.  The  atmosphere  was  smoky  in  consequence  of  the  Indians  having 
fired  the  grass  in  the  valleys  and  upon  the  hills.  The  day  was  pleasant  and 
there  was  much  in  it  that  was  well  calculated  to  remind  one  of  that  delightful 
season  known  as  the  Indian  summer.  It  was  indeed,  no  more  than  the  2gth  of 
July,  but  the  grass  was  dry  and  crisp,  the  atmosphere  smoky,  and  even  where 
there  was  no  smoke  apparent,  it  had  a  peculiarly  yellowish  hue.  The  sun 
seemed  to  shine  with  a  light  more  than  half  subdued  and  softened,  and  every 
object  presented  the  appearance  of  the  early  advance  of  autumn.  The  heat  of 
summer  had  passed  away  in  fading  green.  Lights  and  sounds,  the  most  beau 
tiful  and  attractive  had  come,  with  the  agreeable  coolness  which  in  the  evening 
succeeded  the  pleasant  warmth  of  the  day.  The  winds  as  they  stole  among  the 
boughs  of  a  neighboring  grove  of  quaking  asps,  that  stood  clothed  in  partially 
faded  and  changing  green,  scarcely  disturbed  by  their  low  rustling,  the  silence 
of  the  delicious  shades  below.  The  waters  of  Bear  river,  moved  sluggishly 
along,  reflecting  in  a  very  striking  manner,  the  rays  of  the  declining  sun.  The 
mountain  trout  were  ever  and  anon  springing  out  of  the  clear  water,  at  insects 
in  the  air,  or  were  seizing  those  that  floated  on  the  smooth  surface.  The  sun 
at  length  sunk  behind  the  mountains,  amid  a  rich  and  gorgeous  blending  of 
light  and  shadow,  and  colors,  such  as  no  painter's  skill  could  imitate,  and  none 
but  the  Great  Artist  can  repeat.  Soon  a  peculiarly  soft  and  transparent  twilight 
settled  over  the  scene.  The  stars  came  out  and  twinkled  upon  the  canopy  of 
heaven,  in  a  manner  that  suggested  the  idea  that  they  were  the  abodes  of  the 
sinless  and  blessed,  for  here  majestic  nature  though  in  solitary  grandeur,  might 
well  swell  the  heart  with  grateful  emotions  of  religious  enthusiasm. 

The  shades  of  night  having  spread  ov,er  hill  and  valley  in  one  direction  and 
the  boundless  landscape  in  another,  so  as  to  render  indistinct  such  objects  as 
were  a  little  remote,  yet  not  so  as  wholly  to  conceal  the  general  scene,  the  pa- 


54  THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS. 

rarie  was  lighted  up  into  a  supernatural  brilliancy  by  the  distant  glare  of  spread' 

ing  fires,  where  all  was  silent  but  the  crackling  of  the  flames,  and  beyond  which 
all  was  black  as  the  darkness  of  death.  The  blazes  extended  across  the  valley, 
and  having  soon  reached  the  long  line  of  high  hills  upon  the  opposite  side  of 
Bear  river,  crept  along  the  top,  their  dark  and  heavy  outlines  gleaming  brighter 
and  brighter,  until  a  fiery  redness  filled  the  large  ascending  volumes  of  convol 
ved  and  curling  smoke,  that  now  rolled  on  eddying  winds  and  towered  to  the 
clouds.  The  fire  spread  and  widened  and  ran  along  down  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  high  hills,  and  then  back,  until  it  appeared  shooting  up  its  flames  into  the 
air,  first  in  one  place,  and  then  in  another  along  the  outline  of  the  hills  that 
stood  up  boldly  against  the  horizon,  until  there  rolled  along  their  whole  length 
covered  with  tall  grass  and  artimisia  tridentata  a  sea  of  angry  billows  of  smoke 
and  flame,  and  crackling  fire,  and  burning  spray. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  the  cattle  of  the  emigrants  having  wandered  very  much 
it  became  difficult  to  collect  them  again,  and  as  a  consequence  the  company 
was  late  in  breaking  up  camp.  Gov.  Boggs  remained  behind  to  assist  Mr.  T. 
Crump  to  hunt  his  cattle;  but  the  two  came  up  with  the  main  body  near  dark. 

On  the  7th,  we  arrived  at  Fort  Hall  where  we  purchased  a  few  articles  of  sup 
ply,  flour  at  the  rate  of  $40  per  barrel,  and  coarse  brown  sugar  at  50  cents  per 
pound.  About  I  o'clock,  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  after  traveling  eight 
miles,  encamped  on  an  open  grassy  plain. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2Oth  of  June,  1846,  Capt  Jesse  Applegate  had  organ 
ized  a  company  on  the  banks  of  the  La  Creole,  at  a  place  near  where  Dallas 
now  stands,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  a  new  route  by  which  the  emigrants  to 
Oregon  might  reach  the  settlements.  This  company  consisted  of  Jesse  Apple- 
gate,  Lindsay  Applegate,  Levi  Scott,  John  Scott,  Henry  Bogus,  Benjamin  Burch, 
John  Owens,  John  Jones,  Robert  Smith,  Samuel  Goodhue,  Moses  Harris,  David 
Goflf,  Bennetpsborn,  William  Sportsman,  and -William  Parker.  ^Eachjnan 
having  a  packhorse  in  addition  to  the  horse  he  rode. 

June  2  ist,  the  company  moved  up  the  Willamette  valley  and  proceeding  by 
the  way  of  the  Umpqua  and  Rogue  river  valleys,  Black  Rock,  Rabbi  tt>  Hole 
Spring  and  Humboldt  river  and  valley,  had  at  length  met  us  in  our  encampment 
on  August  8th,  west  of  Fort  Hall.  Here  Captain  Applegate  sought  to  turn 
us  from  the  old  way  over  which  we  knew  that  emigrants  had  passed  in  safety, 
and  that  they  had  arrived  in  good  season,  although  we  knew  that  the  old  travel 
ed  route  was  not  free  from  great  hardship  and  some  danger.  Such  representa 
tions  were  made  to  us  as  were  deemed  likely  to  turn  us  on  the  new  route. 
Some  of  the  emigrants  hesitated,  because  they  professed  to  suspect  that  Mr. 
Applegate  was  influenced  by  some  motive  purely  selfish.  Others,  (and  many 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  55 

of  them,)  expressed  the  opinion  that  there  could  not  in  the  nature  of  things  be 
any  sinister  motive  operating  on  his  mind  to  mislead,  and  that  it  was  more  reas 
onable  to  believe  that  his  object  was  to  take  the  companies  over  a  route  nearer, 
and  one  better  supplied  with  water,  grass  and  fuel,  than  the  old  one  was  known 
to  be.  And  Gov.  Boggs  was  one  whose  judgment  was  greatly  relied  upon;  and 
he  having  expressed  himself  as  unhesitatingly,  and  to  the  fullest  extent  confid 
ing  in  Capt.  Applegate's  statements,  the  most  of  our  party  yielded  their  objec 
tions  and  determined  to  take  the  new  route,  respecting  which  six  things  were 
affirmed:  1st.  That  the  distance  by  the  way  of  The  Dalles  to  the  settlements, 
was  from  800  to  850  miles.  2nd.  That  the  distance  over  the  new  route  was  at 
least  2oo  miles  nearer.  3d.  That  the  party  that  had  with  him  explored  the 
new  way,  estimated  it  at  even  300  miles  nearer.  4th.  That  the  whole  distance 
was  better  supplied  with  water  and  grass,  than  the  old  road.  $th.  That  it  was 
not  more  than  190  or  200  miles  from  our  camp  of  the  8th,  to  the  point  at  which 
his  cut-off  left  the  Humboldt  river.  6th.  That  the  road  was  generally  smooth, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  a  dry  drive  of  thirty  miles,  well  supplied  with  an 
abundance  of  good  water,  grass,  and  fuel.  To  what  extent  subsequent  devel 
opments  verified  the  correctness  of  these  representations  of  the  character  of  the 
proposed  new  route,  we  shall  hereafter  see. 

On  Sabbath  morning,  August  gth,  we  resumed  our  journey,  the  most  of  our 
party  being  much  elated  with  the  prospect  of  good  roads,  abundant  grass,  health 
ful  water,  necessary  fuel,  and  a  saving  of  at  least  200  miles  of  travel. 

On  the  roth,  we  traveled  very  rapidly  all  day  over  very  bad  roads  and  near 
night  encamped. 

August  nth  was  another  day  of  weary  travel  over  a  country  so  barren  that 
nothing  but  sand  crickets  and  lizzards  could  live  in  it. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  I2th,  we  found  good  water  and  grass,  and  en 
camped. 

Mr.  Rupert  died  on  the  morning  of  the  I3th,  in  a  company  led  by  Mr.  Dick 
inson.  He  had  lingered  long  with  the  consumption,  and  his  parents  residing  at 
Independence,  had  concurred  with  him  in  the  opininon  that  a  residence  on  this 
coast,  might  restore  him  to  health.  His  brother,  a  physician,  had  accompanied 
him  some  distance  into  the  great  prairie  wilderness  for  the  purpose  of  observing 
whether  he  would  probably  endure  the  fatigues  and  hardships  incident  to  the 
journey.  At  the  time  the  two  brothers  separated,  the  deceased  seemed  to  be  un 
usually  well  and  cheerful.  But  this  favorable  change  was  but  temporary.  The 
emigrants  had  done  all  they  could  to  alleviate  his  sufferings  and  to  beguile  the 
tedium  of  the  slowly  and  heavily  passing  hours  of  his  illness.  But  at  length 
death  came;  and  the  body  of  the  dead  being  decently  prepared  for  the  grave, 


56  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

with  measured  tread  and  solemn  aspect  the  emigrants  bore  their  dead  to  burial, 
committing  it  to  its  final  resting  place,  while  a  solemn  stillness  pervaded  the 
camp. 

William  Kirquendall  and  Charles  Putnam  left  our  company  on  the  morning  of 
this  day,  to  go  forward  with  others  led  by  Capt.  Applegate,  to  mark  and  open 
the  new  road. 

On  the  1 5th,  Messrs.  Neally,  Burns,  Perkins,  and  the  younger  Kirquendall, 
left  in  the  morning  joining  themselves  to  another  company .  We  passed  over  a 
portion  of  road  so  rocky  and  rough  that  it  seemed  to  be  almost  impossible  to 
get  wagons  over  them.  The  toils  and  difficulties  of  the  journey  appeared  to  in 
crease  in  number  and  magnitude  as  we  advanced. 

On  the  1 6th,  we  encamped  on  Goose  creek,  where  we  had  an  abundance  of 
water  and  grass,  and  plenty  of  dry  willows  for  fuel. 

On  the  1 7th,  traveled  through  a  canyon,  where  the  wagons  were  in  great 
danger  of  being  overturned,  camped  on  Goose  creek. 

On  the  l8th,  passed  through  another  very  dangerous  and  difficult  canyonr 
Encamped  at  the  head  of  Goose  creek. 

On  the  I  Qth,  traveled  17  miles  over  a  moderately  good  road — or  rather  not  a 
very  bad  road,  and  encamped  30  miles  from  Humboldt  river,  having  good 
grass  and  excellent  water,  but  no  fuel. 

On  the  2Oth,  encamped  on  a  fertile  valley. 

At  noon  of  the  2ist,  passed  the  grave  of  Mr.  Burns,  who  died  at  3  o'clock,  A. 
M.,  and  was  buried  at  10.  He  left  a  widow  and  three  children.  Leaving  the 
grave  of  our  departed  fellow  traveler,  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  at  2  o'clock 
encamped  in  the  Hot  Spring  valley  at  a  place  where  we  had  good  grass  and  bad 
water.  We  believed  that  our  encampment  of  the  2ist,  was  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  head  of  the  Humboldt  river. 

The  Indians  along  the  whole  length  of  this  river,  were  usually  very  trouble 
some,  stealing  cattle,  and  concealing  themselves  behind  the  rocks  and  bushes, 
from  which  they  assailed  the  emigrants  and  their  stock  with  their  poisoned  ar 
rows.  One  of  them  was  shot  in  the  emigrant  camp  at  one  of  the  halts,  by  Mi. 
Lovelin,  with  his  rifle;  and  with  a  shot  gun,  by  Jesse  Boone,  a  great  grandson 
of  the  celebrated  Indian  fighter,  Daniel  Boone,  of  Kentucky.  It  was  at  all 
times  necessary  to  guard  the  cattle  while  feeding.  One  of  the  forward  comp 
anies  had  rather  a  serious  battle  with  these  robbers  of  the  desert.  Many  of  the 
Indians  were  slain  among  the  willows,  where  they  first  lay  in  ambush.  Some 
were  slain  in  a  natural  fortress  to  which  they  had  fled,  upon  being  driven  out  of 
the  willows.  Some  of  the  whites  were  severely  wounded,  and  among  them  a 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS.  57 

Mr.  Sallie  and  Whitley  the  latter  the  same  one  who  was  killed  at  Dallas  about 
three  years  ago,  Mr.  Sallie  died  frcm  the  effect  of  the  wound,  which  though 
slight  in  itself,  yet  being  inflicted  with  a  poisoned  arrow,  continued  to  inflame, 
and  infuse  the  fatal  virus  through  the  body,  until  death  ensued. 

The  emigrants  continued  their  journey  down  the  Humboldt  until  they  became 
very  thoroughly  convinced  that  they  had  traveled  very  much  more  than  190 
or  200  miles,  at  which  distance  from  the  first  camp  west  of  Fort  Hall,  they  had 
been  informed  by  Capt.  Applegate,  that  they  would  arrive  at  the  point  where 
his  cut-off  leaves  Humboldt  river.  The  emigrants  at  first  feared  that  they  had 
passed  it  unobserved;  and  it  was  seriously  debated,  whether  they  should  not  halt 
and  send  back  to  hunt  for  the  place,  at  which  it  was  supposed  that  they  had 
passed  the  road.  They  continued  on,  however,  from  day  to  day,  until  all  were 
of  opinion  that  they  had  passed  it  long  before  and  that  they  were  very  much 
nearer  to  San  Francisco,  than  they  were  to  Oregon  City,  then  the  central  point 
of  arrival  and  departure  in  Oregon.  At  length,  the  emigrants  were  surprised  to 
meet  David  Goff  at  the  forks  of  the  road.  He  at  once  proposed  to  pilot  them 
over  Capt.  Applegate's  cut-off. 

The  distance  of  this  point  from  Fort  Hall,  as  it  is  directly  on  the  traveled 
way,  from  that  place  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  is  important.  There  are  a 
number  of  facts  which  will  conduct  the  mind  approximately  to  it. 

Capt.  Applegate  met  the  emigrants  at  their  encampment  of  August  bth,  eight 
miles  west  of  Fort  Hall.  On  the  following  morning,  the  emigrants  resumed  their 
journey,  and  continued  traveling  until  the  evening  of  the  2ist,  when  they  believed 
were  near  the  head-waters  of  Humboldt  river.  Allowing  no  more  than  12  miles 
for  each  day  they  must  have  traveled  up  to  that  time,  156  miles.  Ex-Governor 
Boggs,  (who  took  this  cut-off — so  called — for  the  purpose  of  coming  to  Oregon,) 
in  a  letter  dated  "  Sonoma,  Upper  California,  April  20,  1847,"  speaking  of  the 
time  when  the  company  met  David  Goff  at  the  forks  of  the  road,  where  emi 
grants  were  led  by  the  way  of  the  Rabbit  Hole  Spring  and  Black  Rock,  says : 
"  I  do  not  recollect  the  day  of  the  month  we  separated  at  the  forks  of  the  road, 
but  to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  it  was  after  the  middle  of  September,  or  about 
the  middle."  This  would  give  at  least  25  days  from  the  encampment  of  the 
2 1st  of  the  preceding  month  when  the  emigrants  supposed  that  they  were  near 
the  head  of  Humboldt  river.  From  this  camp  then,  to  the  place  where  Capt. 
Applegate's  cut-off  leaves  the  river,  is  300  miles,  allowing  12  miles  for  each 
day's  travel.  This  added  to  the  156  miles  the  emigrants  had  traveled  up  to  the 
camp  of  the  2ist  August,  would  give  456  miles  as  the  distance  back  to  the 
camp  of  the  8th  August.  That  this  distance  is  not  too  great,  is  shown  by  an 
other  extract  from  the  letter  of  Ex-Gov.  Boggs  who  therein  says:  From  the  forks 


58  THE   OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

of  the  Oregon  Road  to  Johnson's  house  on  Bear  river  is  about  270  or  280  miles." 
It  will  be  thus  seen  that  the  emigrants  had  np  to  this  time,  been  traveling  away 
from  Oregon,  instead  of  toward  it.  That  they  had  been  traveling  south  instead 
of  west,  and  that  at  the  time  they  met  Goff,  they  were  within  270  miles  of  the 
settlements  of  California. 

Ex-Gov.  Boggs  perceiving  that  the  emigrants  had  been  misinformed  as  to  the 
distance,  thought  it  unadvisable  to  rely  any  longer  on  Capt.  Applegate's  esti 
mate  of  distances.  He  says:  "From  the  best  of  my  judgment,  we  must  have 
travelled  400  miles  on  Ogden's  (now  Humboldt)  river.  I  know  that  I  was  so 
much  disheartened  with  the  length  of  the  road  on  Ogden's  river  before  we  reached 
the  forks,  that  I  lost  all  confidence  in  Applegate's  judgment  of  distances;  and 
concluded,  if  he  had  made  as  great  an  error  of  judgment  in  the  residue  of  the 
route,  that  we  should  not  be  able  to  reach  the  settlements  before  winter  set  in, 
and  that  we  should  in  all  probability  perish.  These  considerations  determined 
me  to  take  the  route  to  California." 

From  Fort  Hall  to  Oregon  City,  by  way  of  The  Dalles,  is  800  miles.  The 
imigrants  had  been  informed  that  the  Applegate  cut-off  was  200  miles  nearer. 
But  at  the  time  Goff  was  met  the  emigrants  had  yet  830  miles  between  them 
and  Oregon  City,  and  only  270  or  280  between  them  and  the  settlements  in  Cal 
ifornia. 

The  place  at  which  Capt.  Applegate's  road  leaves  Humboldt  river,  is  I  be 
lieve  now  known  as  St.  Mary's.  He  had  informed  the  emigrants  that  they  would 
have  but  one  dry  drive;  and  that  it  was  one  of  thirty  miles,  commencing  at  this 
place  and  terminating  at  Black  Rock.  But  the  experience  of  the  company  since 
the  time  of  their  breaking  up  camp  on  the  8th  of  August,  had  destroyed  all 
their  confidence  in  the  soundness  of  Capt.  Applegate's  judgment  as  to  distances 
and  in  the  accuracy  and  reliability  of  his  memory  as  to  the  topography  and 
character  of  the  country  to  be  passed  over.  It  might  therefore  be  expected  that 
after  filling  their  kegs  with  water,  they  entered  this  desert,  with  heavy  and  des 
ponding  hearts,  having  no  longer  any  assurance  as  to  the  real  character  of  the 
road  or  of  the  distance  between  one  watering  place  and  another.  The  company 
continued  to  travel  very  rapidly  all  day  over  a  desert  that  appeared  to  be  bound 
less,  having  nothing  growing  upon  it  but  a  few  scattering  bushes  of  artemesia 
tridenta  at  long  intervals.  The  earth  appeared  to  be  as  destitute  of  moisture, 
as  it  would  be  if  a  drop  of  rain  or  clew  had  never  fallen  upon  it  from  the  heavens 
of  brass  above.  The  company  encamped  for  the  night  upon  the  east  side  o 
Antelope  mountain  at  a  little  spring  to  which  has  since  been  given  the  name  of 
Antelope  Spring.  One  of  the  company  had  gone  forward  in  the  morning,  and 
finding  far  up  the  mountain  a  small  vein  of  water,  that  moistened  the  ground  a 


THE   OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  59 

few  yards  around,  he  removed  a  considerable  quantity  of  earth,  so  as  to  make  a 
little  reservoir.  Into  this,  water  very  slowly  collected  until  enough  was  ob 
tained  for  tea;  and  from  it,  a  few  of  the  cattle  received  perhaps  half  a  pint  each. 
He  divided  among  the  poor  fellows  of  his  team  a  keg  of  water  he  had  brought 
from  Humboldt  river.  There  being  no  grass,  and  no  water  but  this,  for  the 
poor,  toil  worn,  and  now  almost  famishing  cattle,  they  were  carefully  guarded 
through  the  night,  and  while  the  weary  emigrants  rested  in  their  tents,  one  of 
the  number  took  his  now  empty  keg  up  the  side  of  the  mountain  to. the  spring, 
where,  by  remaining  until  2  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining 
enough  of  the  precious  fluid  to  fill  his  keg. 

The  emigrants  resumed  their  journey  very  early  in  the  following  morning, 
and  traveled  with  great  rapidity  ovef  a  rolling,  arid  and  barren  country,  until 
about  half  an  hour  before  sunset,  when  they  halted  at  the  Rabbit  Hole  Spring 
to  rest  their  cattle  a  little,  and  to  take  some  food.  Here  the  water  supply  was 
not  enough  to  give  any  to  the  greatly  suffering  work  cattle,  which  were  supposed 
to  have  traveled  forty-five  miles  without  water,  and  yet  the  distance  to  water 
and  grass  was  not  known.  The  country  over  which  the  company  had  passed 
was  dreary  beyond  description.  There  were  in  it  no  diversities  of  color  or  form 
to  relieve  the  mind  by  their  variety.  The  earth  was  hot  iron,  and  the  heavens 
hotter  brass.  Everything  in  sight  was  parched  and  arid;  and  all  those  sources 
of  beauty,  which,  from  there  being  so  generally  diffused  throughout  nature,  are 
usually  regarded  as  things  of  course,  were  here  dried  up  by  the  hot  sun  beaming 
down  upon  sand  and  rocks,  and  panting  lizzards.  Here  was  none  of  the  living 
luster  of  a  gay  and  beautiful  spring,  dressed  in  robes  of  green,  smiling  upon 
wooded  hills  and  grain-covered  valleys,  or  laughing  and  dancing  along,  the 
brooks  and  rivers.  Here  none  of  the  rich  glories  of  autumn  laden  with  delicious 
fruits.  There  were  neither  sounds  of  melody  to  charm  the  ear,  nor  sights  of 
beauty  or  grandeur  to  please  the  eye  and  delight  the  heart. 

Just  as  the  sun  was  sinking  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  after  descending  a 
little  hill,  we  entered  a  country  even  more  forbidding,  repulsive,  than  even  that 
I  have  j.ust  described.  There  was  occasionally  seen  a  stray  and  solitary  bush. 
But  this  was  a  country  which  had  nothing  of  a  redeeming  character.  The  very 
sand  crickets  and  lizzards  refused  to  inhabit  it.  Nothing  presented  itself  to  the 
eye,  but  a  broad  expanse  of  a  uniform  dead  level  plain,  which  conveyed  to  the 
mind  the  idea  that  it  had  been  the  muddy  and  sandy  bottom  of  a  former  lake; 
and,  that  after  the  water  had  suddenly  sunk  through  the  fissures,  leaving  the 
bottom  in  a  state  of  muddy  fusion,  streams  of  imprisoned  gas  had  broken  out 
in  ten  thousand  places,  and  had  thrown  up  sand  and  mud,  so  as  to  form  cones, 
rising  from  a  common  plain,  and  ranging  from  three  to  twenty  feet  in  height. 
It  seemed  to  be  the  River  of  Death  dried  up  and  heaving  its  muddy  bottom  jet- 


60  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

ted  into  cones  by  the  force  of  the  fires  of  perdition.  It  was  enlivened  by  the 
murmer  of  no  stream,  or  the  bubbling  of  even  a  single  fountain,  but  was  a  wide 
waste  of  desolation,  the  sight  of  which  appalled  the  stoutest  heart,  and  where 
even  the  winds  had  died.  It  was  a  wearisome,  dull  and  melancholly  scene, 
that  had  been  cheered  by  the  beauty  of  no  verdure  since  the  waters  of  the  flood 
had  subsided,  and  the  dove  left  the  Patriarch's  window  to  return  no  more. 

The  poor  oxen  hurried  forward  with  a  rapidity,  which  will  be  considered 
great,  if  we  remember  that  they  had  now  been  two  days  and  one  night  without 
either  water  or  grass  on  a  drive  which  had  been  estimated  to  not  exceed  thirty 
miles.  Some  cattle  had  already  perished;  and  we  hastened  forward,  anxious 
and  distressed  amid  the  darkness  and  silence  of  the  night . 

A  little  before  the  dawn  of  day,  a  few  wagons  arrived  at  Black  Rock,  where 
was  an  immense  spring  of  hot  water  which  cooled  after  flowing  off  to  a  place 
where  it  spread  out  upon  a  plain;  affording  moisture  to  sufficient  grass  for  our 
faint  and  suffering  cattle  during  a  short  stay.  Other  wagons  continued  to  come 
up  until  10  o'clock.  Mr.  Crump's  team  was  so  reduced,  that  it  became  neces 
sary  to  send  back  aid  to  him.  Mr.  David  Butterfield  brought  him  into  camp 
about  sunset.  His  team  had  been  without  water  and  grass  three  days  and  two 
nights,  or  about  sixty  hours  on  a  drive,  estimated  by  us  as  not  less  than  from 
sixty  to  seventy  miles. 

We  remained  at  Black  Rock  one  day  and  njght,  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting 
and  resting  our  work  cattle;  after  which  we  traveled  about  eight  miles  to  the 
Great  Hot  Springs,  where  we  found  a  limited  supply  of  grass  around  the  most 
extraordinary  locality  of  springs  I  had  yet  seen.  From  some  of  these  vast  col 
umns  of  steam  continually  ascended.  I  walked  abroad  on  the  next  morning  to 
observe  them  as  they  arose  in  immense  clouds  to  a  vast  height.  The  day  seemed 
to  kindle  from  behind  the  giant  mountains.  At  length,  as  the  sun  began  to  be 
seen  above  them,  they  appeared  to  rise  from  beds  of  flame  and  put  crowns  of 
fire  upon  their  awful  heads. 

Remaining  here  two  days  and  nights,  we  resumed  our  journey.  No  longer 
having  any  confiddnce  in  Capt.  Jesse  Applegate's  judgment  of  distances  or  in 
his  statements  respecting  the  character  ot  the  country  to  be  passed  over,  we  hur 
ried  forward,  and  soon  entered  upon  as  desolate  and  dreary  a  country  as  the 
sun  ever  shined  upon.  There  was  no  sign  of  vegetation,  but  the  hated  and 
hateful  artimisia  tridentato.  Desolation  was  stamped  upon  everything  in  sight. 
Scarce  a  vestige  of  vegetable  life  appeared  upon  that  wide  and  far  extended 
sand  plain.  One  might  almost  persuade  himself  that  a  bird  had  never  spread 
its  wings  over  that  hot  and  burning  waste  of  sterility  and  dreariness.  The  noise 
of  even  a  cricket,  broke  not  the  silence,  so  profound,  that  a  foot-fall  pained  the 


THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  6 1 

ear.  A  thin,  but,  yellow  haze  hung  upon  distant  objects,  while  a  sort  of  daz- 
ling,  glistening  heat,  seemed  to  surround  everything  near  at  hand.  But  the 
scene  was  too  dismal  to  be  described.  No  object  presented  itself  to  the  blood 
shot  eye,  but  hot  yellow  sand,  here  and  there  a  low  rock  rising  above  the  plain 
over  which  a  strange  curse  seemed  to  brood. 

The  company  toiled  on  in  great  suffering,  but  instead  of  rinding  a  spring  as 
had  been  indicated,  a  desert  was  found  as  dry  and  blasted,  as  if  it  had  just  been 
heaved  up  from  the  bowels  of  some  infernal  volcano.  The  emigrants  pressed 
forward,  however,  although  the  poor  famishing  cattle  appeared  to  be  almost 
phrenzied.  The  sun  at  length  went  behind  the  mountain  with  a  red  and  angry 
look.  But  this  brought  with  it  a  cool  air  that  was  refreshing,  and  the  poor  oxen 
hastened  forward  as  though  they  were  conscious  that  their  lives  depended  upon 
the  utmost  expedition.  At  length  at  about  n  o'clock  at  night,  after  traveling 
thirty  miles,  we  came  to  the  water  and  grass,  the  former  being  bad  because  it 
was  affected  with  the  carbonate  and  bi-carbonte  of  potash,  while  the  grass  was 
greatly  deficient  in  quality.  At  this  place,  the- company  came  up  with  Hall, 
Croysnt,  and  Whitley.  The  last  was  suffering  much  from  a  wound  received  in 
battle  on  Humboldt  river. 

We  remained  in  this  vicinity  some  two  or  three  days,  only  changing  camps 
a  little  to  get  better  water  and  grass.  At  length  the  company  resumed  its 
journey,  and  proceeded  forward  as  fast  as  the  enfeebled  condition  of  the  teams 
would  permit,  traveling  over  a  country  that  was  generally  very  barren,  until 
Sacramento  valley  in  California  was  reached,  where  the  route  was  certainly  as 
rough  and  rocky  as  any  over  which  wagons  had  ever  been  taken.  But  it  is  im 
possible,  within  any  reasonable  compass  of  either  space  or  time,  to  give  to  those 
who  now  hear  me,  anything  like  a  further  history  of  daily  events.  And  could 
I  do  so,  it  would  be  but  a  repetition  of  the  previous  day's  toils  and  dangers, 
somewhat  varied  inded,  but  always  pressing  and  gradually  reducing  the  physi 
cal  strength  and  material  resources  of  the  emigrants.  I  will  therefore  omit  to 
note  any  further  historical  facts  until  the  2Qth  Otober,  1846,  when  we  were 
about  to  enter  the  pass  of  the  Umpqua  mountain,  now  known  as  the  canyon, 
which  Capt.  Applegate,  at  our  encampment  eight  miles  west  of  Fort  Hall,  thus 
described  to  us  as  he  afterwards  did  in  the  Oregon  Spectator,  (Vol.  2,  No.  4.): 
"  A  pool  of  water  about  15  feet  in  diameter,  occupies  the  dividing  ground  be 
tween  the  waters  of  the  Rogue  river  and  the  Umpqua.  There  is  from  east  to' 
west,  about  twenty  yards  of  land  between  the  mountains  which  rise  abruptly  to 
the  height  of  fifteen  hundred  feet.  The  descent  each  way  from  this  point  is 
•very  gentle;  that  to  the  south  is  about  three  miles,  and  conducts  by  a.  good  way 
to  the  open  country  ;  that  to  the  north,  is  about  twelve  miles  in  length.  For 
three  or  four  miles,  there  is  sufficient  space  of  level  ground  and  but  litile  work 


62  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

required  to  make  it  a  good  road ;  but  below  this,  the  stream  increasing  in 
size  by  the  entrance  of  affluents,  and  the  mountains  closing  in  upon  it,  the  road 
must  descend  in  its  rocky  bed,  made  more  difficult  by  some  large  stones  and 
short  falls." 

On  2gth  of  October,  the  emigrants  were  about  to  leave  their  encampment  and 
enter  a  pass  thus  described.  They  had  long  since  learned  by  very  painful  ex 
perience,  that  Capt.  Jesse  Applegate's  judgment  as  to  distances,  as  well  as  his 
capacity  for  accurately  describing  the  line  of  travel,  were  not  to  be  relied  upon 
if  the  abundant  evidence  of  each  day's  travel  was  capable  of  proving  anything. 
Moreover,  Messrs.  Brown,  Allen  and  Jones,  who  had  pass  through  it  had  in 
formed  the  emigrants  that  there  was  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  many  cattle 
would  perish  upon  this  "very  gentle  descent,"  and  that  most  of  the  wagons 
would  be  lost  upon  this  road  which  "  conducts  by  a  good  way  to  the  open  coun 
try."  But  the  emigrants  entered  upon  the  road  early  in  the  morning,  and  after 
immense  toil  to  man  and  beast,  encamped  on  the  mountain  at  sunset,  only  three 
miles  from  their  last  camp.  The  whole  company  were  greatly  exhausted  as 
well  as  the  cattle.  Mr.  Hall  did  not  get  his  team  in  until  after  dark,  although 
all  had  traveled,  over  that  "  good  way",  the  descent  of  which  was  represented 
as  being  "very  gentle."  How  "  good"  and  how  "  gentle,"  the  way  and  the 
"descent"  may  be  further  inferred  from  the  fact  that  Josiah  Morin  was  com 
pelled  to  leave  his  large  wagons,  and  to  go  forward  with  a  small  two-horse 
wagon,  having  little  else  in  it  than  the  bed  clothing  of  the  family. 

Since  my  own  personal  experience  in  getting  through  this  pass  will  substanti 
ally  correspond  with  that  of  each  of  my  fellow  travelers,  I  will  now  speak  of 
myself  primarily,  and  of  others  only  incidentally. 

On  the  morning  of  November  4th,  my  wife  and  I  determined  on  making  an 
effort  to  pass  through.  We  were  very  weak  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  suffi 
cient  and  healthful  food.  The  road  was  muddy  and  the  rain  was  descending  in 
the  george  of  the  mountain,  where  we  were,  while  the  snow  was  falling  far 
above  on  the  sides.  There  was  a  close  canyon,  some  few  miles  ahead  of  us, 
down  which  we  would  have  to  wade  three  miles  in  cold,  mountain  snow-water, 
reaching  frequently  above  the  waist;  considering  Mrs.  Thornton's  feeble  condi 
tion,  it  was  very  doubtful  whether  she  would  not  perish  in  it.  My  own  powers 
of  endurance  were  such  as  those  who  had  the  good  sense  to  keep  the  old  traveled 
route,  may  well  imagine  when  they  call  to  mind  the  fact  that  our  food  and  other 
supplies  had  been  laid  in  with  the  idea  that  we  were  destined  for  Oregon  City, 
and  the  settlements  by  the  way  of  Walla  Walla  and  The  Dalles  mission,  and 
not  by  the  way  of  Goose  Creek,  Humboldt  river  valley,  the  Antelope  mountain 
desert,  Black  Rock  desert,  and  the  Sacramento  valley  in  California,  to  say  noth- 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  63 

ing  of  other  deserts  and  mountains,  to  be  encountered  before  setting  your  faces 
toward  Oregon. 

On  the  morning  in  question,  at  an  early  hour,  Mrs.  Thornton,  myself,  and  our 
grey  hound,  Prince  Darco,  resumed  our  journey,  I  carrying  my  rifle,  revolver, 
large  knife,  some  ammunition,  and  a  morsel  of  food  in  my  shot-pouch.  We 
struggled  forward,  waiding  cold  mountain  streams,  and  through  mud  up  to  the 
knees.  We  passed  many  cattle  that  had  perished.  WTe  also  passed  many 
wagons  that  had  been  abandoned,  and  among  them  the  only  one  of  Josiah 
Morin,  which  he  had  attempted  to  take  through  with  bed  clothing  from  our 
camp  of  Oct.  2Qth.  We  also  passed  household  and  kitchen  furniture,  beds  and 
bedding,  books,  carpets,  cooking  utensils,  broken  wagons,  and  wagons  not 
broken,  but  abandoned,  because  it  had  become  impossible  to  take  them  through. 
In  short,  the  whole  road  presented  the  appearance  of  a  defeated  army  having 
retreated  over  it,  leaving  behind  whatever  had  been  found  to  so  encumber  it  as 
to  retard  its  flight. 

Upon  approaching  near  the  entrance  of  the  close  canyon,  we  came  to  where 
many  most  miserable,  forlorn,  haggard  and  destitute  looking  emigrants  were 
encamped.  Some  of  the  men  looked  as  angry  and  as  fierce  as  a  tigress  that  had 
been  robbed  of  her  kittens  ;  while  others  appeared  to  be  stupified  and  even  stun 
ned  by  the  blow,  which  their  misfortunes  had  inflicted  upon  them.  One  of  them, 
Mr.  Smith,  like  most  others,  had  lost  everything,  and  he  appeared  overwhelmed 
with  a  sense  of  his  calamity.  His  wife  had  on  a  coarse  and  tattered  calico 
dress,  and  was  otherwise  thinly  clad,  while  an  old  sun-bonnet  but  partially 
protected  her  head.  Her  child  was  not  in  a  better  condition,  while  that  of  the 
husband  an  father  was  even  more  pitiable.  They  were  all  so  weak  in  conse 
quence  of  a  want  of  food,  consumed  upon  a  journey  protracted  long  beyond 
what  they  supposed  they  had  a  right  to  expect,  that  it  was  believed  that  they 
would  not  survive  their  protracted  toils  and  privations.  I  remonstrated  with 
this  hapless  fellow  traveler,  persuading  him  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  and 
his  family  to  perish  in  the  cold  mountain  water  of  the  canyon,  than  to  await  a 
more  miserable  death  by  starvation  at  that  place.  He  seemed  to  see  the  folly 
of  remaining  there,  and  brood  over  his  calamities.  He  immediately  took 
up  his  child  and  about  a  pound  of  food,  and  desired  his  afflicted  and  almost 
helpless  companion  to  follow  him. 

A  relative  of  his  and  having  the  same  name,  had  been  standing  at  that  place 
a  few  days  before,  counseling  with  some  of  the  party,  as  to  the  means  of  escap 
ing  their  present  danger.  As  he  was  thus  anxiously  deliberating,  death  sum 
moned  him  away  in  a  moment,  leaving  a  poor  widow  with  seven  helpless  and 
almost  starving  children.  A  Mr.  Brisbane,  grandfather  of  the  Dunbar's,  died, 


64  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

here  as  likewise  a  child.  Upon  the  whole  there  was  indeed  a  dark  accumula 
tion  of  sorrow  casting  its  sombre  shade  over  this  memorable  spot.  Reluctantly 
leaving  our  unhappy  fellow  travelers,  we  proceeded  on  until  we  commenced  the 
entrance  of  the  canyon.  In  order  that  Mrs.  Thornton  might  have  as  much 
warmth  and  strength  as  possible,  to  guard  against  her  perishing  in  the  canyon, 
I  proposed  with  well  affected  cheerfulness,  that  she  should  take  shelter  under  a 
large  fir  tree  that  offered  a  partial  protection  from  the  falling  snow  and  rain,  for 
the  purpose  of  resting  a  little  and  taking  some  food,  a  small  amount  of  which  I 
had  carried  in  my  shot  pouch.  She  affected  to  be  very  courageous,  and  with 
a  show  of  cheerfulness,  desired  me  to  take  out  our  dinner.  This  I  did  determ 
ining  to  avoid  consuming  any  of  it  myself,  in  order  that  she  might  profit  by  my 
economy,  and  thus  preserve  as  far  as  possible  her  remaining  strength.  But 
when  the  little  store  was  taken  out,  she  did  "not  want  to  take  food" — she  did 
"  not  feel  well."  I  knew  from  my  own  sensations,  that  a  more  than  half  fam 
ished  person  would  not  be  likely  to  "  feel  well"  in  such  a  place,  with  such  an 
tecedents  and  with  such  present  surroundings,  and  I  knew  too  that  she  greatly 
needed  food.  I  also  knew  that  her  real  motive,  was  one  of  compassionate  re 
gard  for  my  necessities.  My  heart  was  deeply  moved  by  her  generosity  and  un 
selfishness,  but  gulping  down  my  emotions  as  well  as  I  could,  I  said  with  a  sort 
of  well  affected  cheerfulness  and  playfulness,  which,  in  view  of  our  very  grave 
peril,  may  now  seem  to  be  out  of  place,  "  come,  now,  wife,  none  of  your  tricks 
upon  a  traveler.  You  know  that  I  am  a  man  of  my  own  head,  and  that  like 
some  other  people,  I  usually  desire  to  have  my  own  way.  If  you  do  not  wish 
to  take  food,  yet  I  desire  you  to  do  so,  and  that  is  about  the  same  thing,  for  you 
and  I,  and  especially  the  /  the  ego,  are  one  you  know.  Besides,  while  in  this 
canyon  and  on  this  cut-off,  you  have  no  rights,  which  a  white  husband  is  bound 
to  respect.  She  then  took  the  proffered  food,  but  I  observed  in  a  short  time, 
that  she  had  contrived  to  avert  her  face,  and  when  I  managed  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  ityl  saw  her  tears  falling  like  great  rain  drops.  Upon  finding  that  her  weep 
ing  had  been  discovered,  she  laughed  at  the  mouth,  and  cried  at  the  eyes,  like 
the  sun  half  in  view  and  half  concealed  by  a  rain  cloud,  and  said  "  well  you 
might  take  a  little  food,  if  it  was  even  ever  so  little;  so  you  might,  and  then  I 
would  not  feel  so  sad." 

We  at  length  left  the  partial  shelter  of  the  fir  tree  and  entered  the  stream. 
We  each  had  along  a  stick  to  support  ourselves,  and  to  prevent  the  water  from 
sweeping  us  into  deep  holes.  Prince  Darco  swam  down,  contriving  frequently 
to  rest  himself,  and  to  wait  for  us  by  holding  with  his  barefeet  to  the  side  of  a 
rock.  Mrs.  Thornton,  upon  suddenly  descending  into  the  cold  snow  water 
above  the  waist,  was  much  chilled,  and  I  thought  at  first  that  she  would  perish. 
I  chafed  her  temples,  face,  and  wrists,  which  caused  her  to  revive.  In  the  first 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS.  65 

moment  of  consciousness,  she  bade  me  not  to  be  alarmed,  adding  that  she  was 
worth  two  dead  women.  After  proceeding  down  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile, 
we  halted  to  rest  upon  some  rocks  where  the  water  was  no  more  than  about 
eighteen  inches  deep.  Even  this  was  a  relief,  in  fact  a  positive  refreshment, 
when  compared  with  our  condition  in  water  up  to,  and  often  above  the  waist. 

At  length  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  after  sometime,  Mrs.  Thornton  began 
to  lose  all  sensibility  upon  one  side.  I  supported  her  as  well  as  I  could,  but 
she  soon  complained  of  indistinctness  of  vision,  and  she  became  totally  blind. 
I  need  not  say  what  were  my  feelings  in  that  moment  of  my  heart's  most  bitter 
anguish.  I  could  not  for  all  the  world  have  carried  her  dead  body  out  of  that 
canyon.  The  thought,  therefore,  of  her  dying  in  that  place,  and  under  the  cir 
cumstances  which  then  surrounded  us,  had  in  it  something  peculiarly  horrible. 
Her  lips  were  thin  and  compressed,  and  as  white  and  bloodless  as  paper;  her 
eyes  were  turned  up  in  their  sockets;  her  head  fell  back  upon  my  arm,  and  every 
feature  wore  an  aspect  and  fixedness  of  death.  I  rubbed  her  wrists  violently, 
chafed  her  temples,  shook  her,  and  called  aloud  to  her  hoping  to  wake  her  to 
consciousness  by  the  sound  of  my  voice.  After  sometime  she  revived,  and  with 
returning  life,  sight  was  restored.  She  still  complained  however,  of  a  partial 
paralysis  of  one  side.  But  we  hurried  forward  as  well  and  as  fast  as  we  could; 
and  at  length  in  great  exhaustion,  and  almost  chilled  to  death,  we  emerged 
from  that  cold  mountain  stream. 

A  short  distance  from  the  place  where  we  left  the  narrow  gorge,  we  came  to 
the  tent  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cornwall.  He  had  indeed  passed  through  the  canyon, 
but  such  was  the  toil  endured  by  the  oxen  and  such  was  the  chilling  effect  of  the 
water,  that  nearly  all  died  on  the  following  night.  Mr.  Cornwall  was  in  no 
condition  to  afford  us  any  shelter  under  his  tent.  It  was  literally  filled  with 
others  as  helpless  and  distressed  as  ourselves .  But  the  privilege  of  standing  at 
his  fire  was  in  itself,  of  one  that  made  us  feel  grateful;  and  its  warmth  when  con 
trasted  withthe  cold  and  suffering  occasioned  by  the  waters  of  the  disastrous  can 
yon  made  us  for  the  time  comparatively  happy.  There  were  several  men  about 
the  fire,  among  whom  was  the  Mr.  Smith  of  whom  I  have  spoken  as  having  indu 
ced  him  to  attempt  the  passage,  and  although  he  was  almost  exhausted,  still  he 
was  now  far  more  happy  with  his  saved  wife  and  child  than  persons  generally 
are  under  circumstances  much  more  favorable  to  physical  comfort.  We  made  a 
large  fire  and  dried  our  garments  as  well  as  we  could,  by  standing  about  in  the 
open  air,  and  under  clouds  that  frequently  reminded  us  that  they  had  not  yet 
parted  with  all  their  moisture. 

I  still  had  a  morsel  of  food  in  my  shot-pouch,  and  also  a  small  quantity  of  the 
best  tea.  Mrs.  Thornton  prepared  our  little  supper,  and  although  it  was  was 


66 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 


neither  so  good  as  it  might  have  been,  nor  yet  so  abundant,  as  was  at  that  time 
very  desirable,  still  it  was  something  well  worth  thanking  God  for,  and  we  did 
indeed  feel  grateful. 

After  all  the  occupants  of  the  tent  had  lain  down  to  sleep,  I  obtained  the  use 
of  a  chair  and  a  little  bench  about  four  feet  long,  having  a  sort  of  a  back  to  it. 
This  seemed  like  a  very  rapid  multiplication  of  comforts.  I  placed  them  before 
the  fire,  and  sitting  down  upon  the  chair,  I  had  Mrs.  Thornton  recline  upon  the 
bench  with  her  head  and  shoulders  upon  my  arm,  and  in  that  condition  we  slept 
until  morning,  when  she  declared  she  had  never  enjoyed  a  more  refreshing  slum 
ber. 

On  Nov.  5th,  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  after  waiding  Canyon  creek  thirty- 
nine  times,  we  were  enabled  to  avoid  it  by  climbing  along  the  side  of  the  mount 
ain.  We  at  length  emerged  fully  into  the  open  plain,  and  about  noon  arrived 
at  the  place  of  a  general  encampment,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Umpqua  river, 
where  I  believe  Canyon ville  is  now  situated  or  probably  not  far  from  it.  Here 
I  found  the  wrecks  of  all  the  companies;  and  this  all  I  am  particular  to  mention 
that  it  may  not  be  supposed  that  our  company  contained  the  only  unwise  people 
that  were  on  the  road  that  year,  to  turn  aside  from  the  old  road  on  to  somebody's 
cut-off,  that  leads  to  the  settlements  in  the  Willamette  valley  in  Oregon,  by  the 
way  of  Sacramento  valley  in  California;  and  over  a  road  along  which  our  wagons 
were  lying  in  scattered  fragments,  upon  the  hill  sides,  upon  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  and  along  rocky  glens  and  impassible  canyons.  Some  of  the  emi 
grants  had  lost  their  \vagons;  some  their  teams;  some  half  they  possessed,  and 
some  everything.  Here  were  men  who  had  a  wagon,  but  wanted  a  team,  others 
who  had  a  team  but  no  wagon  Mr.  Humphrey  was  the  only  man,  who  so  far 
as  I  have  since  been  able  to  learn,  got  to  this  point  with  a  whole  wagon  and  an 
unbroken  team.  All  looked  thin,  lean,  haggard,  pale,  and  as  though  they  were 
as  hungry  as  the  wolves.  The  children  were  crying  for  food;  and  all  persons 
appeared  distressed  and  broken  by  their  calamities. 

Among  other  articles  of  property  lost  in  the  passage  of  this  canyon,  was  a 
hive  of  bees,  which,  though  brought  safely  thus  far,  were  drowned  by  the  wagon 
being  overturned  in  the  water.  This  was  certainly  the  first  hive  of  bees  west  of 
Rocky  mountains.  But  that  around  which  clustered  a  greater  historical  interest 
than  anything  else  lost,  was  a  Surveyor's  compass  originally  owned  and  used 
by  the  celebrated  Daniel  Boone  during  his  Kentucky  pioneer  life.  Col.  Al- 
phonso  Boone,  a  grandson  of  Daniel  Boone,  and  the  father  of  the  widow  of  the 
late  Gov.  George  L.  Curry,  owned  it,  but  unfortunately  lost  it  with  about  all 
else  he  possessed. 

I  had  sen!  on  to  this   encampment,  two  packs  of  clothing,  in  one  of  which 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  67 

was  contained  a  little  food.  I  had  also  sent  forward  a  buffalo  robe  and  two 
blankets.  I  immediately  kindled  a  large  fire  at  the  side  of  a  fir  log  containing 
a  great  deal  of  gum.  With  poles,  I  made  a  frame,  upon  which  to  stretch  one 
of  the  blankets  to  shelter  us  a  little  from  the  snow  and  rain.  The  buffalo  robe 
served  for  a  bed,  and  the  remaining  blanket  for  a  covering;  and  the  soft  side  of 
a  stick  of  oak  timber  made  for  us  a  very  passible  pillow. 

We  had  become  too  weak  in  consequence  of  a  want  of  food,  to  traveled  fur 
ther.  But  there  was  hope  indulged  that  food  would  be  sent  to  us  from  the  set 
tlements.  Young  men,  who  knew  what  were  our  condition,  had  gone  forward 
on  mules,  and  we  hoped  that  these  would  in  some  manner  return  with  the  nec 
essary  supplies.  In  this  state  of  uncertainty  and  suspense,  it  became  necessary 
as  a  measure  of  prudence,  to  examine  again  into  the  exact  state  of  our  little 
store  of  provisions,  and  still  further  diminish  our  daily  allowance.  We  had  two 
pounds  of  good  tea,  as  many  of  loaf  sugar,  one  pint  of  rice,  one  pint  of  beans, 
about  half  a  pint  of  dried  peaches,  sixty  table  spoonfuls  of  the  dust  of  crackers, 
about  one  pint  of  flour  and  half  a  pound  of  dried  beef.  This  scanty  supply 
we  determined  so  to  apportion  as  to  furnish  us  each  with  three  meals  a  day  for 
ten  days.  I  do  not  remember  our  allowance  of  any  of  the  articles,  except  the 
cracker  dust,  which  was  one  spoonful  to  each,  in  the  bottom  of  the  cup  contain 
ing  the  tea.  I  need  not  say,  that  upon  this  meager  diet,  following  close  upon 
our  previous  short  allowance  of  food,  we  soon  become  so  reduced  in  strength, 
that  we  often  staggered  as  we  walked.  There  yet  remained  a  long  road  over 
which  we  had  to  pass  before  we  could  arrive  at  the  inhabited  part  of  Oregon. 
While  in  this  condition,  I  became  greatly  discouraged  as  well  as  reduced  in 
physical  energy.  I  am  ashamed  to  confess  that  there  were  short  intervals  when 
life  was  felt  to  be  a  burthen,  and  when  I  was  ready  to  adopt  the  language  of  a 
better  and  far  wiser  man,  and  to  say:  "  What  is  my  strength  that  I  should  hope, 
and  what  is  mine  end,  that  I  should  prolong  my  life.  My  brethren  have  dealt 
deceitfully  as  a  brook,  and  as  the  streams  of  a  brook,  they  pass  away."  I  usu 
ally  however  was  restored  to  a  strong  trust  in  God's  providential  care  and  good 
ness  by  texts  of  scripture  coming  up  in  my  memory  which  were  always  familiar 
enough  indeed,  but  never  before  making  such  an  impression  on  my  mind. 
Among  these,  I  may  mention,  "He  found  him  in  a  desert  land,  and  in  the 
waste,  howling  wilderness,  he  led  him  about,  he  instructed  him,  he  kept  him  as 
the  apple  of  his  eye.  He  made  him  ride  on  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  that 
he  might  eat  the  increase  of  the  fields;  and  he  made  him  to  suck  honey  out  of 
the  rock,  and  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock." 

At  length,  my  wife  informed  me,  Wednesday,  Nov.  I2th,  as  she  came  to 
ward  me  with  a  few  spoonsful  of  the  dust  of  crackers  in  one  corner  of  a  little 
bag,  that  on  the  following  Friday,  we  would  have  an  abundant  supply  of  food. 


68  THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRKSS. 

With  a  manner  having  little  of  cheerfulness  about  it,  I  desired  her  to  inform  me 
when  the  mantle  of  a  prophetess  had  fallen  upon  her.  She  replied  that  our 
food,  even  at  our  short  rate  of  allowance,  would  not  hold  out  longer  than  to  that 
time,  which  bringing  us  to  our  extremity,  relief  would  be  sent  by  a  God,  who 
had  promised  that  "  His  bread  shall  be  given  him,  and  his  water  shall  be  sure." 

On  the  next  day,  Wm.  Kirquindall,  with  others  came' from  the  settlements, 
with  fat  beeves  and  flour  to  the  relief  of  tire  starving  emigrants.  On  Friday, 
the  animals  were  killed,  when  I  bought  twenty  pounds  of  beef,  one  pound  of 
tallow,  and  eighteen  pounds  of  flour.  This  supply  of  food  was  brought  at  a 
time  when  there  was  great  suffering  in  the  camp.  It  was  sold  to  heads  of  fami 
lies  in  amounts  having  reference  to  the  size  of  the  families,  and  although  the 
quantity  thus  distributed  was  so  small  that  it  was  soon  consumed,  it  was  never 
theless  of  vital  importance  to  the  famishing  emigrants  some  of  whom  had  com 
menced  to  take  from  the  wolves  the  cattle  that  having  penshed  in  the  canyon, 
had  not  already  been  devoured  by  wild  animals,  and  poor  old  man  Kennedy, 
at  least,  sought  to  eke  out  his  life  and  that  of  his  wife,  by  catching  the  mice  that 
burrowed  under  logs. 

From  this  point,  the  emigrant  gradually  made  their  way  into  the  settlements 
in  small  parties,  as  fast  as  supplies  and  assistance  sent  from  the  Willamete  val 
ley,  enabled  them  to  do  so.  The  kindness  and  good  will  of  the  people  already 
occupying  Oregon,  with  rare  exceptional  instances,  were  well  calculated  to  alle 
viate  the  misfortunes  and  sufferings  of  the  emigrants.  Foremost  among  these 
was  the  late  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  formerly  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  a  nobler,  better,  or  more  benevolent  and  Catholic  man  than  whom 
never  breathed  the  pure  air  of  Oregon.  The  Rev.  George  Geary,  Superinten 
dent  of  the  Methodist  Missions  and  George  Abernethy,  Governor  of  Oregon,  in 
like  manner,  did  much  to  cause  the  emigrants  to  feel  that  they  were  among 
friends.  I  ought  to  add  that  the  emigrants  who  pursued  the  old  route  by  Walla 
Walla  and  the  Dalles  mission,  arrived  in  good  season  and  without  loss.  When 
I  have  considered  that  the  Applegate  cut-off—  so  called — led  the  emigrants  south 
as  far  as  the  head  of  Sacramento  valley,  over  deserts  such  as  I  have  described, 
and  through  tribes  of  Indians  as  hostile  as  any  on  the  American  continent,  I 
have  been  constrained  to  believe  that  only  the  interposition  of  God's  providence 
prevented  all  from  either  starving  to  death,  or  being  scalped  by  the  savages. 
One  of  the  emigrants  after  his  temper  had  become  somewhat  soured  by  Jesse 
Applegate's  mistakes  respecting  distances,  water,  grass,  fuel,  etc.,  expressed 
the  same  thought  by  saying,  in  language  more  forcible  than  elegant,  that  we 
were  saved  by  a  God  who  always  takes  care  of  children  and  fools. 

The  Donner  party  from  whom  we  separated  on  the  iQth  of  July,  they  turning 


THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS.  69 

to  the  left  to  take  Hastings  cut-off  to  California,  nearly  all  starved  to  death,  and 
were  literally  devoured  by  each  other,  as  a  consequence  of  representations  such 
as  came  so  near  proving  fatal  to  the  lives  of  all  of  our  party. 

We  cannot  explore  the  recesses  of  Jesse  Applegate's  mind  for  the  purpose  of 
discovering  the  hidden  forces,  which  in  the  end  wrought  such  disastrous  results, 
yet,  even  the  thirty-two  of  subsequent  opportunity  for  bringing  clearly  into  view 
a  motive,  if  such  had  an  existence,  that  could  have  influenced  him  to  make  a 
wilfully  false  statement  respecting  the  road,  has  failed  to  discover  anything  that 
would  have  been  likely  to  induce  him  thus  rashly  to  forfeit  character,  formed 
upon  the  model  of  a  man  of  a  high  sense  of  honor.  But  smarting  under  a  present 
sense  of  loss,  the  emigrants,  in  the  fever  and  delirium  of  excitement,  denounced 
him  in  terms,  which  indicated  the  gangrene  of  a  resentment  that  was  in  a  high 
degree  unfavorable  to  a  cool  judgment  upon  acts  which  they  saw  indeed,  but 
respecting  the  motive,  for  which  they  could  only  form  an  opinion.  Nor  was 
your  speaker  less  affected  by  this  infirmity  than  his  fellows.  But  having  since 
traveled  very  far  toward  the  sunset  of  life,  and  standing  now  in  the  rapidly 
lengthening  shadows  of  old  age  to  which  brings  with  it  an  ever  increasing  sense 
of  life's  responsibilities  and  of  the  great  duty  of  charity  to  all,  I  look  backward 
through  the  vistaof  thirty- two  years,  and  see  how  possible  it  was  for  Jesse  Apple- 
gate  to  have  been  led  into  erroneous  estimates  of  distances  and  of  the  general 
character  of  the  road  by  the  overweaning  influence  of  strong  desires  that  clouded 
his  judgment,  and  thus  disqualified  him  for  correctly  describing  the  route  he 
persuaded  us  to  follow. 

And  now  my  dear  fellow  travelers  and  associated  pioneers,  patiently  bear 
with  me  a  little  more  and  I  shall  have  done.  To  the  young  and  inexperienced, 
the  spring  of  the  year,  the  season  in  which  we  hold  our  Re-Union,  is  always  one 
of  promise,  most  ample  in  its  proportions,  although  it  is  often  found  by  the  too 
trustful  heart  to  fail  in  its  expected  largeness.  Still,  in  the  bliss  of  ignorance 
as  to  the  distant  and  glowing  future,  they  looked  forward  to  many  coming  years 
that  shall  bring  only  pleasure  and  gratified  desires  in  the  attainment  of  the  ob 
jects  of  pursuit.  But  we  are  old  to-day  ;  and  it  is  well  to  be  reminded  that  in 
the  hearts  of  some  persons  whose 


way  of  life 


Is  fallen  into  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf." 

And  who  possess  an  especially  thoughtful  and  contemplative  turn  of  mind, 
that  spring  sometimes  gives  rise  to  a  feeling  which  may  perhaps  be  described  as 
compcunded  of  both  pleasure  and  pain  in  equal  degrees,  and  so  be  painfully 
pleasing.  These  are  apt  to  reflect  upon  the  delightful  alteration  of  day  and 
night,  and  as  the  charming  disposition  of  the  seasons  succeeding  each  other  in 


70  THE   OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

ceaseless  returns,  such  seeming  to  forget  that  there  is  yet  "  a  better  country." 
But  if  such  persons  do  not  carefully  guard  themselves,  these  thoughts  may 
wander  until  the  heart  heaves  a  regretful  sigh,  because  it  is  not  possible  to  turn 
back  the  dial  of  time,  from  a  period  of  declining  years,  when  man  only  by  his 
pains  awaking,  realizes  that  he  has  perhaps  even  long  out  lived  the  springtime 
of  his  youth  and  vigor,  and  his  young  life's  nimble  activities.  And  yet  the  mind 
when  reverting  to  an  early  and  well  spent  past,  should  experience  no  regrets, 
because  for  such  there  is  in  the  near  future^ 

"  A  land  of  pure  delight 

Where  saints  Immortal  reign  ; 

Infinite  day  excludes  the  night 
And  pleasures  banish  pain. 

There  everlasting  spring  abides 
And  never  withering  flowers, 

Death  like  a  narrow  stream  divides 
This  heavenly  land  from  ours." 

Such  aged  persons  should  moreover  reflect  that  there  still  remains  to  them  as 
possible,  the  power  to  suffer  the  inconveniences  they  necessarily  feel  because 
these  .ire  incident  to  the  winter  of  age  in  which  they  ought  to  know,  that 
they  do  nothing  well  nor  wisely  to  stand  in  shivering  inactivity,  but  that  they 
should  bestir  themselves  in  the  yet  possible  spheres  of  benevolence  and  general 
usefulness,  until  their  hearts  warm  with  sympathy  for  suffering  humanity  in 
whatever  form  it  may  present  itself.  They  should  reflect,  and  the  good  man 
and  woman  does  reflect,  that  if  old  age  has  its  attendant  inconveniences  as  the 
winter  of  life,  its  springtime  had  no  less;  and  mourn  that  the  former  is  free  from 
many  of  the  responsibilities  which  attach  to  mature  manhood  and  to  middle  age. 
He  or  she  has  too  "  that  which  should  accompany  old  age,  as  honor,  love,  obe 
dience,  and  troops  of  friends." 

It  is  then,  an  old  persons  duty  no  less  than  privilege,  to  cultivate  an  easy  and 
contented  mind;  to  wear  the  insignia  of  old  age  gracefully,  and  to  make  the 
most  of  such  blessings  as  an  ever  watchful  Providence  still  permits,  while  wait 
ing  by  the  river.  And  indeed,  as  much  as  this  inculcated  by  even  ancient 
heathen  writers;  and  Horace  in  one  of  his  epistles,  employs  language  to  express 
himself  upon  this  subject  which  has  been  thus  rendered  : 

"  Tis  not  the  place,  disgust  or  pleasure  brings, 
From  our  own  mind,  our  satisfaction  springs.'' 

Let  us  not  then  fall  into  the  too  common  error,  of  considering  old  age  as  only 
the  season  of  a  life  either  wearied  with  burdens  long  borne  in  the  days  exhaust 
ing  heat,  or  satiated  with  enjoyment;  but  as  the  fall  time,  when  the  various  fac 
ulties  have  been  tried  and  proved,  and  selfishness  is  shown  not  to  have  preyed 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  71 

upon  the  good  feelings  which  all  should  carry  with  them  into  the  business  of 
the  world.  We  will  rather  regard  ourselves  as  having  come  to  the  calm  even 
tide  of  the  busy  day,  to  gather  and  garner  the  experiences  of  a  toilsome  past,  to 
serve  us  through  a  winter  whose  bright  spring  is  yet  come.  Nor  let  us  too  much 
occupy  ourselves  with  retrospective  and  say  as  did  Fontenelle,  "had  I  again  to 
begin  my  career,  I  would  do  as  I  have  done." 


WILLIAM  WHITNEY. 


BY  WILLARD   H.    REES. 

William  Whitney,  who  departed  this  life  at  Butteville,  June  I,  1878,  was 
born  at  Sutely,  Hintindenshire,  England,  in  1808,  having  consequently  reached 
the  allotted  time  of  three  score  years  and  ten.  At  the  early  age  of  19  he  mar 
ried  Elizabeth  Taylor,  of  Bourn,  Lincolnshire,  with  whom  he  lived  for  48  years, 
she  having  preceded  him  to  the  spirit  land,  April  4,  1875. 

Mr.  Whitney  being  dependent  upon  his  daily  labor  for  the  support  of  his 
family,  and  having  neither  trade  nor  education  to  assist  him,  seeing  no  prospect 
of  acquiring  a  home  and  a  reasonable  independence  while  remaining  in  his 
native  land,  therefore  decided  to  leave  his  wife  and  child  with  their  friends,  and 
seek  for  more  propitious  surroundings  in  the  United  States.  Accordingly  he 
embarked  for  New  York,  where  he  arrived  early  in  1830.  Going  thence  to  New 
Jersey,  he  readily  found  employment,  and  in  due  time  sent  for  his  family. 

Mrs.  Whitney  rejoined  her  husband  in  1832,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  lose 
their  only  child,  a  son,  who  was  drowned  just  prior  to  her  sailing  for  America. 
After  spending  several  years  in  Pennsylvania,  he  migrated  to  the  prairie  region 
of  Northen  Indiana,  where  he  purchased  land,  and  in  a  few  years  surrounded 
himself  with  all  the  necessary  comforts  ef  life. 

The  settling  of  the  Oregon  boundary  question,  and  the  much  talked  of  land 
donation  to  settlers,  revived  the  spirit  of  emigration  in  the  western  States,  giving 
additional  inducements  to  settle  on  ths  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Whit 
ney  partaking  of  the  prevailing  excitement,  sold  his  farm,  and  with  his  wife  and 
six  children  proceeded  early  in  1847  to  tne  Indiana  frontier,  where  he  joined  Gen. 
Palmer's  train  of  emigrants.  After  having  endured  the  usual  privations,  dan 
gers  and  hardships  common  to  the  overland  emigrants  of  those  days,  he  reached 
French  Prairie  late  in  the  following  fall.  Here  he  purchased  a  land  claim, 
which  he  improved  and  cultivated  with  more  than  usual  success  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century. 

In  the  fall  of  1848,  in  company  with  a  small  party  composed  of  nearly  all  the 


WILLIAM   WHITNEY.  73 

American  settlers  then  living  in  the  northen  end  of  Champoeg  county,  now  Ma 
rion,  he  made  the  overland  journey  to  California,  in  quest  of  gold.  Notwith 
standing  he  met  with  the  usual  success  of  the  inexperienced  miners  of  those  early 
days,  he  remained  but  a  short  time  in  the  mines,  rather 

"  Preferring  home,  with  plow  in  hand, 
Turning  o'er  the  fertile  land." 

In  the  spring  of  1849,  Mr.  Whitney  was  one  of  a  company  of  three  who  opened 
to  some  extent,  the  almost  impenetrable  bottom  lands,  erecting  the  first  mills 
upon  the  site  where  Aurora  now  stands.  In  1852,  he  rendered  very  efficient 
service  in  assisting  to  form  the  first  school  district  organized  in  Marion  county, 
and  was  for  many  years  an  active  and  liberal  patron  of  the  school. 

Having  endured  for  six  months  the  countless  hardships  incident  to  making  the 
journey  from  Indiana  to  Oregon  in  1847  by  ox  train,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitney,  in 
the  spring  of  1870,  determined  to  try  the  then  novel  contrast  of  recrossing  the 
continent  by  the  more  swiftly  gliding  train  drawn  by  the  iron  horse,  which,  to 
their  admiration  was  pleasantly  accomplished.  After  spending  some  time  with 
friends  in  the  Atlantic  States,  they  now  determined  to  gratify  a  long-cherished 
wish  to  revisit  their  native  land.  On  reaching  their  old  home  in  England  after 
an  absence  of  forty  years,  they  found  that  nearly  a  whole  generation  whom  they 
had  left  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  middle  life  were  now  silent  in  death,  while  the 
remaining  associates  of  their  youthful  years  had  grown  gray  in  the  service  of 
the  more  favored  few,  upon  whom  they  were  generally  dependent  for  the  com 
mon  comforts  of  life.  After  the  enjoyment  of  a  long  visit,  they  bade  a  last  fare 
well  to  the  endearing  scenes  of  early  life,  returning  to  the  Great  Republic  better 
pleased  in  every  respect  with  the  country,  than  when  bidding  adue  to  their  chil 
dren  and  adopted  home  in  Oregon. 


RICHARD  H.  EAKIN, 

BV  J.   HENRY  BROWN* 

Richard  H,  Eakin,  who  died  near  Salem,  Dec.  18,  1878,  was  born  in  Liver 
pool,  England,  July  3,  1817,  and  received  a  good  English  education,  and  for 
several  years  in  early  life  was  a  sailor,  having  made  two  trips  around  the  world, 
in  connection  with  several  other  long  voyages.  He  came  to  Oregon  as  second 
mate  in  a  ship  commanded  by  the  late  Captain  John  H.  Couch,  arriving  at  their 
anchorage  a  short  distance  above  where  Portland  now  stands,  on  March  3,  1842, 
for  the  purpose  of  loading  the  vessel  with  wheat  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
He  left  the  ship  at  this  point  and  came  up  the  Willamette  valley  and  settled 
upon  the  farm  where  he  continuously  lived  until  the  time  of  his  death.  In  con 
nection  with  farming,  he  made  saddle  trees  for  several  years,  and  at  that  early 
day,  had  business  transactions  with  nearly  every  man  in  the  then  sparsely  set 
tled  Territory,  and  always  acquitted  himself  with  agreeableness. 

Soon  after  he  settled  upon  his  farm,  he  married  an  Indian  woman,  a  native  of 
the  valley,  by  whom  he  had  several  children,  giving  to  all  a  very  fair  education 
and  preparing  them  to  grapple  with  civilization  and  their  surroundings.  .Mr. 
Eakin  was  very  methodical  in  all  of  his  habits;  he  kept  a  strict  account  of  all  his 
farm  expenses  from  the  first  day  of  settlement  on  the  farm  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death;  every  day's  work  was  set  down,  every  acre  or  field  was  charged  with  the 
the  amount  of  labor,  seed,  threshing,  etc.,  and  credited  with  the  yield  with  as 
much  precision  as  a  merchant  keeps  his  books. 

In  the  evening  he  taught  his  children  at  home,  having  organized  a  regular 
school,  and  conducted  it  in  the  same  manner  as  our  public  and  private  schools 
are.  He  was  also  a  great  reader,  which  covered  quite  an  extensive  field — his 
tory,  poetry  and  romance;  being  a  great  admirer  of  Scott's  and  Dicken's  works, 
and  was  able  to  entertain  any  person  with  his  agreeable  conversation.  The 
night  that  he  died,  he  conducted  the  family  school  as  usual,  wrote  on  his  slate 
the  day's  work  and  retired  to  read  one  of  Dickens'  novels,  which  he  perused  for 
some  hours,  as  was  his  habit  while  in  bed,  laid  down  the  book,  methodically 


RICHARD    H.    EAKIN.  75 

placed  his  spectacles  on  the  same,  turned  upon  his  side  and  in  almost  an  instant 
expired,  supposed  to  be  the  result  of  an  epileptic  fit,  as  he  had  an  attack  of  the 
same  during  the  last  summer,  when  he  was  apparently  dead  for  a  few  minutes. 

He  leaves  two  elderly  sisters  living  in  England.  Mr.  Eakin  has  not  been  out 
of  Oregon  since  he  arrived  in  1842,  except  two  trips  to  California  in  the  days  of 
gold  excitement.  He  was  an  energetic  and  observing  man,  who  attended  closely 
to  his  own  affairs,  and  was  respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  considered  one 

of  the  best  of  neighbors. 

• 


• 


STEPHEN  TARBOX. 

BY  HON.   STEPHEN  STAATS, 

Stephen  Tarbox  who  died  near  Monroe,  Benton  county,  Oregon,  Nov.  6th, 
1878,  was  born  in  the  State  of  Maine,  in  1812.  He  enlisted  in  regular  U.  S. 
army,  and  on  the  expiration  of  his  time,  emigrated  from  Missouri  to  Oregon  in 
1843,  in  the  same  train  with  Rons.  Jesse  Applegate,  James  W.  Nesmith,  and 
Daniel  Waldo.  He  was  of  Irish  descent,  peaceable  disposition  and  well  re- 
spe'cted  by  all  who  had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance.  He  had  no  family. 

I  noticed  a  short  article  written  by  Mr.  J.  Henry  Brown,  announcing  the  death 
of  Mr.  Tarbox,  thus  he  says,  "one  by  one  the  men  and  women  of  the  '405  are 
passing  away,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when  all  who  linked  their  desti 
nies  with  the  emigrations  of  the  '403  will  have  passed  from  earth  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  the  'Pioneer  Dead,'  who  abandoned  civilization  in  the  East  to  rear  and 
spread  its  beneficence  on  this  western  continent."  And  who,  in  the  present  or 
the  future,  can  refuse  to  accord  a  meed  of  praise  to  these  early  pioneers  for  their 
heroism  and  undaunted  perseverance  in  accomplishing  the  object  for  which  they 
struggled.  Those  who  still  survive,  can  rejoice  at  the  glorious  results  that  have 
ensued  from  opening  up  this  beautiful  clime  to  settlement  and  high  civilization. 
When  he,  whose  death  has  just  been  recorded,  first  trod  the  soil  of  Oregon,  a 
perfect  wilderness  met  his  gaze;  while  he  who  now  records  his  death  can  rejoice 
in  all  the  pleasures  of  social  life,  and  claim  as  high  a  civilization  for  our  be 
loved  Oregon  as  exists  anywhere  on  this  western  hemisphere.  A  kind  thought 
to  the  memory  of  Stephen  Tarbjx.  When,  forty  years  ago,  we  first  exchanged 
kindly  greeting,  which  of  us  could  have  imagined  that  he  who  pens  these  lines, 
would  have  occasion  to  call  to  mind  an  incident  that  happened  on  the  4th  day 
of  July,  1836,  when  both  of  us,  young  in  years,  had  no  thought  of  the  future. 
The  sad  event  of  that  day  calls  to  mind  some  of  the  early  associations  of  Tarbox, 
when  he  with  Capt.  Charles  Bennett,  and  Samuel  Walker,  now  deceased,  were 
companions  in  arms  under  the  command  of  the  gallant  Stephen  A  Kearney, 
commanding  officer  of  the  1st  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  stationed  at  Fort  Leaven- 


STEPHEN    TARBOX.  77 

worth.  Bennett  at  the  time  being  1st  Sergeant  of  Co.  A.,  Capt.  E.  V.  Sumner, 
commanding.  Walker,  1st  Sergeant  of  Co.  under  Capt.  Ben  Moore,  who  was 
killed  in  the  Mexican  war  while  gallantly  fighting  for  his  country,  and  Tarbox, 
a  private  in  the  same  company,  where  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  comrades, 
and  received  the  approval  of  his  commanding  officer. 

Who  of  us,  forty  years  hence,  will  recall  the  names,  Bennett,  Walker  and 
Tarbox  ?  Who,  of  the  then  living,  will  reflect  upon  the  struggles  of  those  early 
pioneers,  and  speak  a  kind  word  to  their  memory?  Let  the  ««  Pioneer  Associa 
tion"  of  Oregon  guard  with  jealous  care  the  history  of  the  early  settlement  of 
our  State,  and  prepare  in  such  form  that  a  century  hence,  they  who  peruse  it 
may  drop  a  tear  of  gratitude  to  those  who  left  friends  and  plenty  behind  them, 
and  secured  to  them  a  home  in  a  clime  unsurpassed  on  earth. 


GOT.  GEORGE  LAW  CURRY. 


George  L.  Curry  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  July  2d,  1820.  His  father,  Geo. 
Curry,  ist  Lieutenant,  commanded — the  Captain  being  sick — the  Washington 
Blues  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  engagement  with  the  British  preceding  the  capture 
of  the  city  of  Washington  in  the  war  of'  1812.  His  grandfather,  Christopher 
Curry,  came  from  England,  died  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  buried  in  Christ 
Church  burial  ground  in  that  city. 

In  1824,  he  went  with  his  parents  and  family  to  South  America,  and  resided 
in  Carraccas,  in  the  then  Republic  of  Columbia.  He  returned  with  his  parents 
and  lived  until  the  death  of  his  father  in  1829  on  the  family  homestead  near 
Homesburgh,  Penn.  With  his  guardian — his  uncle,  William  Curry — he  went 
to  Boston  in  1831,  where  he  passed  nine  years  of  his  boyhood.  In  1838  he  was 
elected  and  served  two  terms  as  President  of  the  Mechanics'  Library  Association, 
a  very  flourishing  educational  and  literary  institution  at  that  time  in  the  city  of 
Boston.  Many  of  his  addresses  and  poems  delivered  before  tnat  society  were 
published,  thereby  making  him  still  live  upon  the  historical  pages  of  that  insti 
tution.  A  Boston  newspaper  has  said:  -'While  Governor  Curry  resided  in 
Boston,  he  took  an  active  interest  in  the  Mechanic  Apprentice's  Library,  which 
was  then  in  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  and  filled  the  office  of  President  for  one 
or  two  terms.  He  was  a  genial  companion,  possessing  considerable  literary  and 
poetic  taste."  During  his  sojourn  in  Boston,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  jewelry 
trade,  working  in  the  same  shop  with  Judge  Kelly  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  1843,  ne  became  a  resident  of  St.  Louis,  where  he  became  acquainted  with 
Joseph  M.  Field,  the  actor  and  manager  (father  of  Miss  Kate  Field),  and  con 
nected  himself  with  him  in  the  publication  of  the  Reveille,  which  publication 
also  had  as  inaugurators  at  that  time,  Col.  Charles  Keemle  and  Mat.,  brother  of 
Joseph  Field  ('«  Straws"  and  "  Phazma"  of  the  N.  O.  Picayune.} 

In  1846,  he  left  St.  Louis  for  the  Pacific  coast  by  the  overland  emigrant  route, 
and  arrived  in  Oregon  Gity,  Oregon,  on  the  3Oth  of  August,  of  the  same  year. 
He  immediately  assumed  the  editorial  charge  of  the  Oregon  Spectator,  the  first 
newspaper  published  on  the  Pacific  coast.  A  few  short  months  prior  to  his  death, 
and  when  he  was  yet  seemingly  in  robust  health,  a  newspaper  speaking  of  his 


GOV.    GEORGE   LAW    CURRY.  79 

arrival  in  Oregon,  said  :  "  We  remember  reading  with  pleasure  his  instructive 
letter  published  in  the  Oregon  Spectator,  descriptive  of  his  trip  and  his  last  camp 
in  the  Cascade  mountains,  when,  as  he  said,  he  '  slept  tranquilly  on  the  snowy 
bosom  of  Mount  Hood.'  "  The  same  writer  also  says  :  "  Arriving  at  Oregon 
City,  he  found  the  Spectator  peeping  feebly  and  timidly  around  among  the  fir 
trees,  its  voice  unable  to  rise  above  the  roar  of  the  falls  of  the  Willamette,  and 
kindly  took  it  in  charge.  Under  his  management  it  became  not  only  one  of  the 
most  westernly  papers  in  the  world,  but  a  real  gem  of  the  wilderness."  Closing 
he  says  ;  "The  name  of  Geo.  L.  Curry  is  in  every  page  of  Oregon's  history, 
from  the  moment  of  his  advent  down  to  the  present  time." 

In  March,  1848,  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Oregon  Free  Press,  the 
fiist  weekly  newspaper  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  press  was  made  in  the  country, 
and  a  portion  of  the  type — the  display  letters — were  wrought  out  of  wood.  An 
editor  of  a  journal,  referring  to  this  paper,  said:  *'The  material  of  the  Free 
Press  was  of  French  descent,  and  had  inherited  no  'w's.'  The  editor  tried  hard 
to  write  without  'double  u's;'  but  the  country  and  its  inhabitants  were  too  weird 
and  wild  and  wonderful,  and  his  own  fancy  too  warm,  and  his  ways  too  winning 
for  him  not  to  be  willing  to  weild  a  pen  as  free,  full  and  untrammeled  as  were 
his  surroundings  ;  so  he  whittled  two  «  VV  out  of  some  very  hard  fir  bark  and 
went  to  work.  This  little  feature  gave  the  columns  of  the  paper  a  decidedly 
unique  appearance,  and  was  really  one  of  its  many  attractions."  This  journal 
was  discontinued  towards  the  close  of  the  first  year,  on  account  of  the  general 
rush  of  the  population  to  the  gold  fields  of  California  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 

And  it  was  during  this  period  of  his  life  (March,  1848),  that  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Chloe  Donnelly  Boone,  daughter  of  Col.  Alphonso  Boone,  a 
great  grandson  of  Daniel  Boone,  who  emigrated  to  Oregon  with  his  family  from 
Missouri  in  1846.  They  were  among  the  first  who  traveled  and  experienced  the 
disasters  of  the  Southern  route  into  Oregon,  which  led  through  tribes  of  un 
friendly  Indians,  almost  impassible  canyons  and  over  difficult  mountains.  All 
who  came  that  year  by  this  route  lost  all  their  teams,  wagons,  stock,  and  other 
property,  and  barely  getting  into  the  settlements  alive.  Indeed  some  were  not 
so  fortunate,  and  their  remains  now  whiten  those  dreadful  passes  through  the  well 
nigh  inaccessable  mountains.  His  union  was  blessed  with  six  children,  two 
daughters  and  four  sons,  all  of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  a  daughter,  are  still 
living. 

In  May,  1853,  unsolicited  by  him,  he  was  appointed  by  the  President  and 
confirmed  by  the  Senate,  as  Secretary  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon.  A  few  days 
after  induction  into  office,  he  became  Acting  Governor,  inconsequence  of  the 
resignation  of  Gen.  Joseph  Lane,  who  held  that  office.  He  discharged  the  du- 


80  GOV.    GEORGE   LAW   CURRY. 

ties  of  both  offices  until  the  arrival  of  Gov.  John  W.  Davis,  in  December  of  that 
year.  Nine  months  afterwards,  upon  the  resignation  of  Gov.  Davis,  he  became 
again  Acting  Governor.  He  continued  the  discharge  of  both  positions,  until  his 
appointment  as  Governor  a  few  months  thereafter.  He  held  the  office  of  Gov 
ernor  until  the  spring  of  1859,  when  the  State  government  was  inaugurated. 
His  friends  then  made  him  a  candidate  for  U.  S.  Senator,  but  he  withdrew  his 
name  and  assisted  in  the  election  of  the  successful  candidate. 

In  1860,  his  friends  again  made  him  a  candidate  for  the  same  position,  and 
after  protracted  ballotings,  he  came  within  one  vote  of  an  election  ;  but  a  com 
bination  between  the  Republicans  and  a  portion  of  the  Douglas  Democrats  ulti 
mately  culminated  in  success. 

The  term  of  the  official  service  of  Governor  Curry,  from  1853  to  1859,  was  an 
eventful  period  in  the  history  of  Oregon.  The  character  of  its  institutions  was 
formed  and  developed  with  the  rapid  enlargement  of  the  settlements,  and  the 
increase,  progress  and  prosperity  of  its  people.  Indian  troubles  were  frequent. 
The  Rogue  river  Indian  war  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1853.  In  the  fall  of  1855, 
war  hustled  along  the  whole  frontier,  north  and  south.  Upwards  of  twenty-five 
hundred  volunteers  were  kept  in  the  field  for  several  months,  besides  the  U.  S. 
troops  stationed  in  the  country.  This  was  the  most  formidable  and  bloody  war 
in  the  history  of  the  Northwest  coast.  In  these  campaigns  Gov.  Curry  disting 
uished  himself  by  his  effective  service  in  conquering  peace.  He  received  the 
thanks  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  both  Oregon  and  Washington  Territories, 
for  the  efficiency  of  his  services  in  protecting  and  defending  the  people  of  both 
Territories  against  the  attacks  of  Indians  ;  in  honor  of  whose  services,  a  county 
in  the  State  of  Oregon  now  bears  his  name. 

He  was  of  singularly  amiable  disposition,  honorable,  and  gifted  with  a  versa 
tility  of  talents  of  such  a  degree,  that  whatever  he  undertook  was  well  performed. 
During  his  public  life  no  one  ever  insinuated  a  dishonest  act  against  him,  though 
his  public  career  embraced  a  time  when  political  rancor  ran  to  a  high  pitch  and 
but  few  men  escaped  the  shafts  of  calumny  ;  and  indeed  it  has  been  said  that 
while  he  was  Secretary  of  the  Territory  he  credited  the  government  with  the 
premiums  which  were  realized  by  him  from  drafts  sent  out  for  the  Territorial 
expenses. 

In  1866,  he  received  the  thanks  of  the  Directory  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail 
road  Company,  for  a  speech  before  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of  Boston, 
and  other  efforts  in  behalf  of  that  enterprise.  As  an  editor  in  St.  Louis  in  1845, 
he  wrote  in  favor  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  and  a  year  later,  on  the  shore  of 
the  Pacific,  he  again  wielded  his  pen  in  behalf  of  this  great  enterprise.  After 
an  active  public  life  in  the  years  mentioned,  he  retired  for  a  while  to  his  farm 


GOV.    GEORGE   LAW    CURRY.  8 1 

on  the  Willamette  river,  a  short  distance  above  Oregon  City,  and  there  engaged 
in  farming.  He  was  appointed  State  Land  Commissioner  and  a  member  of 
the  State  Board  of  Equalization. 

In  1873,  Gov.  Curry  delivered  the  first  Annual  Address  before  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association,  which  held  its  Re-Union  that  year  at  Butteville,  but  not 
published  until  1876,  as  the  copy  had  been  overlooked  by  Gov.  Curry. 

Gov.  Curry  was  in  every  sense  of  the  term  a  self-made  man,  having  never  re 
ceived  but  three  months'  schooling  in  his  life.  But  by  hard  study  and  constant 
reading,  he  acquired  much,  and  as  a  well  read  man,  he  had  few  equals.  He 
devoted  a  great  deal  of  his  leisure  to  literary  pursuits,  and  his  graceful  pen 
adorns  the  best  publications  of  the  State. 

His  death  was  attributed  to  the  effects  of  a  cold  taken  while  writing  late  of 
evenings  when  the  room  in  which  he  was  engaged  had  become  too  cold  for  oc 
cupancy.  His  illness  lasted  for  several  months,  during  all  of  which  time  he  was 
never  heard  to  utter  one  word  of  complaint,  though  he  knew  the  shadow  of 
Death  was  hovering  near.  At  last,  on  July  28th,  1878,  as  the  evening  Sabbath 
sun  sent  its  last  effulgent  rays  athwart  the  western  skies,  dea^h  in  reality,  the 
implacable  conqueror  of  humanity,  laid  his  hand  on  the  community  of  Portland, 
and  the  spirit  of  Gov.  George  L.  Curry  winged  its  flight  to  unseen  worlds  above, 
leaving  a  family  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  husband  and  father,  whose  loving  kind 
ness  is  never  to  be  forgotten,  and  a  community  to  keep  within  the  halls  of  mem 
ory  the  life  of  a  brave  and  true  pioneer  citizen. 

6 


ISAAC  N.  GILBERT. 


BY   REV.    P.    S.    KNIGHT. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  near  Rushville,  Yates  Co.,  New  York, 
June  2;th,  1818,  and  died  in  Salem,  Oregon,  March  2Oth,  1879. 

Mr.  Gilbert  was  one  in  whom  the  pioneering  instinct  was  very  early  developed. 
He  made  his  way  westward  to  Illinois  at  a  very  early  age,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1844,  at  the  age  af  27,  in  company  with  three  adventurous  companions,  he 
crossed  the  plains  and  became  one  of  the  earliest  American  settlers  in  the  Wil 
lamette  valley.  *The  farm  two  miles  northeast  of  Salem,  which  he  has  left  in 
a  fine  state  of  improvement  and  cultivation,  was  his  original  donation  claim. 
He  was  married  March  27th,  1850,  to  Marietta,  daughter  of  Alfred  Stanton,  an 
immigrant  of  1847.  Tne  family  have  been  widely  and  favorably  known,  and 
always  identified  w,ith  the  best  interests  of  Salem,  from  the  beginning  of  its  his 
tory  to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Gilbert  was  the  first  County  Clerk  of  Marion  county,  filling  that  office 
acceptably  for  three  years.  He  made  the  first  plat  of  the  city  of  Salem;  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  late  Dr.  Willson,  and  was  one  of  the  chief  wit 
nesses  whose  testimony  turned  the  recent  suits  with  the  Willson  heirs  in  favor 
of  the  city  and  county,  saving  to  the  public  uses  to  which  the  benevolent  founder 
of  the  city  devoted  them,  Marion  Square,  Willson's  Avenue  and  the  Court  House 
block.  Being  a  practical  surveyor,  he  filled  the  office  of  County  Surveyor  one 
or  two  terms  ;  laid  out  and  plated  the  Territorial  road  from  Salem  to  Foster's 
at  the  loot  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  in  1846,  at  that  time  the  longest  public 
highway  in  the  Territory. 

Mr.  Gilbert  was  a  remarkably  quiet  and  unobstrusive  man,  yet  one  of  marked 
and  positive  influence.  He  loved  the  quiet  life  of  the  farm  and  the  peaceful 
surroundings  of  home,  yet  was  not  found  wanting  when  any  public  duty  demand 
ed  his  attention.  In  1850  he  rode  on  horseback,  in  company  with  his  wife, 
from  his  farm  on  Salem  prairie  to  Oregon  City,  a  distance  of  36  miles,  for  the 
purpose  of  uniting  with  the  church  of  his  choice.  July  4th,  1852,  he  became 
one  of  the  four  founders  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Salem,  having  long 


,    ISAAC    N.    GILBERT.  83 

before  selected  a  lot  for  its  future,building.  To  himself  and  his  energetic  wife 
that  church  has  been  largely  indebted  through  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
as  its  chief  helpers.  That  the  church  feels  its  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  departed, 
and  also  now  the  bereaved  widow,  was  shown  by  the  large  attendance  of  its 
members  at  the  memorial  meeting,  at  which  time  appropriate  preamble  and  res 
olutions  were  adopted,  expressive  of  their  appreciation  of  the  character  and 
labors  of  the  deceased. 


HON.  JOHN  SHUNK  ZIEBER. 


BY   J.    HENRY   BROWN. 


Hon.  John  S.  Zieber  was  born  in  Pottstown,  Montgomery  county,  Pennsyl 
vania,  May  14,  1803,  where  he  resided  with  his  parents  until  he  arrived  at  the 
age  of  1 6  years,  when  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  learn  a  trade,  and  he  chose 
that  of  printing,  and  entered  the  office  of  John  Rogers,  to  acquire  the  mysteries 
of  the  "  art  preservative,"  where  he  worked  for  three  years,  and  then  went  to 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  finished  his  trade  in  the  book  and  job  office  of  Mr. 
Manning,  where  he  remained  some  time.  From  Philadelphia  he  went  to  Balti 
more,  Maryland,  where  he  remained  a  short  time,  then  went  to  Cambridge  in 
the  same  State,  on  the  eastern  shore,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Sloan, 
Feb.  1st,  1825,  living  a  happy  domestic  life  for  53  years,  when  death  severed 
the  bonds  in  the  present  year.  From  Cambridge,  he  moved  to  Princess  Anne, 
Summerset  county,  in  the  same  State,  and  started  a  newspaper  called  The  Vil_ 
lage  Herald.  April  3,  1827,  which  he  continued  to  publish  for  eight  years,  and 
severed  his  connection  with  it  in  April,  1835. 

From  October  4,  1836,  to  1839,  he  edited  the  People's  Press,  but  the  spirit 
of  "  going  west"  urged  him  to  seek  new  fields,  when  sending  his  office  and 
household  goods  to  Illinois,  followed  with  his  wife  and  children  ;  but  upon  ar 
riving  at  St.  Louis  on  his  way,  he  heard  of  the  great  misfortune  that  the  ware 
house  in  which  all  of  his  earthly  possessions  were  stored,  had  been  consumed  by 
fire.  But  Mr.  Zieber  was  not  the  man  to  despair,  and  continuing  his  journey, 
arriving  at  Peoria,  111.,  in  December  10,  1839,  where  he  set  about  purchasing 
another  office,  and  on  February  20,  1840,  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Peoria 
Democratic  Press,  which  soon  took  rank  with  the  most  influential  papers  of  the 
State.  Mr.  Zieber  was  a  terse  and  trenchant  writer,  going  direct  to  the  object 
desired.  Having  entered  into  politics,  he  was  elected  as  a  member  of  the  Leg 
islature  in  1844-45.  Although  we  have  been  informed  that  he  was  not  a  ready 
speaker,  he  wielded  considerable  influence,  which  quietness  and  a  sound  mind 
always  carries  with  it. 

In  1846,  he  sold  his  newspaper  and  retired  from  politics,  but  remained  in 
business  in  Peoria,  until  April  19,  1851,  when,  having  previously  disposed  of 


HON.    JOHN     SHUNK    ZIEBER.  85 

his  property  he  started  .with  his  family  across  the  plains  to  Oregon.  The  trip 
was  attended  with  all  the  hardships  usually  endured  on  that  long,  wearisome  and 
exhaustive  trip,  and  at  times  were  almost  reduced  to  suffering  for  want  of  food, 
but  arrived  at  Oregon  City.  October  II,  1851,  lacking  only  eight  days  of  being 
six  months  in  performing  the  journey.  Mr.  Zieber  immediately  went  to  work 
at  his  trade  in  the  Oregon  Spectator  newspaper  office,  and  afterwards  in  the 
the  Oregon  Statesman,  but  having  a  clerkship  offered  him  by  Surveyor  General 
Preston,  he  accepted  the  position,  where  he  remained  until  1855.  After  leaving 
the  Surveyor  General's  office  he  went  to  Salem  and  worked  for  Mr.  A.  Bush,  who 
was  Territorial  Printer  as  well  as  publisher  of  the  Oregon  Statesman.  The 
writer,  who  was  then  an  apprentice,  passed  many  happy  evenings  with  Mr. 
Zieber,  and,  under  his  direction,  learned  to  fold,  gather  and  stitch  books,  which 
afterwards  became  of  considerable  benefit  to  him.  In  March  or  April,  1856, 
Mr.  Zieber  received  the  appointment  of  Surveyor  General,  which  office  had  been 
removed  to  Salem  by  his  predecessor,  and  induced  Mr.  Zieber  to  move  his  family 
to  Salem,  which  was  quite  an  accession  to  the  society  of  that  small  city.  At 
this  place,  Mr.  Zieber's  eldest  daughter  married  Mr.  Bush,  now  a  banker  in 
Salem.  Through  changes  in  the  federal  administration,  Mr.  Zieber  was  removed, 
after  which  he  retired  to  his  farm,  four  miles  north  of  Salem,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  Nov.  12,  1878,  carrying  with  him  the  respect  of  all  persons  of 
all  political  parties.  His  record  in  office  was  good,  and  even  his  most  bitter 
opponents  could  find  nothing  at  which  to  hurl  the  shafts  of  political  spite. 

Mr.  Zieber  was  the  father  of  six  children,  two  sons  and  four  daughters,  the 
eldest  being  Hon.  Albert  Zieber,  of  Portland.  John  Zieber,  who  was  formerly 
clerk  in  the  Surveyor  General's  office,  and  afterwards  Secretary  of  the  Willam 
ette  Woolen  Manufacturing  Company,  which  position  he  held  until  a  short  time 
before  his  death  in  1862,  was  a  gentleman  well  respected  by  a  large  number  of 
acquaintances.  Mrs.  Eugenia  Bush,  the  eldest  daughter,  died  in  1862.  She 
was  a  lady  of  rare  culture,  whom  to  know  was  to  respect.  In  1870,  Miss  Zula 
Zieber,  the  youngest  daughter,  was  removed  by  death  just  when  budding  into 
womanhood.  She  was  kind,  affable  and  beautiful,  but  "death  loves  a  shining 
mark,"  and  she  was  early  called  away  to  the  realms  above.  The  second  daughter 
was  married,  but  has  been  a  widow  for  several  years.  There  now  remain  at 
home  only  the  lonely  widow  and  two  daughters  to  miss  the  kind  voice  of  a  ven 
erated  husband  and  father. 

At  the  age  of  75  years,  6  months,  Mr.  Zieber  was  stricken  down  with  paraly 
sis,  Nov.  12,  1878,  and  within  two  short  hours,  passed  away  from  all  earthly 
care  to  join  his  children  who  had  gone  before.  He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity, 
social  and  humane,  of  varied  and  extensive  reading,  well  posted  in  the  political 


86  HON.    JOHN    SHUNtf.   ZIEBER. 

history  of  his  country,  a  splendid   conversationalist,  quiet  and  unassuming,  pos 
sessed  of  sterling  worth,  influential  and  had  hosts  of  firm  friends. 

Mr.  Zieber  had  been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  for 
years,  and  carried  out  the  principles  of  that  institution  with  scrupulous  exact 
ness.  The  fraternity  mournfully  assisted  at  the  funeral,  assuaging  as  far  as  pos 
sible,  the  inexpressible  grief  of  the  family  and  the  stricken  widow. 

A  good  man  has  gone,  and  what  is  earth's  loss  is  heaven's  gaim 


HON.  EDWIN  N.  COOKE. 


BY   J.    HENRY   BROWN. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  puritans,  who  came  to 
America  in  the  ship  Mayflower,  and  landed  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  Dec. 
2o,  1620.  Among  the  number  of  that  historical  band,  was  Francis  Cooke,  and 
his  son,  John  Cooke,  who  settled,  and  the  families  for  many  generations  lived 
in  that  and  other  Colonies,  up  to  the  time  of  the  revolutionary  war. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war,  Mr.  Cooke's  great  grand 
father,  Asoph  Cooke,  lived  near  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  had  four  sons,  who 
espoused  the  American  cause  and  enlisted  in  the  patriotic  army,  and  remained 
there  until  the  termination  of  peace,  seven  years  afterwards,  serving  with  dis 
tinction,  afterwards  marrying  and  rearing  large  families.  The  subject  of  our 
sketch  has  seen  three  of  them  when  very  old  men,  and  heard  them  recount  the 
the  story  of  the  struggle  over  and  over  again. 

The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Cooke,  after  the  revolution,  married  Thankful  Parker, 
and  settled  in  Granville,  Washington  county,  New  York.  He  reared  a  family 
of  four  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  eldest  son— Asoph — was  the  father  of  E. 
N.  C6oke,  who  married  Mary  Stewart  in  1805,  and  had  one  son  and  one  daughter 
born  to  them,  when  he  moved  in  1808  to  Jefferson  county  of  the  same  State, 
where  Edwin  N.  Cooke  was  born  February  26,  1810,  near  where  the  town  of 
Adams  now  stands.  That  portion  of  New  York  State  was  at  that  time,  almost 
a  wilderness.  In  1814,  the  family  removed  to  their  old  home,  where  two  more 
sons  were  born. 

In  1816,  the  family  removed  to  Warsaw,  Genessee  county,  New  York,  where 
they  remained  one  year,  and  in  1817,  emigrated  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  the  then 
far  west,  settling  with  many  relatives  of  the  family  name,  in  what  is  yet  known 
as  "  Cooke's  Corner,"  in  Huron  county  of  that  State.  Here  the  family  endured 
many  of  the  trials  incident  to  the  pioneer  life  of  those  days,  suffering  greatly  for 
the  want  of  provisions  and  clothing,  so  much  so  for  the  latter  that  his  mother 
used  up  the  sheets  from  the  beds  for  shirts,  spun  flax  and  a  neighbor  woman 
wove  it  to  make  clothing;  the  men  mostly  wore  buckskin  pants. 


88  HON.    EDWIN    N.    COOKE. 

The  incidents  of  his  life  for  several  years  were  not  varied  from  thaf*of  young 
men  brought  up  to  pioneer  life.  In  1826,  Mr.  Cooke's  mother  died,  thus  meet 
ing  with  a  great  bereavement  in  early  life. 

After  his  mother's  death,  he  went  to  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  where  he  could  ob 
tain  better  educational  advantages  than  he  had  hitherto  possessed.  Here  he 
remained  sometime,  until  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  do  something  towards  his 
own  maintenance,  and  although  still  quite  young,  he  determined  to  start  out 
upon  his  own  responsibility.  He  made  his  way  to  Auburn,  New  York,  where 
his  mother's  brother,  Mr.  David  Stewart,  resided.  He  was  a  thorough  business 
man  and  a  successful  merchant,  and  to  him,  Mr.  Cooke  always  felt  that  he  was 
indebted  for  much  of  his  business  qualifications;  for  he  kindly  received  him  and 
instructed  him  in  all  the  branches  of  his  business. 

His  uncle  soon  became  interested  in  him  and  much  pleased  with  his  business 
tact,  decided  to  start  a  "  branch  house"  at  Genessee,  placing  him  in  charge  as 
a  partner.  He  was  successful  beyond  his  expectations,  'but  having  a  love  for 
travel  and  an  adventurous  disposition,  an  opportunity  occured  in  which  his  de 
sires  could  be  gratified.  Advantageously  associated  with  others,  he  started 
with  a  stock  of  merchandise  for  Texas,  but  while  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was 
shipwrecked.  He  was  lashed  to  the  rigging  for  days  and  bearly  escaped  with 
his  life.  He  however  succeeded  in  reaching  his  destination,  but  of  course  met 
with  serious  losses. 

His  career  while  in  Texas  was  full  of  eventful  incidents,  owing  to  the  unset 
tled  condition  of  the  country.  After  remaining  here  for  some  time,  he  started 
on  his  return  to  Ohio,  accompanied  by  his  eldest  brother.  While  proceeding  up 
the  Mississippi  river,  whose  waters  were  unusually  swollen  and  rapid,  the  large 
steamer  which  was  freighted  with  much  combustible  material,  suddenly  became 
enveloped  in  flames.  His  brother  was  very  ill — the  night  was  dark  and  boist- ' 
erous,  but  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  Seizing  his  brother  by  the  collar,  he 
sprang  overboard,  where  the  swift  current  carried  him  a  long  distance  below  the 
scene  of  the  disaster,  where  many  found  a  watery  grave.  Mr.  Cooke,  however, 
after  almost  superhuman  exertions,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  shore  with  the 
apparently  lifeless  body  of  his  brother.  Aftei  a  long  and  vigorous  effort,  he  at 
last  succeeded  in  resuscitating  him,  and  they  were  enabled  to  reach  Cincinnati. 
Here  he  obtained  employment  until  his  brother  was  sufficiently  recovered  to 
proceed  on  the  rough  and  perilous  journey  of  those  days  to  Sandusky  City. 

He  married  on  September  5,  1835,  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  Miss  Eliza  Vandercock, 
with  whom  he  lived  a  happy  domestic  life  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  of  over 
thirty-three  years.  Mr.  Cooke  was  engaged  iii  the  merchadise  business  with  one 
of  his  uncles  in  Sandusky  City,  and  continued  the  same  for  several  years,  until 


HON.    EDWIN    N.    COOKE.  89 

his  business  house  burned  in  the  winter   1849,  ^e  then  removed  to  Clyde  and 
thence  to  Fremont. 

In  1848,  while  living  in  Sandusky  City,  the  Asiatic  cholera  made  its  appear 
ance,  and  carried  off  more  of  its  inhabitants  according  to  the  number  of  its  pop 
ulation  than  any  city  in  the  State.  The  people  became  panic-stricken  and  fled; 
stores  were  closed  and  all  business  suspended.  Mr.  Cooke  alone  remaining  at 
his  post.  So  rapidly  did  the  people  die,  that  it  was  impossible  to  bury  them 
singly  in  graves,  but  a  long  trench  was  dug  in  which  the  dead  were  hurriedly 
placed,  and  so  lightly  covered  with  earth,  that  a  brick  and  cement  vault  was 
afterwards  built  over  the  trench,  so  as  to  secure  the  inhabitants  from  the  efflu 
vium  of  the  corpses.  Mr.  Cooke's  uncle,  who  was  Mayor  of  the  city,  died 
during  the  epidemic,  as  he  had  been  constantly  engaged  in  relieving  the  distress 
of  the  plague  stricken  community. 

In  1851,  he  started  across  the  plains  to  Oregon,  and  stopped  a  short  time  at 
Salt  Lake  and  traded  for  stock.  He  was  an  invalid  when  he  started,  but  the 
journey  proved  very  beneficial  to  him,  in  fact  gave  him  a  new  lease  of  life  for 
many  years  of  usefulness.  On  his  arrival  in  Salem,  he  built  the  old  "  Head 
quarters  Building,"  that  stood  on  the  corner  of  Commercial  and  State  streets, 
where  the  bank  now  stands,  and  began  the  business  of  merchandising  with  Mr. 
George  H.  Jones,  of  Salem,  under  the  firm  name  of  Jones,  Cooke  &  Co. 

Mr.  Cooke  also  purchased  a  house  of  the  late  John  L.  Starkey,  on  the  corner 
of  Liberty  and  Division  streets,  and  for  several  months  kept  a  hotel,  which  for 
years  afterwards  was  known  as  "  Cooke's  Hotel,"  but  now  known  as  the  Man 
sion  House.  He  traded  that  property  to  the  late  John  Hunt  for  a  farm,  which 
he  owned  for  about  three  years,  a  portion  of  the  time  residing  on  the  same. 

In  1854,  his  only  daughter,  Miss  Fannie,  was  married  to  Hon.  Thomas  McF. 
Patton.  They  moved  to  Southern  Oregon.  In  1856,  the  company  dissolved, 
and  sold  the  store  to  Mr.  John  L.  Starkey,  and  Mr.  Cooke  returned  to  the  East 
ern  States,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  where  he  remained  nearly  a  year,  settling 
up  the  business  of  the  late  firm.  On  his  return,  he  added  to  the  town  by  laying 
out  into  town  lots  the  land  north  of  Division  street,  and  is  known  as  "  Cooke's 
Addition,"  on  a  portion  of  which  he  built  a  fine  residence,  and  beautified  the 
same  by  cultivating  rare  flowers,  shrubbery  and  fruits;  residing  there  some  years. 

In  1862,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican  State  Convention  for  State 
Treasurer,  an  office  to  which  he»was  elected,  and  which  he  held  for  the  ensuing 
eight  years,  being  re-elected  in  1866.  Passing  through  the  two  terms  with  honor 
to  himself  and  the  party  that  elected  him,  although  a  close  and  searching  exam 
ination  was  made  by  a  special  committee  appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  exam- 


90  HON.    EDWIN    N.    COOKE. 

ine  the  books  of  the  different  State  Departments,  Mr.  Cooke  came  out  without 
a  spot  or  blemish  on  his  record  as  an  officer,  or  character  as  a  man. 

In  1862,  in  connection  with  A.  A.  and  D.  McCully,  S.  T.  Church  and  others, 
he  organized  and  successfully  conducted  for  several  years  the  corporation  known 
as  the  People's  Transportation  Company  of  steamboats,  to  navigate  the  Willam 
ette  river  from  Portland  to  the  head  of  navigation.  Although  a  monopoly,  it 
was  not  oppressive,  and  transacted  an  immense  amount  of  business.  This  com 
pany  constructed  the  canal  and  basin  at  Oregon  City,  at  a  cost  of  $133,000,  in 
cluding  the  land  for  right  of  way;  this  work  reflects  great  credit  on  the  project 
ors.  They  also  offered  to  construct  the  locks  and  canal  for  the  State  at  a  much 
more  reasonable  price  than  was  paid,  so  that  boats  could  pass  the  falls  similar  to 
the  west  side  that  was  constructed,  and  that  the  State  would  own  them.  The 
company  ran  an  opposition  line  upon  the  Columbia  river  in  1863,  but  was  not 
successful.  In  1871,  the  company  sold  out  to  Benjamin  Holliday,  Esq.  Mr. 
Cooke  was  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  company  from  its  organization  until  it 
dissolved . 

In  1866,  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Messrs.  McCully  and  Church,  and 
established  a  large  store  in  Salem,  and  continued  the  business  for  some  time. 

In  1868,  in  company  with  his  wife  and  Hon.  J.  S.  Smith  and  family,  he  visited 
Europe,  where  he  remained  several  months.  For  several  years  he  had  been  an 
active  and  useful  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Willamette  Uni 
versity. 

On  December  6,  1852,  in  company  with  Gen.  E.  M.  Barnum,  Judge  B.  F. 
Harding,  Gen.  Joel  Palmer  and  C.  S.  Woodworth,  Esq.,  he  organized  Chemeketa 
Lodge  No.  I,  the  first  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows'  organized  on  the  Northwest 
Pacific  coast.  He  retained  his  membership  in  the  Lodge  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
a  period  of  over  26  years,  and  is  the  only  one  of  the  charter  members  not 
living. 

For  a  number  of  years  he  had  been  a  consistent  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
and  assisted  in  various  ways  by  his  counsels,  and  the  most  liberal  contribu 
tions  from  his  purse,  to  aid  in  the  work  of  this  church. 

In  about  1866,  Mr.  Cooke  became  interested  in  an  iron  foundry,  at  Portland, 
which  was  kept  in  operation  sometime.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Mr.  Cooke 
was  a  progressive  and  energetic  man,  one  well  calculated  to  benefit  any  country 
in  which  his  lot  might  be  cast. 

On  his  return  from  Europe,  he  constructed  a  beautiful  residence  near  the  State 
Capitol  building,  in  which  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  1875  an^  l%76,  he  was  elected  Vice  President  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Asso- 


HON.    EDWIN    N.    COOKE.  9! 

elation,  and  acquitted  himself  with  credit  and  benefit  to  the  Association.  I 
have  before  me  an  article  written  by  Mr.  Cooke,  on  the  objects  and  benefits  of 
the  Association,  which  is  clear  and  concise,  setting  forth  its  objects  in  a  plain 
and  unmistakable  manner.  It  was  published  in  the  transactions  of  1875. 

In  an  article  published  in  the  Oregon  Statesman  of  May  I4th,  the  day  after 
his  death,  I  find  the  following:  "  There  is  scarcely  a  branch  of  our  society  that 
will  not  keenly  feel  his  loss.  We  sum  up  the  sentiment  of  all  who  knew  him 
when  we  say  that  a  truly  good  man  has  fallen;  one  who  helped  to  lay  the  found 
ation  of  our  social  and  political  fabric;  one  whose  lot  has  been  cast  with  ours  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century;  one  who  has  gone  up  and  down  our  streets 
for  a  whole  generation ;  one  who  in  all  these  years  has  been  foremost  in  every 
good  work;  one  who  in  storm  or  sunshine  was  always  the  same  kind,  cheerful, 
firm,  upright  and  unflinching  soul,  swerving  neither  to  the  right  or  to  the  left, 
and  obeying  only  the  behests  of  duty.  One  whose  every  act,  whose  whole  life 
was  such  as  to  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man.  His  career  will  stand  as  an 
enduring  lesson — a  lasting  commentary  upon  the  exceeding  beauty  of  a  well 
ordered  life." 

"  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,"  with  firmness  in  the  right, 
as  God  gave  it  to  him  to  see  the  right,  a  deep  sympathizer  with  the  widow  and 
orphan.  He  was  not  one  to  coin  silver  from  man's  misfortunes,  gold  from  the 
widow's  tears  or  gather  diamonds  from  the  orphan's  moans.  His  hand  was  ever 
open  to  just  charity:  his  counsel  was  true  and  tender.  His  character  was  a 
model  for  the  youth,  a  guide  for  the  adult.  We  had  none  who  excelled,  few 
to  equal  our  departed  friend,  Edwin  N.  Cooke,  who  died  in  Salem,  May  6,  1879, 
aged  69  years  and  10  days.  He  has  gone  to  enjov  the  inheritance  that  a  blame 
less  life  and  a  devoted  Christian  is  awarded  after  this  life  of  toil. 


SIMEON  SMITH. 


Mr.  Simeon  Smith,  who  died  in  Salem,  May  n,  1879,  was  born  in  Columbian 
county,  Ohio,  February  16,  1823.  He  was  a  son  of  James  Smith,  who  died  in 
Salem  a  few  years  ago,  a  bother-in-law  to  Mr.  John  Barger,  now  residing  in 
Klickitat  valley,  W.  T.,  also  has  several  brothers  living  in  Marion  county.  He 
was  also  connected  by  marriage  to  Mr.  Taylor,  who  resides  in  the  Waldo  Hills. 

In  1838,  the  family  moved  from  Ohio  to  Missouri,  where  they  resided  until 
the  spring  of  1845,  when  they  started  across  the  plains  to  the  then  almost  un 
known  and  far  distant  Oregon,  arriving  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  after  endur 
ing  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  the  journey  in  those  days,  and  has  remained  a 
constant  resident  ever  since,  greatly  aiding  in  the  development  of  the  country  in 
a  quiet  and  unostentatious  manner.  Mr.  Smith  married  in  Oregon,  and  was  the 
father  of  four  children,  three  daughters  and  one  son,  all  of  whom  are  now  un 
assuming  and  useful  citizens  of  our  State. 

He  settled  on  a  donation  claim  in  the  hills  west  and  south  of  where  Turner's 
Station  now  is,  and  resided  there  for  a  number  of  years,  but  sold  the  same  about 
three  years  ago.  He  moved  into  Salem  in  1855  or  1856,  to  better  educate  his 
children,  and  retire  from  the  hard  work  that  he  had  subjected  himself  to  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  1856,  he  again  married  ;  and  now  leaves  a  mourning 
widow. 

The  writer  has  been  acquainted  with  the  deceased  for  thirty  years,  and  during 
all  that  time,  never  once  heard  anybody  speak  an  ill  word  about  him.  Pro- 
verbally  honest,  kind  as  a  neighbor,  indutrious  and  frugal,  quiet  and  unassum 
ing,  possessing  an  equitable  temper,  and  all  who  knew  him  (and  he  was  widely 
known),  respected  him.  He  possessed  musical  talent  and  was  naturally  soci 
able,  a  splendid  companion  around  the  camp-fire;  the  writer  has  been  with  him 
on  a  trip  in  the  mountains,  when  the  weather  for  a  portion  of  the  time  was  not 
propitious  for  enjoyment,  but  the  inconveniences  incident  to  occasions  of  that 
kind  did  not  overturn  his  equanimity  of  temper,  but  disposed  to  look  on  the 
bright  side  of  all  temporary  discomforts.  He  has  been  engaged  for  the  last  few 


SIMEON    SMITH.  93 

years,  in  connection  with  others,  in  the  manufacture  of  shingles  at  Cedar  Camp, 
as  he  was  not  disposed  to  pass  his  time  without  some  occupation. 

Mr.  Smith  had  been  in  failing  health  for  sometime,  and  struggled  manfully 
with  a  general  debility,  superinduced  by  hard  work  in  the  early  years  of  his  life. 

In  his  death,  the  bereaved  widow  and  children  lose  a  kind  husband  and  af 
fectionate  father,  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  a  steadfast  member,  and  the 
community  a  good  citizen.  Thus  one  by  one  the  old  Pioneers,  who  saved  this 
beauteous  land  to  our  common  country,  reclaimed  it  from  a  wilderness,  and 
founded  a  Provisional  Government,  compelled  the  Federal  Government  to  recog 
nize  us  and  create  a  Territorial  Government,  and  afterwads  admit  us  as  a  State 
in  the  Union,  are  dropping  out  of  the  ranks  in  the  march  of  time.  They  were 
men  who  could  rear  homes  in  a  wilderness,  found  governments  and  defend  the 
same  and  homes  by  the  force  of  arms.  Each  death  leaves  a  particular  void. 


CAPTAIN  RICHARD  HOBSON. 


BORN,  1829.   DIED,  1878. 

Richard  Hobson  was  born  in  Derbyshire,  England,  October  23,  1829.  On 
the  i6th  of  January,  1843,  witn  his  parents  and  the  rest  of  the  famiiy,  he  sailed 
from  Liverpool  for  the  United  States  of  America.  In  the  spring  of  the  same 
year,  the  family  started  from  Missouri  to  cross  the  Rocky  mountains  for  Oregon, 
arriving  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  November  17,  1843,  and  following  on  down  the 
Columbia  river,  located  their  home  on  Clatsop  plains  in  January,  1844. 

In  1848,  young  Richard  could  not  resist  the  excitement  of  the  gold  fever  in 
California,  but  after  working  in  the  mines  for  about  one  year  with  varied  suc 
cess,  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Clatsop  before  the  close  ot  1849.  In  the  year 
1853,  he  married  Kate  K.  Young,  who  came  to  Oregon  in  1849,  and  who  still 
survives  the  loss  of  a  kind,  loving  and  true  hearted  husband.  With  that  spirit 
of  enterprise  and  love  of  adventure  characteristic  of  almost  all  of  the  early  Pio 
neers  of  the  Pacific  coast,  when  news  came  to  Oregon  of  the  discovery  of  ex 
tensive  and  rich  gold  diggings  in  Australia,  he  determined  to  seek  his  fortune 
and  there,in  May,  1854,  with  his  young  wife  accompanying  him,  he  took  passage 
for  the  Australian  gold  mines.  Here  he  remained  five  years,  but  though  toler 
ably  successful  in  his  mining  operations  and  afterwards  in  business,  his  heart 
yearned  for  his  Oregon  home,  and  in  September,  1859,  he  again  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  having  seen  quite  enough  of  the  world  to  decide 
him  that  henceforth,  for  him,  there  was  no  place  like  Oregon  in  which  to  make 
his  permanent  home.  From  this  time,  Captain  Hobson  turned  his  attention  to 
the  navigation  of  the  Columbia  river  from  the  bar  at  the  mouth,  to  Portland. 
As  pilot  and  master  of  numerous  vessels  in  these  waters,  he  always  gave  more 
than  ordinary  satisfaction.  His  energy,  sobriety,  honesty,  capability,  and 
withal,  his  remarkable  suavity  and  close  attention  to  business,  made  him  a  gen 
eral  favorite.  For  many  years,  the  farming  community  of  Clatsop  plains  en 
trusted  their  entire  trading  business  to  him,  aud  his  withdrawal  from  that  trade 


CAPTAIN     RICHARD    HOBSON.  95 

was  to  them  a  severe  disappointment.     His   honesty  was  proverbial,  his  word 
was  always  his  bond. 

Though  naturally  of  a  retiring  disposition,  and  never  happier  than  when  in 
the  bosom  of  his  family  at  his  own  fireside,  Capt.  Hobson  was  cool  and  brave 
in  emergencies,  and  always  prompt  to  respond  to  the  cry  of  distress.  Unremit 
ting  labor  and  constant  exposure  to  all  weathers,  at  length  told  on  a  constitu 
tion  never  very  robust. 

With  a  view  of  recovering  his  health  and  strength,  in  1877  he  made  a  pro 
longed  visit  to  his  friends  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  returned  apparantly 
very  much  benefitted,  but  the  restoration  was>  not  a  permanent  one,  and  he  was 
soon  again  compelled  to  resort  to  medical  aid  and  advice  without  however  re 
ceiving  any  permanent  beneficial  results.  He  suffered  much  from  bronchitis, 
and  for  many  months,  though  able  to  walk  around,  he  could  not  raise  his  voice 
above  a  whisper.  The  mild  climate  of  the  Islands  induced  him  again  to  repair 
thither.  He  soon  realized  however  that  his  disease  had  made  such  progress  as 
almost  to  preclude  all  hope  of  recovery.  He  expressed  himself  as  ready  for 
the  summons  of  the  grim  tyrant  Death,  but  fondly  hoped  he  might  be  spared  to 
gaze  once  more  on  the  beloved  features  of  his  devoted  wife  and  affectionate 
children.  He  took  passage  on  the  Barkentine  Jane  A.  Falkenburg,  commanded 
by  his  friend  and  brother  pioneer,  Captain  Hubbard.  But,  though  provided 
with  every  comfort  and  watched  over  with  every  attention  that  was  possible  to 
bestow  on  shipboard,  his  fondly  expressed  desire  was  not  to  be  granted.  No 
more  on  earth  was  he  to  be  permitted  to  gaze  on  those  dear  ones  bound  to  him 
by  the  tenderest  ties  of  love  and  affection,  as  well  as  by  blood  relationship. 
His  gentle  spirit  took  its  flight  from  its  tenement  of  clay  two  days  before  the 
Falkenburg  entered  Astoria  harbor.  Knowing  it  would  be  a  melancholy  satis 
faction  to  the  beloved  wife  and  children,  Captain  Hubbard  made  every  effort 
and  succeeded  in  bring  the  remains  of  his  comrade  ashore.  The  funeral  was 
largely  attended,  many  of  our  oldest  pioneers  acting  as  pall-bearers,  and  the 
body  was  conveyed  to  Clatsop  Plains  and  buried  in  the  family  burying  ground 
in  Clatsop  cemetery.  Captain  Hobson  leaves  a  wife  and  five  children  who  deeply 
deplore  the  loss  of  a  kind  husband  and  loving  father.  His  voyage  of  life  is 
completed  ;  we  trust  he  has  reached  the  harber  of  eternal  refuge.  "  After  life's 
fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well." 


TRANSACTIONS 


SEVENTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION 


1879; 


A0U1SSS  11MTIEI1  II  HOI.  WILM1!  I.  B11S, 


TOGETHEE     WITH 

THE   OCCASIONAL   ADDBESS   BY   HON.   B.   C.  GEEB,   AND 
OTHEE  MATTEBS  OF  INTEBEST. 


SALEM,  OREGON  : 

E.  M.  WAITE,  STEAM  PBINTEB  AND  BOOKBINDEB. 
l88o. 


CONSTITUTION 


OREGON     PIONEER      ASSOCIATION, 


We,  the  members  of  the  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION,  do  hereby  adopt 
this  Constitution  as  the  fundamental  law  by  which  the  proceedings  of  this  Asso 
ciation  shall  be  governed. 

ARTICLE  I. 

This  organization  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  OREGON  PIONEER  AS 
SOCIATION. 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  objects  of  the  Association  shall  be  to  collect,  from  living  witnesses,  such 
facts  relating  to  the  Pioneers  and  history  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  as  the  As 
sociation  may  deem  worthy  of  preservation,  and  to  promote  social  intercourse 
among  its  members. 

ARTICLE  III. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  consist  of  President,  Vice  President, 
Recording  and  Corresponding  Secretaries,  and  Treasurer,  who  shall  form  the 
Executive  Board  ;  and  a  Board  of  five  Directors,  including  the  President  and 
Vice  President,  who  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  same.  All  officers  of 
the  Association  shall  ho\d  their  respective  places  for  one  year,  or  until  their  suc 
cessors  shall  have  been  elected  as  hereinafter  provided. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  President  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Association,  and  in  case  of 
his  absence  or  inability  so  to  act,  the  Vice  President  shall  preside.  The  Presi 
dent,  with  the  concurrent  opinion  of  a  majority  of  the  Executive  Board,  shall 
have  power  to  call  special  meetings  whenever,  in  his  judgment,  the  best  inter 
ests  of  the  Association  shall  demand  it,  countersigning  all  calls  for  the  same  ; 


4  CONSTITUTION. 

also,  all  orders  drawn  on  the  Treasurer  by  the  Secretary,  and  perform  such  other 
duties  as  the  Association  may,  by  resolution  impose  upon  him. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  correct  record  of  all  proceedings  of  the  Associa 
tion,  sign  all  orders  drawn  upon  the  Treasurer  ;  also,  all  calls  for  meetings ; 
shall  file  copies  of  all  letters  written  by  himself  on  special  business,  touching 
the  objects  of  the  Association,  and  faithfully  preserve  all  communications 
which  he  may  receive  relating  to  the  Pioneers  and  history  of  the  Territory  of 
Oregon,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  shall  be  imposed  upon  him  by  resolu 
tion  at  the  meetings  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

The  Treasurer  shall  receive,  and  safely  keep,  all  moneys  belonging  to  the 
Association,  pay  all  orders  properly  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary,  and 
keep  books  for  the  correct  statement  of  his  accounts. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to  call  meetings  of  the  Executive  officers 
and  Board  of  Directors,  at  such  time  and  place  as  he  may  designate,  and  the 
Secretary  shall  notify  the  Directors  for  what  purpose  they  are  to  convene.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Directors  to  select  the  place  of  holding  the  Annual  Re- 
Unions  of  the  Association  ;  to  receive  and  examine  the  annual  reports  of  the 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  and  have  power  to  require  semi-annual  reports  from 
the  same,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  by  resolution  in  annual  session 
be  imposed  upon  them. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

All  immigrants,  male  and  female,  who  reside  within  the  bounds  of  the  orig- 
nal  Territory  of  Oregon,  under  joint  occupancy  of  the  country  by  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  and  those  who  settled  within  said  Territory  prior  to 
the  first  day  of  January,  1855,  are  eligible  to  become  members  of  this  Associa 
tion. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

All  persons  having  the  qualifications  set  forth  in  the  preceding  Article,  choos 
ing  to  become  members  of  this  Association,  are  required  to  subscribe  their 
names  in  the  Register  kept  for  that  purpose,  or  may  forward  the  same  to  the 
Secretary  to  be  recorded,  giving  the  date  of  his  or  her  arrival  in  the  Territory  of 
Oregon,  where  from,  native  State  or  country,  and  year  of  birth,  and  pay  an  ad 
mission  fee  of  one  dollar  ($i.co)  and  a  yearly  due  of  like  amount  at  each  an 
nual  meeting  ;  Provided,  that  no  admission  fee  or  yearly  due  be  exacted  from 


CONSTITUTION.  5 

female  members  of  the  Association  ;  but  all  members  are  required  to  furnish 
the  Secretary  with  their  photographs  on  becoming  members,  or  as  soon  there* 
after  as  convenient,  the  same  to  be  arranged  in  groups  to  accord  with  the  date 
of  arrival  of  each  year's  immigration,  and  to  be  preserved  with  the  memoirs  of 
the  Association. 

ARTICLE  X. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Board  to  select  annually  a  Chaplain, 
Occasional  and  other  orators,  Chief  Marshal,  and  such  subordinate  officers  and 
invited  guests  of  the  Association,  as  in  its  judgment  may  be  proper  and  neces 
sary  for  the  occasion  of  each  Annual  Re-Union. 

ARTICLE  XL 

The  time  of  holding  the  annual  meetings  shall  be  June  I5th,  except  when 
that  date  falls  on  Sunday,  in  which  event  the  Re-Union  shall  take  place  on  the 
following  Tuesday.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  to  give  at  least 
sixty  days'  notice  of  the  same,  through  the  medium  of  the  public  press,  stating 
the  time  and  place  designated  for  such  purpose. 

ARTICLE  XII. 

The  officers  of  the  Association  shall  be  elected  by  ballot  at  the  annual  meet 
ings.  The  candidates  having  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  shall  be  by  the 
President  declared  duly  elected.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  to 
appoint  two  members  to  act  as  tellers,  and  conjointly  with  the  Secretary  and  his 
assistant,  shall  receive  and  canvass  the  votes. 

ARTICLE  XIIL 

The  Association  shall,  at  each  annual  meeting,  make  an  appropriation  out  of 
moneys  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  sufficient  to  enable  the  Sec 
retary  to  provide  the  officers  of  the  Association  with  suitable  books,  stationery, 
and  stamped  envelopes,  as  may  be  necessary  to  enable  them  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  to  meet  all  outstanding  indebtedness  or  in* 
cidental  expenses  incurred  in  conducting  the  business  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

This  Constitution,  defining  the  objects  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  the 
powers  and  duties  of  its  officers  and  members,  shall  not  be  changed  or  amended 
except  by  a  two-thirds'  vote  of  the  members  voting  in  the  affirmative  at  the  an 
nual  meetings  of  the  Association  ;  but  the  members  may,  by  resolution,  require 
the  President  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three  members  to  revise  and  report  an 
amended  copy  of  this  Constitution  at  the  annual  meeting  next  ensuing,  and  if 


6  CONSTITUTION. 

the  copy  so  reported,  or  any  Article  or  Section  thereof,  shall  receive  two-thirds 
of  the  votes  cast,  it  shall  become  valid  as  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  XV. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  to  procure  from  the  author  of  each  An 
nual  Address,  a  manuscript  copy,  the  same  to  be  preserved  with  the  archives  of 
the  Association  ;  also,  manuscript  or  printed  copies  of  each  regular  address  de 
livered  by  special  invitation  of  the  Board  ;  and  all  papers  read  before,  or  pre 
sented  to  the  Association,  to  be  in  like  manner  preserved. 

ARTICLE  XVI. 

The  Association,  in  its  deliberations,  shall  be  governed  by  rules  made  in  con 
formity  with  parliamentary  usage. 


SEVENTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION. 


The  seventh  Annual  Re-Union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Associ* 
ation  was  held  on  the  Oregon  State  Agricultural  Fair  Grounds, 
on  Tuesday,  June  17,  1879. 

Early  in  the  morning,  crowds  commenced  to  arrive  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  the  trains  from  Portland  and  Albany, 
enlarged  the  crowd  by  at  least  2,000  that  had  already  assembled. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  train  from  Portland  at  10:30  A.  M., 
the  procession  was  immediately  formed  under  the  supervision  of 
Hon.  Daniel  Clark,  in  the  following  order: 

Washington  Guard  Band. 

Standard  Bearer. 
President  and  Vice  President. 

Members  of  the  Pioneer  and  Historical  Society  of  Oregon. 
Invited  Guests. 

Members  of  the  Association  who  came  to  the  Territory  previ 
ous  to    1841. 

Divisions  of  members  who  came  from  1841  to  1854,  with  ap 
propriate  banners. 

Friends  of  the  Association. 

The  procession  marched  to  the  grove  and  took  seats  about  the 
Speaker's  stand. 

Among  the  prominent  Pioneers  present,  were  Gen.  Joseph 
Lane,  Judge  M.  P.  Deady,  Col.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  Rev.  John  S. 
Griffin,  Joseph  Watt,  Esq.,  Hon.  F,  X.  Mathieu,  Gen.  Joel  Pal- 


8  SEVENTH   ANNUAL   RE-UNlON. 

mer,  Hon.  M.  Crawford,  Rev  .Josiah  L.  Parrish,  Judge  Reuben 
P.  Boise,  and  others. 

Hon.  M.  Crawford>  President  of  the  Association,  was  intro 
duced  by  the  Chief  Marshal,  and  in  turn  introduced  Rev.  J.  S. 
Griffin,  who  offered  a  well-timed  and  feeling  prayer. 

After  music  by  the  band,  the  President,  Mr.  Crawford,  ad 
vanced  and  delivered  the  following 

OPENING  ADDRESS. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen^  Friends  and  Members  of  the   Oregon    Pioneer   Asso 
ciation: 

Again  we  meet  to  exchange  congratulations,  to  renew  associations,  and  to  re 
call  incidents  connected  with  the  early  history  of  our  adopted  country. 

These  anniversaries,  forming  as  they  do  the  mile-stones  on  the  rapidly  de 
scending  path  of  the  pioneers  life,  should  be,  as  this  large  assembly  proves  they 
are,  highly  appreciated  by  all  those  of  us  who  have  shared  in  the  work  of  laying 
the  foundation  of  our  now  prosperous  State. 

While  we  have  abundant  reason  for  pride  and  congratulation  in  the  rapid  ad 
vances  we  have  made  and  are  making  in  population,  wealth,  intelligence  and 
the  general  development  of  all  that  is  calculated  to  make  life  desirable,  we 
have  to  mourn  the  loss  of  very  many  of  our  early  comrades  and  pioneer  com 
panions. 

The  last  year  has  fearfully  decimated  our  numbers,  warning  us  that  very  soon 
these  banners  will  one  by  one  be  laid  aside  for  want  of  standard  bearers  for  the 
years  they  represent. 

But  four  of  the  party  who  crossed  the  Rocky  mountains  with  me  in  1842,  are 
here  to-day,  and  there  are  now  living  within  the  State  less  than  one-fifth  of  the 
fifty-one  men  able  to  bear  arms  who  mustered  at  our  organization  in  camp  near 
Independence  and  marched  out  with  about  an  equal  number  of  women  and  child 
ren  on  the  then  trackless  and  almost  unknown  desert,  bound  for  Oregon. 

To  mention  all  the  worthy  Pioneers  who  have  passed  away  to  meet  no  more 
around  our  camp  fire,  would  require  more  time  and  far  more  ability  than  I  can 
command. 

Their  memories  should  and  will  be  perpetuated  in  biographical  sketches  pre 
pared  by  friends  and  relatives,  and  published  in  our  Annual  Transactions. 


SEVENTH    ANNUAL   RE-UNION.  9 

I  may  be  pardoned,  however,  for  mentioning  the  name  of  one  who  recently 
died  in  California. 

Dr.  Elijah  White  came  to  Oregon  as  a  missionary  in  1837.  In  1841,  he  re 
turned  to  New  York,  and  the  following  winter  was  appointed  sub  Indian  Agent 
for  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  From  him,  I  first  heard  of  Ore 
gon,  and  with  him,  thirty-seven  years  ago,  I  left  my  father's  house  in  the  State 
of  New  York.  He  was  the  organizer  and  leader  of  the  emigration  of  1842, 
which  was  the  first  party  of  emigrants  that  crossed  the  Rocky  mountains  with 
families  for  the  purpose  of  settling  and  remaining  in  Oregon. 

On  his  arrival,  he  entered  actively  into  the  affairs  of  the  settlement,  rendering 
every  assistance  in  his  power  to  the  needy,  and  endeavoring  to  prevent  and  set 
tle  difficulties  between  the  ^ettlers  and  the  Indians. 

He  remained  in  Oregon  some  five  years,  and  finally  located  in  San  Francisco, 
where  he  died  on  the  3d  of  April  last,  aged  seventy-three. 

Friends,  we  have  great  reason  to  thank  the  circumstances  that  influenced  our 
coming  to  this  country.  The  sun  of  heaven  shines  on  no  spot  of  earth  equal  to 
Oregon.  Free  from  insects,  pestilence  and  tornadoes,  with  a  soil  and  climate 
unequaled — home  and  home  comforts  within  the  reach  of  all  who  put  forth 
even  a  moderate  degree  of  energy  and  prudence — certainly  we  have  great  cause 
for  congratulation.  Let  us  not  then  grudge  one  day  in  each  year  to  come  up 
here  face  to  face,  and  for  a  few  hours  live  over  again  the  scenes  and  experiences 
of  the  long  past  pioneer  days. 

But  it  is  not  what  may  be  said  from  this  stand  that  gives  the  chief  interest  to 
the  occasion — it  is  rather  the  opportunity  it  offers  to  meet  in  the  groves  and 
around  the  camp,  to  talk  of  the  past  and  the  present — of  our  homes  and  of  our 
families. 

One  of  the  objects  of  this  Association  as  set  forth  in  the  second  Article  of  its 
Constitution,  is  to  collect  from  living  witnesses,  such  facts  relating  to  the  Pio 
neers,  as  may  be  deemed  worthy  of  preservation.  And  as  the  first  American  emi 
grants  found  in  this  valley  many  settlers  eminently  worthy  of  being  remembered, 
your  Directors  have  invited  one  to  whom  this  Association  is  most  indebted  for 
its  existence,  and  who  is  eminently  qualified  to  tell  us  of  the  people  found  here 
by  the  first  American  settlers.  I  will  now  introduce  Hon.  Willard  H.  Rees, 

The  address  of  Mr.  Rees,  who  was  unable  to  be  present,  was 
acceptably  read  by  Mr.  F.  M.  Bewley. 


10  SEVENTH     ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

AFTERNOON  EXERCISES. 

Shortly  after  12  o'clock,  several  large  parties  of  Pioneers  and 
others  arrived,  swelling  the  assembly  into  a  crowd  and  giving  to 
the  grounds  a  holiday  aspect,  remindful  of  the  merry  days  of 
"fair  time." 

At  i  o'clock,  the  exercises  were  opened  by  music,  after  which 
Hon.  Ralph  C.  Gear  was  introduced  and  delivered  the  Occa 
sional  Address,  upon  the  immigration  of  1847.  His  remarks  re 
ferred  especially  to  the  trip  across  the  plains  and  to  the  public 
services  and  personal  fortunes  of  the  men  who  came  in  that  year. 
It  was  interesting  and  well  delivered,  and  throughout  was  received 
with  attention,  occasionally  interrupted  by  applause. 

After  the  delivery  of  the  Occasional  Address,  the  President 
gave  a  brief  account  of  the  crude  manner  of  coining  the  money 
known  in  the  days  of  the  Provisional  Government  as  "  beaver 
money. ' ' 

Gen  Joseph  Lane  was  then  introduced,  and  gave  a  brief  out 
line  of  his  connection  with  the  history,  written  and  unwritten,  of 
Oregon;  also  recounting  some  of  the  incidents  of  the  Mexican 
war.  The  General's  remarks  were  listened  to  with  interest  and 
were  highly  applauded. 

Short  addresses  were  made  by  Hon.  J.  Quinn  Thornton,  Rev. 
J.  S.  Griffin  and  Gen.  J.  W.  Nesmith. 

At  4  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  Washington  Guard  band  took  the  stand 
and  gave  a  most  excellent  musical. concert. 

EVENING      AT     THE      FAIR     GROUND — CAMP-FIRE     TALK — AND     A 
GRAND     BALL. 

The  "  camp-fire"  has  become  a  fixed  feature  in  the  programme 
of  the  Pioneer  Re-Unions,  and  is  looked  forward  to  with  in 
creasing  interest.  A  large  number  of  the  early  Pioneers  and 
their  friends  gathered  around  the  camp-fire  and  spent  between 


§ 

SEVENTH     ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  II 

three  and  four  hours  in  relating  incidents  of  frontier  life  ;  but  it 
was  unanimously  voted,  that  Mr.  Joseph  Watt  was  the  "boss" 
story  teller  and  ballad  singer. 

The  grar.d  ball  in  the  Pavilion  was  a  success  in  every  way  ;  a 
hundred  and  twenty  tickets  were  sold,  and  the  large  hall  was 
filled  with  merry  dancers.  Excellent  music,  good  order  and  a 
merry  time  made  the  time  fly  swiftly  by,  and  it  was  not  till  the 
"  wesma'  hours"  that  parting  words  were  said. 


SECOND  DAY. 

At  9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  Association  was  called  to  order  and 
the  Recording  Secretary  read  the  following  report : 

SECRETARY'S   REPORT. 

SECRETARY'S  OFFICE, 
OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION, 

SALEM,  June,  16,  1879. 

Mr.  President,   Officers  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association' 

In  this,  the  seventh  Annual  Re-Union  of  this  Association,  your  Secretary 
would  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  : 

I  would  suggest  that  the  time  of  membership  be  extended  to  January  1st, 
1855,  as  any  person  who  has  lived  in  this  State  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  should 
be  considered  a  Pioneer. 

This  Association  has  received  a  magnificent  photographic  groupe  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Sacramento  Pioneer  Society,  consisting  of  109  photographs  of  its 
members.  And  it  would  be  desirable  to  have  a  similar  group  of  the  members 
of  this  Association,  and  they  can  be  obtained  for  $5.00  or  less,  which  would  be 
almost  invaluable;  each  person,  either  lady  or  gentleman  who  would  wish  to 
become  a  member  can  subscribe  for  a  copy,  furnishing  their  photographs,  (cab- 
net  size),  numbered  and  name,  with  year  of  arrival  printed  on  the  bottom  of  the 
picture,  which  will  readily  show  where  each  person  can  be  found  in  the  group. 
By  examining  the  picture  of  the  Sacramento  group,  a  better  understanding  will 
be  had  of  the  suggestion. 

DEATHS. 

There  has  quite  a  number  of  the  Pioneers  of  this  State  died  within  the  last 


12  SEVENTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

year.  The  following  are  the  names  of  members  of  the  Association:  William 
Whitney,  Richard  H.  Eakin,  Stephen  Tarbox,  Gov.  George  L.  Curry,  Isaac  N. 
Gilbert,  Hon.  Edwin  N.  Cooke,  Simeon  Smith,  Capt.  Richard  Hobson,  and 
Mrs.  J.  A.  Hanna.  Pioneers  who  were  not  members,  Hon.  John  S.  Zieber, 
Soloman  Tetherow,  Mrs.  Tebitha  Crump,  C.  Auston  Williams,  Dr.  Elijah 
White,  M.  G.  Foisey,  and  others  I  have  not  now  the  names,  as  there  is  not  that 
interest  taken  in  sending  the  names  to  the  Secretary  that  should  be. 

INDIAN   RELICS. 

I  would  again  renew  my  recommendation  that  an  effort  be  made  to  collect 
relics  of  the  Indian  tribes  who  formerly  peopled  this  beautiful  country; by  mak 
ing  a  move  in  the  right  direction,  a  collection  could  be  made  ere  it  is  too  late, 
which  would  prove  to  be  of  inestimable  value  in  future  years. 

MEMBERSHIP   DUES. 

By  order  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  your  Secretary  sent  out  notices  to  all  the 
members  who  were  in  arrears  for  dues,  that  the  post  office  address  was  known, 
but  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  but  a  very  few  have  responded,  but  presume  that  all 
who  are  present  at  this,  the  seventh  Annual  Re-Union,  will  take  pride  in  liqui 
dating  the  same. 

I  am  happy  to  state  that  this  Association  is  on  very  friendly  terms  and  cor 
respondence  with  the  different  associations  of  this  State  and  California  ;  the 
latter  especially,  and  by  these  exchanges  of  courtesies,  will  be  enabled  to  furnish 
each  other  in  time  with  valuable  information. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  HENRY  BROWN, 

Recording  Secretary. 

On  motion,  the  report  was  adopted. 

Mr.  John  M.  Bacon,  submitted  the  following  report  as  Treas 
urer,  and  on  motion,  the  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  as 
Finance  committee  to  examine  the  same:  J.  W.  Grim,  Thomas 
Townsend  and  Nathan  P.  Mack. 

TREASURER'S   REPORT. 

OREGON  CITY,  June  17,  1879. 
To  the  Menbers  of  the  Pioneer  Association: 

I  again  submit  my  annual  report  as  Treasurer  of  the  Association,  for  the  past 
year  : 


SEVENTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  13 

1878.  RECEIPTS. 

June  15,  To  balance  on  hand  as  per  report $        5 l 

•«        "  am't  received  from  }.  Henry  Brown,  Sec'y 74  oo 

«     «  "         «'    Waite,  (license) 155  °° 

«        «     «  ««         «     Ball 218  oo 

17       "     "  "         "     J.  M.  Moore,  i  year's  dues i  oo 

1879. 

Mar.  15,  am't  received  from  J.  H.  McMellen,  2  years  dues 2  oo 

$450  51 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

June  15,  Paid  warrant  No.  I,  Chamberlain $    3  oo 

"  2,  Minto 200 

"     3,  Printing 350 

«'           ««         •«           "     4,  Bill  posting 240 

««           "         "           "    5,  Hauling 250 

"           "         ««           "    6,  Doorkeeper 250 

"          «'         "          "    7,  Titus  500 

"           «•         "           "     8,  Wright  &  Bristow 200 

"           "         ««           ««     9,  Gate  keeper 600 

"           "         •'           "  10,  Printing r.  ,  2834 

"          "         "          '«ii,  McCully ,.,,..  325 

«'          •«.       "          "  12,  R.  M.  Wade 282 

"           "         "           •'  13,  Wm.  Graves I  oo 

"          "         "  "  14,  WTaite , 21266 

"          "         "          "  15,  Loan looo 

"          "         "           "  16,     "     10  oo 

"          «*        "          "17,     '* 2000 

"          "  18,     •'     2  50 

"          "        '«          "19,     '<     1000 

'«  "  "  "20'       "       1250 

"  "         «'  "  21,  Geo.  Williams 75° 

««          "        «'          "  22,  J.  F.  Miller 975 

"          "         "          «' 23,  J.  H.  Brown 2000 

"  "24,  "  20  00 

'*  "  "  "25,  ««  2000 

'«  "         ".          "26,  Waite 25  oo 

$449  22 

$    5  °° 
Paid  expenses,  J.  M.  Bacon,  1878  5  oo 

1879.  

June  1 7,  To  balance  on  hand $     i  29 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  M.  BACON,    Treasurer. 


14  SEVENTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

On  motion,  the  Association  proceeded  to  elect  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year,  with  the  following  result : 

M.  Crawford,  President. 

J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  President. 

J.  Henry  Brown,  Recording  Secretary. 

Willard  H.  Rees,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

John  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer. 

BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 

Thomas  Montieth,  of  Albany. 
F.  X.  Mathieu,  of  Butteville. 
Joseph  Watt,  of  Amity. 

On  motion  the  Association  adjourned. 

M.   CRAWFORD,  President. 
J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 

The  Finance  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  Treasurers' 
report,  submitted  the  following  report  to  the  Board  of  Directors 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Association,  which  report,  on  mo 
tion  was  adopted : 
Mr.  President,  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

We,  the  undersigned  committee  appointed  to  examine  the  accounts  of  J.  M. 
Bacon,  Treasurer  of  1879,  have  examined  them  and  find  the  same  correct. 

J.  W.  GEIM, 
THOMAS  TOWNSEND, 

NATHAN  P.  MACK. 

Committee. 
SALEM,  June  18,  1879. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


SALEM,  Oregon,  Dec.  2,  1879. 

Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  met  at 
the  Recording  Secretary's  office,  pursuant  to  call  of  the  President, 
at  10:30  o'clock,  A.  M.,  was  called  to  order  by  Vice  President, 
J.  W.  Grim. 

Present— J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  President,  F.  X.  Mathieu  and 
Joseph  Watt,  of  the  Board,  and  J.  Henry  Brown,  Recording 
Secretary,  and  several  visiting  members. 

Absent — M.  Crawford,  President;  Thomas  Montieth,  of  the 
Board,  and  J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer. 

The  question  of  location  of  place  of  holding  the  next  Annual 
Re-Union  being  the  first  business,  the  following  proposition  was 
placed  before  the  Board  for  consideration : 

PORTLAND,  Oregon,         ) 
Dec.  i,  1879.     f 

Joseph   Watt,  £s<?.,  Director  of  Pioneer  Association  of  Oregon: 

DEAR  SIR. — At  your  request,  I  have  seen  a  number  of  leading  citizens,  and 
am  authorized  to  say  that  if  you  will  hold  your  next  meeting  of  the  Association 
at  Portland,  Oregon,  the  Mechanics'  Pavilion,  together  with  music  for  street 
parade  and  ball,  will  be  furnished  free  of  charge. 

Respectfully  yours, 

AL.  ZIEBER. 

After  some  discussion,  the  subject  was  laid  upon  the  table  until 
the  evening  session. 

On  motion,  adjourned  until  i  o'clock,  p.  M. 


1 6  MEETING   OF    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS. 

* 

AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  Hon.  J.  W.  Grim  in  the 
chair. 

On  motion,  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith  was  chosen  to  deliver  the 
Annual  Address. 

On  motion,  Rev.  G.  H.  Atkinson  was  chosen  to  deliver  the 
Occasional  Address,  pertaining  to  the  immigration  of  1848. 

Rev.  John  S.  Griffin  was  chosen  Chaplain. 
Hon.  Al.  Zieber  was  elected  Chief  Marshal. 

Geo.  W.  Ebbert,  of  Hillsboro,  Joseph  Holman,  of  Salem,  and 
Ben.  Cornelius,  of  Forest  Grove,  were  chosen  Standard  Bearers. 
On  motion,  adjourned  until  7  o'clock,  p.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

Board  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

President  Crawford  who  arrived  on  the  evening  train,  presiding. 

Subject  of  locating  the  next  Annual  Re-Union  was  taken  up, 
and  on  motion  of  Mr.  Watt,  it  was  decided  to  hold  the  same  at 
Portland,  Oregon,  on  Tuesday,  June  15,  1880,  and  that  the  prop 
osition  made  by  the  citizens  of  that  city  be  accepted. 

On  motion,  M.  Crawford,  F.  X.  Mathieu  and  Joseph  Watt 
were  appointed  Committee  on  Printing. 

On  motion,  1,000  copies  of  the  Association's  Transactions  for 
1879  were  ordered  printed. 

On  motion,  the  price  of  ball  ticket  to  Pioneer  ball,  was  placed 
at  $2.00  not  including  supper. 

On  motion,  the  Committee  on  Printing  were  authorized  to  re 
ceive  bids  for  printing  the  Transactions. 


MEETING   OF   BOARD   OF   DIRECTORS.  17 

On  motion,  it  was  ordered  that  the  Constitution  be  reprinted. 

On  motion  adjourned. 

M.  CRAWFORD,  President, 

J.  HENRY  BROWN,  Recording  Secretary. 

2 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY   HON.     WILLARD   H.    REES. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN 

OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  : 

Having  been  invited  by  the  Executive  Board  to  deliver  the  seventh  Annual  Ad 
dress  before  the  Association,  upon  the  subject,  "The  early  settlement  and  settlers 
settlers  of  French  Prairie."  While  feeling  no  disposition  to  shrink  from  the  labor 
and  responsibility  which  would  be  incured  by  complying  with  the  wishes  of  the 
Executive  Managers,  I  stated  in  reply  to  the  letter  of  invitation,  that  I  would  pre 
pare  a  paper,  taking  as  a  basis  the  subject  suggested, and  place  the  same  at  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  Board,  as  in  consequence  of  ill  health,  there  was  a  probability  of  my 
not  being  present  on  the  occasion  of  the  thirty-third  anniversary  of  the  day  we 
commemorate.  The  officers  of  the  Association  making  no  objection  to  this  con 
dition,  I  have  the  honor,  fellow  members,  .to  lay  before  you  the  following  re 
marks. 

The  early  Pioneers  of  Oregon  could  not  well  contribute  toward  the  accom 
plishment  of  a  more  praisworthy  object,  than  the  one  set  forth  in  the  second  Arti 
cle  of  the  Constitution,  which  gave  to  your  Association  an  organized  existence, 
namely,  the  collection  and  preservation  of  facts  relating  to  the  Pioneers  and 
early  history  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon.  The  efforts  required  in  the  consuma- 
tion  of  so  laudable  an  object,  is  truly  a  work  worthy  to  crown  the  labors  of  a 
generation  fast  passing  away,  a  generation  of  Pioneer  men  and  women,  who, 
unaided  by  any  government  or  other  organization,  brought  from  their  homes  in 
the  Atlantic  States  over  the  wild  intervening  mountains  and  plains,  a  distance 
of  two  thousand  miles,  and  successfully  established  in  a  savage  wilderness  upon 
these  Pacific  shores,  the  arts  of  civilized  life  as  they  existed  in  their  Eastern 
homes.  You,  Pioneers,  have  lived  in  what  must  ever  remain  one  the  most  im 
portant  and  eventful  periods  in  the  history  of  the  North  Pacific  States.  A  gen 
eration  whose  like  under  the  many  strange  vicissitudes  through  which  it  has 
passed,  this  continent  will  never  again  behold. 

When  we  recall  to  mind  the  events  that  were  taking  place  around  us  a  third 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  19 

of  a  century  ago,  leisurely  reviewing  the  many  strange  scenes  and  perilous  ex 
posures  which  the  early  emigrants  had  to  encounter  and  overcome  in  making 
that  ever  memorable  journey  of  the  wilderness,  the  hardships  and  privations 
which  they  endured  for  years  after  settling  down  among  the  wild  tribes  of  the 
furtherest  west,  to  give  a  full  and  faithful  account  of  the  anxieties,  sufferings 
and  final  triumphs  of  these  Pioneers  would  to  say  the  least,  fill  a  liberal  sized 
volume  with  historical  facts,  which,  would  be  of  much  interest  to  those  who  are 
to  succeed  us. 

It  is  truly  gratifying  to  state  that  much  credit  is  due  to  the  young  people  and 
friends  of  the  Pioneer  Association  for  the  material  assistance  which  they  have 
on  all  occasions  so  cheerfully  extended  in  aiding  the  Pioneers,  to  forward  the 
objects  of  the  organization  ;  nor  are  we  unmindful  of  the  many  favors  which  the 
Association  has  received  at  the  hands  of  the  public  press,  and  especially  the 
Oregonian,  the  oldest  living  pioneer  paper — a  survivor  of  Oregon's  Territorial 
days — for  the  alacrity  shown  by  its  management  in  publishing  full  reports  of 
your  annual  meetings.  The  Pioneers  are  also  indebted  to  the  managers  of  the 
State  Agricultural  Society,  for  the  free  use  of  their  commodious  buildings  and 
park,  in  which  these  Annual  Re-Unions  have  been  held  since  1874. 

I  purchased  from  a  Canadian  Frenchman  in  the  summer  of  1845,  l^e  ^arm  m 
French  Prairie,  upon  which  I  have  since  lived.  At  that  time,  I  had  the  con 
tract  of  building  the  St.  Louis  Catholic  church,  situated  on  the  western  border 
of  what  was  known  as  Big  Prairie.  This  church,  unlike  St.  Paul's,  located 
some  seven  miles  west  of  north,  was  not  erected  by  the  assistance  of  Missionary 
funds,  but  by  the  Canadian  settlers. 

My  early  location  among  this  people  gave  me  a  favorable  opportunity  of  ac 
quiring  some  knowledge  of  the  many  strange  vicissitudes  in  the  lives  of  these 
brawny  sons  of  the  chase.  With  one  or  two  exceptions,  all  the  first  settlers  of 
French  Prairie,  were  then  living,  and  were  hail,  active  old  men  ;  generally  sur 
rounded  with  a  good  supply  of  the  common  comforts  of  life,  a  few  had  built 
comfortable  frame  dwellings,  which  were  neatly  painted  and  had  large  bearing 
apple  trees.  These  old  Canadian  voyageurs  were  a  very  kind  people  ;  they 
dispensed  with  a  liberal  hand  alike  to  stranger  and  friend  the  rude  hospitality 
of  those  primitive  times,  to  a  degree  unknown  to  the  country  since  the  disturbing 
innovations  that  swept  over  their  Eden  home  in  1849-50,  borne  from  the  gold- 
glittering  Sierras  of  the  south. 

French  Prairie,  comparatively  limited  in  extent,  is  nevertheless  a  prolific  field, 
abounding  in  many  stirring  and  important  events  in  connection  with  the  early 
history  of  Oregon.  Here  have  lived  and  now  lie  buried,  two  of  that  gallant 
band  of  Pioneers,  who,  with  Lewis  and  Clark,  in  1805,  followed  the  waters  of 
the  Columbia  from  their  source  to  the  uttermost  limits  of  the  West. 


20  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Here  were  the  homes  of  Gervais,  Lucier.  Cannon,  Jack,  and  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river,  Labonte  and  Lafranboise — four  Canadians  and  two  American  citi 
zens,  all  Astor  men,  who  came  to  Oregon  with  Capt.  Hunt  in  1811,  some  of 
whom  were  with  McKinzey,  when  this  part  of  the  territory  was  first  explored  by 
white  men,  and  in  later  years,  with  the  exception  of  Lafranbois,  these  five  free 
trappers  were  the  first  to  introduce  the  civilizing  arts  of  husbandry  in  the  valley 
of  the  Willamette.  Here  the  Pioneer  Missionaries,  who  were  sent  to  the 
western  confines  of  the  continent,  first  proclaimed  the  salvation  of  the  Cross  to 
the  wild  native  tribes  of  the  valley.  Here  too,  were  held  in  1841,  the  first  polit 
ical  meetings  which  eventuated  in  1845  in  giving  to  the  whole  people  of  the 
Territory  a  provisional  form  of  republican  government,  a  work  of  the  Oregon 
Pioneers,  the  history  of  which  must  endure  while  the  River  of  the  West  shall 
continue  to  roll  his  volumed  waters  to  the  briney  deep. 

In  the  time  which  one  could  reasonably  expect  to  claim  the  attention  of  the 
members  upon  the  subject  in  hand,  it  will  hardly  be  expected  that  I  could  on 
this  occasion  attempt  giving  more  than  a  mere  outline  of  leading  events,  with 
sketches  of  some  of  the  principal  persons  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  estab 
lishing  the  first  independent  settlement  in  the  original  Territory  of  Oregon. 

We  were  told  by  Col.  Nesmith  in  the  able  and  very  valuable  historical  ad 
dress  which  he  delivered  before  you  in  1875,  that  "  It  seems  to  be  an  accepted 
maxium  and  doubtless  with  some  foundation  in  reason,  that  no  man  is  qualified 
to  write  the  history  of  the  times  in  which  he  lives."  When  we  take  a  retro 
spective  glance  at  our  early  history,  and  compare  it  with  certain  statements  and 
deductions  reached  by  some  of  our  cotemporary  writers  who  unveil  the  deep 
hidden  intrigues,  bringing  so  graphically  to  view  the  well  formed  plans  which, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  efforts  and  hurculean  powers  put  forth  by  a  few 
individuals  who  alone  possessed  the  sagacity  and  courage  to  counteract  the 
wiley  schemes  matured  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  backed  by  the  great  influence 
of  a  powerful  foreign  monopoly  in  our  midst,  directed  by  Dr.  John  McLoughlin 
— to  read  some  of  these  productions  at  this  distance  of  time,  our  children  might 
be  led  to  believe,  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  and  well  directed  efforts  of 
these  individuals,  their  progenitors  with  half  a  continent  would  have  long  since 
been  engulphed  in  a  sea  of  dark  despair.  But  hapily  for  the  future,  Col  Nes 
mith  a  little  further  on,  had  the  kindness  to  inform  us,  that  to  get  "  a  truthful 
record  of  current  events,  requires  the  conservative  and  mellowing  influence  of 
time  to  render  them  perfectly  impartial  and  reliable."  This  being  the  case, 
then  the  correcting  hand  of  time,  like  the  all  searching  rays  of  the  sun  when 
looking  down  from  his  meridian  splendor,  dispels  the  illusive  mirage  that  had 
in  the  early  morning  hung  over  the  distant  scene,  by  which  small  and  otherwise 
unimportant  objects  had  been  so  wonderfully  magnified. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

It  is  not  detracting  from  the  truthful,  unequalecl  accomplishments  of  the  early 
immigrants  to  say,  that  while  the  pioneer  settlement  of  Oregon  by  immigrants 
crossing  the  plains  in  such  large  numbers,  had  the  effect  to  hasten  or  rather 
forced  the  termination  of  the  joint  occupancy  of  tbe  country,  it  also  had  a 
more  direct  and  effective  influence  in  suggesting  and  securing  to  the  United 
States  the  magnificent  domain  of  California,  than  it  did  in  forcing  the  ultimate 
acknowledgement  by  Great  Britain  of  the  prior  clear  title  of  the  United  States 
to  the  territory  south  of  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude. 

On  ascending  the  Willamette  river  from  its  confluence  with  the  Columbia,  a 
distance  of  some  forty  miles,  the  Champoeg  prairies  were  the  first  open  country 
of  any  considerable  extent  found  bordering  on  the  stream,  which  placed  this 
prairie  district  in  comparatively  easy  communication  with  ship  navigation  and 
Fort  Vancouver,  the  only  depot  iii  the  country  where  supplies  could  be  obtained, 
which  was  also  the  only  regular  market  for  peltries  and  wheat,  with  all  the  con 
veniences  in  other  respects  for  planting  an  agricultural  settlement,  combined 
with  hunting  and  trapping,  no  part  of  the  vast  Territory  of  Oregon  had  been  by 
the  hand  of  nature  more  bountifully  favored. 

French  Prairie  forms  what  is  now*  the  northern  part  of  Marion  county,  and  is 
divided  into  eight  precincts,  embracing  an  area  of  some  150  square  miles,  bounded 
on  the  north  and  west  by  the  Willamette  river,  east  by  Pudding  river  and  south 
by  Lac  la  Biche  or  Elk  Lake,  so  named  by  the  early  Canadian  trappers  who 
found  large  herds  of  these  animals  grazing  on  its  borders. 

This  marshy  lake  flows  into  both  Pudding  and  Willamette  rivers,  making 
what  was  originally  known  as  the  Champoeg  country,  a  magnificent  inland  is 
land,  while  the  middle  and  southern  portion  of  this  district  is  comparatively 
level,  the  northern  part  is  divided  by  never  failing  spring  brooks  into  many  long, 
narrow  prairies,  bordered  with  fir  and  oak  timber,  being  sufficientl}*-  undulating 
to  give  natural  drainage.  French  Prairie  is  justly  celebrated  for  the  productive 
ness  of  its  soil  and  never  failing  crops.  Sixty-six  years  have  passed  away  since 
these  prairies  were  first  explored  by  white  men  ;  some  of  the  same  hunters  and 
trappers  who,  fifteen  years  later  commenced  selecting  here  their  permanent 
homes  and  become  the  founders  of  the  first  independent  settlement  in  the  Wil 
lamette  valley  or  the  Territory  of  Oregon. 

Mr.  President,  there  is  a  discrepancy  in  statements  with  regard  to  date  of 
commencing  the  French  Prairie  settlement.  Permit  me  to  give  in  corroboration  of 
what  I  learned  from  Dr.  McLaughlin  and  the  settlers  themselves,  the  proof  fix 
ing  the  date  by  men  yet  living.  The  venerable  Donald  Manson,  who  arrived 
at  Vancouver,  Jan.  6.  1825,  now  a  resident  of  Champoeg,  says:  "  I  married 
Felicite,  eldest  daughter  of  Etienne  Lucier,  in  October,  1828.  Her  father  was 


22  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

then  living  on  his  land  claim  two  miles  above  Champoeg,  where  he  had  settled 
in  the  fall  of  1827." 

Hon.  F.  X.  Matthieu,  residing  near  Butteville,  first  President  of  your  Associ 
ation,  who  came  to  Oregon  in  1842,  in  company  with  Capt.  Medorum  Crawford, 
present  presiding  officer  of  this  Association,  says  :  "On  my  arrival  in  Oregon, 
1  lived  the  following  two  years  with  Mr.  Lucier,  who  told  me  he  had  lived  upon 
his  farm  fifteen  years  when  I  reached  his  home  in  the  fall  of  1842." 

But  to  return  from  this  departure,  to  the  regular  order  of  events. 

In  the  fall  following  the  arrival  of  Capt.  Hunt  at  Astoria,  Mr.  McKinzie,  one 
of  the  Astor  partners,  (who  with  so  much  pomp,  took  for  his  wife,  the  Princess 
Chowa,  daughter  of  old  King  Comcomly  the  celebrated  Chinook  chief,)  left 
Astoria  on  an  exploring  expedition  to  the  Willamette  country.  Among  the 
small  party  who  accompanied  him,  were  Joseph  Gervais,  Louis  Labonte  and  a 
brother  of  Comcomly,  his  large  canoe  being  manned  by  his  slaves.  This  expedi 
tion,  said  Joseph  Gervais,  was  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  trade  with  the  In 
dians,  to  instruct  and  encourage  them  to  capture  and  properly  preserve  the  skins 
of  such  fur  bearing  animals  as  the  Company  most  desired.  The  explorers  pro 
ceeded  as  far  south  as  the  Calapooia  country.  They  found  the  natives  very  nu 
merous  and  friendly.  Their  principal  towns  were  confined  to  the  river  where 
they  kept  large  fleets  of  canoes.  Champoeg  was  the  largest  village  they  found 
on  the  upper  river,  their  cedar  houses  occupying  both  banks  of  the  stream. 
The  Indians  were  all  pressed  or  flatheads,  except  their  slaves,  who  were  owned 
by  the  principal  men  generally. 

They  found  the  Willamette  valley  to  equal  in  extent,  beauty  and  wealth  in 
furs,  the  glowing  description  which  had  been  given  by  the  Chinook  Indians. 
After  collecting  a  large  amount  of  furs,  distributing  some  beaver  traps  and  pres 
ents  among  the  chief  men  at  the  principal  villages,  the  party  returned,  reaching 
Fort  Astoria  in  February,  1813. 

After  the  transfer  of  the  Astor  Companies'  interest  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  the 
Northwest  Fur  Company  of  Montreal,  Canada,  which  took  place  in  October,  1813, 
during  our  late  war  with  Great  Britain,  some  of  the  Astor  men,  who  were  mostly 
Canadians,  refused  to  enter  the  service  of  the  Northwest  Company,  preferring  to 
become  what  was  known  on  the  Atlantic  side  as  free  trappers,  which  position 
they  ever  afterwards  maintained.  Those  old  voyaguers  who  came  to  the  Pacific 
with  these  two  fur  companies,  were  men  who  had  been  selected  with  a  view  to 
their  courage  and  physical  powers  of  endurance,  as  well  as  experience  in  hunt 
ing  and  trapping.  The  consequence  was,  said  Gervais,  many  who  desired  to 
join  those  early  expeditions  met  with  a  prompt  refusal.  In  the  time  intervening 
between  the  transfer  just  mentioned,  and  the  date  when  the  free  trappers  com- 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  23 

menced  locating  land  on  French  Prairie,  they  had  made  what  they  termed  many 
seasons  of  profitable  hunting  and  trapping  throughout  the  extent  of  this  valley 
and  the  bordering  mountain  ranges.  About  the  time  the  union  between  the 
Northwest  Company  and  Hudson  Bay  Company  was  consummated,  1821-2,  Ger- 
vais  and  Lucier,  accompanied  by  their  families,  as  was  the  custom,  were  trap 
ping  on  Hons-u-cha-chac,  which  was  the  Indian  name  of  Pudding  river,  their 
camp  being  near  its  junction  with  the  Willamette  ;  while  here  they  experienced 
severe  weather  accompanied  with  a  snow  storm,  which  confined  them  to  their 
lodges  until  compelled  to  go  forth  in  search  of  game.  The  little  prairie  on 
Pudding  river,  where  the  lower  Indian  trail  crossed  the  Stream,  was  but  a  short 
distance  above  their  camp.  Here  they  came  upon  a  herd  of  elk,  some  of  which 
they  succeeded  in  shooting.  The  Indian  women  hearing  the  firing  and  suspect 
ing  what  was  going  on,  started  with  their  knives  and  vessels  to  assist  their  liege 
lords  of  the  chase.  They  succeeded  in  saving. the  blood,  which  was  soon  made 
into  the  favorite  French  dish  known  as  blood  pudding,  upon  which,  with  their 
elk  meat,  they  fared  sumptuously  every  day  during  the  continuance  of  the  in 
clement  weather.  While  this  memorable  feast  was  being  enjoyed,  Gervais  and 
Lucier  christened  the  stream  "  Riviere  aii  Boudain^  or  Pudding  River. 

These  are  substantially  the  circumstances  as  given  by  these  old  trappers  of 
of  the  origin  of  the  white  man's  name  of  this  sluggish  little  river.  In  the  time 
between  the  fall  of  1827,  and  the  spring  of  1830,  all  the  free  trappers  had  se 
lected  locations  at  French  Praire,  as  had  also  some  of  the  old  retired  men  of  the 
Northwest  Company.  The  first  men  retired  from  the  service  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  by  Dr.  McLaughlin,  commenced  settling  at  French  Prairie  in 
the  fall  of  1830.  I  will  furnished  the  Secretary  with  a  complete  list  of  all  per 
sons  who  settled  on  French  Prairie  prior  to  the  provisional  organization  effected 
at  Champoeg,  May  2,  1843. 

By  request.  Rev.  B.  Delorme,  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  church,  kindly  furnished 
me  from  the  parish  register  a  list  of  names  of  the  early  settlers  of  French  Prairie, 
with  age  and  date  of  demise.  I  will  give  here  a  few  names  : 

Francis  Quesnel,  died  A.  D.  1844,  aged  65  years. 

Philip  Degie,  born  at  Sorel,  Canada,  in  1839,  died  February  27,  1847,  aged 
108  years.  This  oldest  inhabitant  first  crossed  the  continent  with  Lewis  and 
Clark. 

Francis  Rivet,  died  September  15,  1852,  aged  95  ;  came  first  to  Oregon  with 
Lewis  and  Clark  in  1805. 

William  Cannon,  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1755,  died  1854,  aged  99  years. 
Etienne  Lucier,  died  March  6,  1853. 


24  ANNUAL   ADDRESS. 

Louis  Labonte  died  in  1860,  aged  80  years. 
Joseph  Gervais,  died  July  13,  1861,  aged  84  years. 

These  four  men  were  free  trappers,  and  came  to  Oregon  with  Captain  Hunt 
in  1811: 

Francis  Dupra,  died  1858,  aged  99  years. 

Andrew  Longtain,  born  in  1782,  died  1879,  aged  97  years. 

As  I  shall  file  with  the  Recording  Secretary  of  this  Association,  a  list  of  the 
names  of  all  the  early  settlers  of  French  Prairie  prefaced  with  remarks  and  ex 
planations,  which  of  course  will  include  Robert  Newell,  Dr.  Baley,  Rev.  S.  M. 
Fackler,  Archbishop  Blanchet,  F.  X.  Matthieu,  and  others,  which  would  be 
altogether  to  lengthy  for  a  place  here. 

There  were  a  very  few  of  the  old  Canadian  settlers  who  had  received  any 
book  education,  and  as  few  that  could  speak  any  English.  The  latter  was  in  a 
great  measure  owing  to  the  formation  by  the  early  fur  traders  of  a  dialect  called 
the  Chinook  Jargon,  comprising  words  from  the  Indian,  French  and  English 
languages,  and  in  some  cases,  words  were  coined  from  events  or  circumstance, 
as  for  instance,  the  word  for  simple  or  fool,  in  Chinook  is  "  Pilton;"  taken  from 
an  early  trapper  of  that  name  who  became  demented. 

This  jargon  soon  became  the  universal  medium  through  which  communication 
between  the  traders  and  Indians  was  carried  on,  as  well  as  the  common  dialect 
Used  by  those  speaking  different  languages,  especially  in  Western  Oregon. 

The  old  settlers  of  French  Prairie  were  of  great  assistance  to  the  early  mis 
sionaries;  a  number  of  them  joined  in  religious  exercises  with  Rev.  Jason  Lee, 
who  was  himself  a  Canadian.  He  married  quite  a  number  of  these  men  who  at 
the  time  had  large  familes  of  children  and  grand  children.  Joseph  Gervais  be 
come  one  of  Mr.  Lee's  exhorters,  his  discourses  being  delivered  in  P>ench  and 
Chinook. 

Rev.  F.  N.  Blanchet  reached  French  Prairie,  January  5,  1839.  These  people 
were  soon  afterwards  re-married  in  accordance  with  the  ceremony  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

The  Indian  slaves  of  Western  Oregon  or  their  ancestors  had  been  captured 
from  tribes  north  of  Puget  Sound,  or  from  the  Rogue  river,  Klamath  and  other 
southern  coast  tribes.  Nearly  all  the  early  settlers  of  French  Prairie  were  the 
owners  of  a  few  of  these  slaves  of  both  sexes  ;  many  of  whom  were  faithful  la 
borers  and  the  only  valley  Indians  for  many  years  following  the  early  settlement 
who  would  condescend  to  do  manual  labor.  They  generally  remained  with  their 
owners  until  gathered  upon  reservations  by  authority  of  the  government  in 
1855-6. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  25 

Champoeg  was  the  principal  Indian  village  between  Chemeketa  and  Willam 
ette  falls,  and  the  home  of  the  Campoeg  chieftains  from  time  immemorial. 
This  point  was  early  in  the  history  of  the  fur  companies  of  the  Pacific  coast, 
made  the  place  of  rendezvous  from  whence  the  traders  and  trappers  with  their 
families  annually  took  their  final  leave  in  the  spring,  on  their  seasons'  hunt  and 
traffic  for  Southern  Oregon  and  the  Mexican  country.  These  brigades  were 
usually  composed  of  about  30  men  and  from  200  to  250  horses. 

Col.  Nesmith,  like  a  gallant  Pioneer  as  he  is,  always  willing  to  give  his  Sa 
tanic  majesty  his  due,  or  meet  him  openly  in  any  frightful  attitudes  he  is  wont 
to  assume,  has  said  in  his  address  before  referred  to,  in  speaking  of  the  Candian 
settlers  :  "  They  are  entitled  to  share  with  us  what  ever  credit  is  due  the  Pio 
neers,  as  they  endured  the  toils  of  developing  and  defending  the  country." 

I  served  under  Gen.  Palmer  during*  the  Cayuse  war  as  Commissary  Agent  at 
French  Prairie,  and  I  can  assure  you,  fellow  members,  that  those  old  pioneer 
Canadians  gave  quite  as  liberally  of  their  means  to  supply  the  volunteers  in  the 
field,  as  did  the  people  of  any  other  portion  of  old  Champoeg  county.  Being 
desirous  of  placing  upon  our  records  something  to  show  the  feelings  and  posi 
tion  occupied  by  this  people  during  that  exciting  and  critical  struggle,  and  in 
defence  of  the  truth  and  their  fidelity  to  the  Provisional  Government  against  all 
unjust  aspersions  to  the  contrary,  I  will  ask  Mr.  President,  the  privilege  of 
reading  from  the  old  pioneer  paper,  the  Oregon  Spectator,  of  date,  January  20. 
1848,  the  following  preamble  And  resolutions  unanimously  adopted  at  a  mass 
meeting,  held  on  French  Prairie,  which  was  composed  of  more  than  one  hundred 
Canadian  settlers: 

"WHEREAS,  It  is  believed  that  several  of  the  Indian  tribes  east  of  the  Cas 
cade  mountains  have  formed  an  alliance  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  hostili 
ties  against  this  colony  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  exigency  of  the  times  calls  for  prompt  and  energetic  action 
on  the  part  of  the  people  of  this  Territory,  in  enlisting  and  mustering  into  the 
service  the  number  of  volunteers  required  by  the  Executive  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  it  highly  expedient  to  raise,  arm  and  equip,  one 
company  of  Riflemen  to  proceed  immediately  to  join  the  regiment  at  Portland. 

Resolved,  That  the  Canadians  citizens  of  Champoeg  county,  feel  it  our  duty 
to  assist  our  adopted  country  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  the  Cayuse 
Indians,  for  the  horrible  massacre  committed  by  them  upon  American  citizens 
at  Waiilatpu. 

After  which,  a  call  was  made  for  volunteers,  when  thirty  came  forward  and 
enrolled  their  names. 


26  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Newell,  Thomas  McKay  was  chosen  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
Captain  of  said  company. 

On  motion  of  W.  H.  Rees,  that  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  signed  by 
the  Chairman  and  Secretary,  and  forwarded  to  the  editor  of  the  Oregon  Specta- 
/0r,.with  a  request  that  he  publish  the  same. 

On  motion  of  F.  X.  Mattheu,  the  meeting  adjourned. 

ROBERT  NEWELL, 
M.  PORTEUS,   Secretary.  Chairman. 

January  12,  1848." 

Mr.  President,  I  trust  I  may  be  pardoned  by  my  ancient  friends  if  I  avail  my 
self  of  the  opportunity  which  the  present  occasion  offers,  to  refer  briefly  to  some 
of  the  peculiar  characteristics  which  distinguished  "  The  Pioneer  Lyceum  and 
Literary  Club,"  a  social  circle  which  in  the  olden  time,  under  very  peculiar 
surroundings,  held  its  meetings  at  Oregon  City.  This  old  club  is  memorable 
as  being  the  first  of  the  kind  known  to  have  existed  in  the  great  Northwest,  as 
well,  as  for  its  readings  of  pungent  anonymous  articles,  and  very  harmonious 
deliberations. 

After  the  immigration  of  1843  reached  the  Willamette,  and  down  to  the  spring 
of  1846,  Oregon  City  was  the  unrivaled  headquarters  and  news  depot  for 
the  whole  country.  At  some  time  within  the  period  named,  nearly  all  of  Ore- 
gons'  early  immigrants  had  for  a  time  found  a  .friendly  shelter  within  the  limits 
of  this  pioneer  town.  A  pretty  large  proportion  of  the  male  population  bore 
very  reluctantly  the  distinguishing  title  of  old  bachelor;  while  nobody  at  that 
time  entertained  the  remotest  thought  of  ever  denying  to  the  pioneer  mothers  or 
their  daughters,  any  right  or  privilege  which  they  might  choose  to  exercise. 

The  people  were  almost  without  books  or  reading  matter  of  any  kind,  which 
perhaps  made  this  the  ripest  community  that  has  ever  existed  or  ever  will  exist 
any  where  between  ocean  and  ocean,  to  have  entered  heartily  upon  the  study  of 
the  profound  knowledge  contained  in  that  series  of  volumes  published  at  Wash 
ington,  under  the  patronage  of  Congressmen,  entitled  "  Department  Reports." 
At  that  time,  political  party  strife,  office  seeking,  speculating  corners  and  rings 
were  practically  unknown  to  the  people  ;  in  truth,  these  were  Oregon's  halcyon 
days  of  pure,  simple  republican  government.  It  was  under  such  surroundings 
during  this  early  period  of  our  history,  that  the  pioneer  city  could  have  boasted 
of  this  remarkable  association,  which  was  very  appropriately  styled  by  Charles 
E.  Pickett,  (a  relative  of  President  Polk),  "  The  Pioneer  Lyceum  and  Literary 
Club." 

It  me:  with  great  regularity,  especially  during  the   misty  season,  discussing 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

from  time  to  time,  the  whole  round  of  literary  and  scientific  subjects.  The 
members  of  this  old  club  finding  themselves  thrown  together  in  a  new  world,  as 
it  were  ;  the  climate,  scenery,  vegetation  and  fashions,  all  strangely  new  to 
them,  it  is  not  surprising  that  their  manner  or  modes  should  have  been  influen 
ced  in  a  large  degree  by  their  surroundings,  suggesting  a  system  of  logic  and 
rules  of  procedure  peculiar  to  themselves. 

Such,  at  all  events,  was  the  case.  The  members  entertained  very  advanced 
views  upon  all  important  subjects.  Hence,  in  their  rhetorical  efforts  they  never 
thought  of  referring  to  the  old  doctors  of  erudition  to  decide  any  point  in  contro 
versy,  nor  did  they  encumber  their  addresses  with  quotations  from  the  dead 
languages.  The  members  seemingly  never  had  a  desire  to  advocate  or  an 
nounce  any  principle  or  doctrine  of  which  they  were  ashamed.  Yet  when  merely 
wishing  to  make  a  little  display  or  astound  their  newly  arrived  accessions  from 
the  historic  borders  of  Missouri,  they  simply  had  recourse  to  the  living  and 
euphonious  Chinook.  Their  hearers  were  on  all  occasions  wakeful  and  attent 
ive  listeners.  This  was  in  part  owing  to  the  new  and  interesting  thoughts  ad 
vanced  in  these  discussions  and  the  kind  consideration  always  shown  by  the 
speakers,  in  never  attempting  to  elucidate  a  subject  nor  fortify  a  position,  by 
reading  by  the  hour  garbled  extracts  from  anybody's  opinion. 

Points  of  Order  were  summarily  disposed  of  by  the  presiding  officer,  and 
always  concurred  in  without  a  thought  of  appeal.  Sectarian  discussions  never 
marred  in  the  slightest  degree  the  good  fellowship  of  this  old  pioneer  club.  The 
members  were  of  the  same  religion,  all  belonged  to  the  church  whose  founda 
tion  was  not  laid  with  hands,  and  whose  canopy  is  decorated  with  the  stars  of 
heaven. 

Following  are  the  names  which  Charlie  Pickett  had  upon  the  membership  roll. 
They  were  at  times  widely  scattered  and  are  designated  upon  the  roll  as  regular 
and  visiting  members: 

John  H.  Couch,  F.  W.  Pettygrove,  J.  M.  Wair,  A.  L.  Lovejoy,  Jesse  Apple- 
gate,  S.  W.  Moss,  Kobert  Newell,  J.  W.  Nesmith,  Ed.  Otie,  H.  A.  G.  Lee,  F. 
Prigg,  C.  E.  Pickett,  Wm.  C.  Dement,  Medorum  Crawford,  Hiram  Strait,  J. 
Wambaugh,  Wm.  Gushing,  Philip  Foster,  Ransom  Clark,  H.  H.  Hide,  John  G. 
Campbell,  Top.  Magruder,  W.  H.  Rees,  Mark  Ford,  Henry  Saffron,  Noyes 
Smith,  Daniel  Waldo,  P.  G.  Stewart,  Isaac  W.  Smith,  Joseph  Watt,  Frank 
Ermintinger,  A.  E.  Wilson,  Jacob  Hoover,  S.  M.  Holderness,  John  Minto,  Bar 
ton  Lee,  Genl.  Husted  and  John  B.  Brooks. 

Perhaps  a  more  congenial,  easy-going,  self-satisfying  club  has  never  since 
congregated  in  the  old  capitol  city,  and  under  the  changed  conditions  of  affairs, 
especially  in  fashions  so  strikingly  different  from  the  unique  and  richly  colored 


28  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

costume  of  that  day,  never  will  the  eyes  of  the  good  people  of  our  old  spray- 
bedewed  city  rest  upon  the  like  again. 

More  than  half  the  number  whose  names  are  associated  with  this  once  brotherly 
old  circle,  have  finished  the  journey  of  life.  It  is  gratifying  to  be  assured  that 
it  is  the  special  mission  of  this  association,  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of 
Oregon's  departed  Pioneers. 

The  early  attempts  made  by  the  settlers  to  form  a  temporary  government 
were  rather  inadequate  organizations,  and  only  reached  a  form  equal  to  the  de 
mands  of  the  situation  in  July,  1845,  when  the  Provisional  Government  was  re 
organized  under  the  amended  Organic  law,  submitted  to  and  adopted  by  the 
people. 

The  leading  mind  in  suggesting  and  devising  this  enlarged  and  more  perfect 
form  of  government  was  found  in  the  person  of  Jesse  Applegate,  a  genial,  un 
assuming  gentleman,  a  profound  thinker,  philosophical  in  the  simplicity  of  his 
methods.  He  combined  in  an  eminent  degree  the  qualifications  fitting  him  for 
a  pioneer  leader,  seeming  most  to  enjoy  himself  amid  the  free  surroundings,  of 
frontier  life.  A  third  of  a  century  ago,  when  all  this  wide  west  was  an  Indian 
country,  Jesse  Applegate,  with  a  few  dauntless  pioneers  could  have  been  found 
always  in  advance  of  the  migratory  tide,  building  up  new  homes  in  the  wild 
valleys  beyond  the  border  settlements,  a  plain,  unpretending  farmer,  too  wise 
and  generous  to  be  self-conceited  ;  too  true  to  his  own  convictions  of  right  to 
sacrifice  principle  and  independence  for  temporary  popularity  or  place.  As  a 
msmber  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Provisional  Government,  he  was  as 
able  and  pure  as  any  man  who  ever  held  a  seat  in  that  body,  yet  we  find  'that 
some  of  our  cotemporary  chroniclers  have  accused  him  of  being  influenced  by 
favors  in  the  interest  of  Dr.  McLaughlin,  or  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  insin 
uating  that  his  course  was  antagonistic  to  the  interests  of  citizens  or  the  United 
States.  Such  unlike  delineations  of  Jesse  Applegate  could  only  have  been  ob 
tained  from  a  standpoint  where  the  view  was  very  much  obstructed  by  egotisti 
cal  vanities,  or  the  visual  rays  obscured  by  the  dark  shadows  of  party  or  secta 
rian  prejudices.  Under  such  unfavorable  surroundings,  these  historic  delineators 
were  rendered  incapable  of  presenting  a  fair  and  faithful  view  of  this  old  pio 
neer's  generous  virtues.  That  he  has  had  his  failings  none  will  doubt,  but 
who  among  Oregon's  early  pioneers  I  may  ask  in  vain,  has  been  less  exempt. 
We  may  console  ourselves,  fellow  members,  in  the  belief  that  the  future  his 
torian  will  be  at  no  loss  in  assigning  to  the  sage  of  Yoncalla,  the  place  to  which 
his  eminent  services  have  justly  entitled  him,  while  the  Oregon  Pioneers  simply 
owe  him  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  disinterested  labor  which  he  so 
cheerfully  performed  with  an  earnest  desire  to  promote  the  general  welfare  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  during  the  trying  years  of  their  greatest  need. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  29 

There  are  a  goodly  number  of  the  early  pioneers,  both  men  and  women  liv 
ing  and  departed,  whom  I  should  be  pleased  to  speak  of,  but  on  the  present  oc 
casion  time  will  not  permit. 

Our  mortality  list  for  the  year  just  passed  is  a  sorrowful  one  to  contemplate. 
The  relentless  march  of  time  will  soon  have  revealed  to  the  last  of  the  old 
fathers  and  mothers  the  realities  of  that  life  which  is  to  come.  These  old  pio 
neers,  who  in  their  youthful  years  nurtured  into  life  and  strength  a  new  born 
republic  in  these  then  wild  regions  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  are  fast  passing 
away  ;  a  few  more  joyful  re-unions  and  we  of  the  days  of  lang  syne  will  be 
seen  here  no  more  forever.  Since  our  last  meeting,  many  of  our  beloved  mem 
bers  have  laid  them  down  to  rest.  Mrs.  Jacob  Conser,  Mrs.  Adeline  Crawford, 
Mrs.  Crump,  T.  J.  Dryer  and  Geo.  L.  Curry,  two  of  our  veteran  editors  of  the 
Territorial  days,  E.  N.  Cooke,  a  noble  old  pioneer,  long  Vice  President  of  this 
Association,  I.  N.  Gilbert  and  M.  G.  Foisy,  of  the  immigration  of  1844,  John 
S.  Zeiber,  Simeon  Smith  and  many  other  early  pioneers  have  since  your  last 
meeting  bid  adieu  to  the  scenes  of  this  life.  May  they  find  a  better  home  be 
yond  the  mystic  river. 

Mr.  President,  to  close  this  meagre  and  very  imperfect  sketch  in  relation  to 
the  early  agricultural  settlement  of  Oregon,  would  be  ungenerous  to  omit  mak 
ing  a  short  biographical  mention  of  the  late  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  the  noble 
philanthropist  of  the  wilderness,  without  whose  assistance  and  protecting  care 
none  of  those  first  agricultural  settlements  of  the  Territory  could  have  been 
commenced  nor  successfully  maintained.  He  furnished  from  the  farms,  the 
shops  and  store  houses  at  Vancouver,  teams,  cows,  hogs,  plows,  poultry,  arms 
and  ammunition,  in  brief,  all  the  necessary  implements  and  supplies,  or  such  as 
he  had,  mostly  imported  from  England,  sufficient  to  enable  the  pioneer  settlers 
to  establish  themselves  in  the  occupation  of  husbandmen,  at  the  same  time  giv 
ing  them  assurance  of  a  remunerative  market  for  their  produce. 

Dr.  McLaughlin,  as  director  of  the  affairs  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  west 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  had  more  power  over  the  Indians  of  the  whole  North 
west  Coast,  which  he  judiciously  exercised,  than  all  other  influences  multiplied 
and  combined.  He  was  a  great  and  just  man,  having  in  no  instance  deceived 
them,  firm  in  maintaining  the  established  rules  regulating  their  intercourse, 
making  their  supplies,  so  far  as  the  Company  was  concerned,  strictly  depend 
upon  their  own  efforts  and  good  conduct,  always  prompt  to  redress  the  slightest 
infraction  of  good  faith.  This  sound  undeviating  policy  made  Dr.  McLaughlin 
the  most  humane  and  successful  manager  of  the  native  tribes  this  country  has 
ever  known,  while  the  Indians  both  feared  and  respected  him  above  all  other 
men. 


3°  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

The  many  important  events  connected  with  this  good  man's  life  in  Oregon 
would  not  only  furnish  material  for  a  very  interesting  and  profitable  address  be- 
fofe  this  Association,  but  would  fill  a  liberal  sized  volume,  he  having  been  for 
more  than  a  third  of  a  century  (commencing  with  the  year  1823)  most  prom 
inently  connected  with  the  pioneer  history  of  the  country.  I  regret  that  the 
limits  of  this  paper  precludes  entering  into  details  the  better  to  present  before 
you,  the  great  executive  ability,  power  over  the  Indians,  and  fostering  care 
which  he  so  generously  bestowed  upon  the  infant  settlements  of  Oregon. 

Dr.  McLaughlin   was   no  ordinary   personage.     Nature  had   written  in  her 
most  legible  hand  preeminence   in  every    lineament  of  his  strong  Scotch  face, 
combining  in  a  marked  degree   all   the  native  dignity  of  an  intellectual  giant. 
He  stood  among  his  pioneer  cotemporaries  like   towering   old  Hood  amid  the 
evergreen  heights  that  surround  his  mountain  home — a  born  leader  of  men.    He 
would  have  achieved  distinction  in  any  of  the  higher  pursuits  of  life.     He  was 
born  in  the  District  of  Quebec,  Canada,  in   1784,  of  Scotch   parentage,   reared 
under  the  influence  of  the  Angelican  or  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  remained 
a  member  until  November  i8th,  1842.     At  this  date  he  became  connected  with 
the  Catholic  Church,  of  which  he  continued    a  devout  communicant  during  the 
remaining  years  of  his  long  and  eventful  life.     Dr.  McLaughlin  had  received  a 
liberal  education  and  was  a  regular  bred   physician,   in  stature   above  six  feet, 
weighing  some  250  pounds,  his  head  was  large,  his  commanding  eye  of  a  bluish 
grey,  a  fair  florid  complexion,  his   hair  had  been  of  a  sandy  color,  but  when  I 
first  met  him  at  Vancouver,  in   the    fall  of  1844,   then   sixty   years  of  age,  his 
great  luxuriant  growth  of  hair  was  white  as  snow.     A  business  requiring  a  res 
idence  among  the  wild  native  tribes  necessarily  made  the  regulations  governing 
the  service  of  his  company  partake  more  of  the  martial  than  the  civil  law.     Dr. 
McLaughlin  was  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  in  his  bearing  decidedly  military  in 
suggestion  ;  his   standard   of    honor  was   unviolated   truth  and  justice.     The 
strong  distinguishing  traits  of  his   character  were   true   courage,  a  clear  quick 
perception  and  firm  reliance.     He  never  hesitated  in  taking  upon  himself  great 
responsibilities  when   in  his  judgment  occasion   required  it.     The  regulations 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  required  its  officers   to  give   one  year's  notice  of 
their  intention  to  quit  the  service.     This  notice  the  Doctor  gave  at  the  beginning 
of  1845,  and   tne  following   year  established  himself  upon   his  land  claim  at 
Oregon  City,  where  he  had  already  built  a  residence,  large  flouring  mill,  saw 
mills  and  store  houses.     Having  located   his  land  claim  in  1829,  he  first  made 
some  temporary  improvements  thereon  in  1830.     These  enterprises  gave  to  the 
pioneer  town  'quite  a  business  like  appearance   at  the  time  of  my  arrival  in  the 
country,  and  employment  to  a  goodly  number  of  needy  immigrants.     The  Doc 
tor's  religion  was  of  that  practical  kind  which  proceeds  from  the  heart  and  en- 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  31 

ters  into  the  duties  of  every  day  life;  his  benevolent  work  was  confined  to  no 
church,  sect  nor  race  of  men,  but  was  as  broad  as  suffering  humanity,  never 
refusing  to  feed  the  hungry,  clothe  the  naked  and  provide  for  the  sick  and  toil- 
worn  immigrants  and  needy  settlers  who  called  for  assistance  at  his  old  Van 
couver  home.  Many  were  the  pioneer  mothers  and  their  little  ones,  whose  hearts 
were  made  glad  through  his  timely  assistance,  while  destitute  strangers  whom 
chance  or  misfortune  had  thrown  upon  these  then  wild  inhospitable  shores,  were 
not  permitted  to  suffer  while  he  had  power  to  relieve.  Yet  he  was  persecuted 
by  men  claiming  the  knowledge  of  a  Christian  experience,  defamed  by  design 
ing  politicians,  knowingly  misrepresented  in  Washington  as  a  British  intriguer, 
until  he  was  unjustly  deprived  of  the  greater  part  of  his  land  claim. 

Thus,  after  a  sorrowful  experience  of  man's  ingratitude  to  man,  he  died  an 
honored  American  citizen,  and  now  sleeps  upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Willam 
ette  at  Oregon  City,  in  the  little  yard  which  incloses  the  entrance  to  the  Cath 
olic  Cathdral,  beneath  the  morning  shadow  of  the  old  gray  chiffs  that  overlook 
the  pioneer  town  of  the  Anglo-American  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  ;  here  resting 
from  his  labors  within  the  ever  moaning  sound  of  the  mighty  cataract  of  the 
beautiful  river,  while  the  humble  stone  that  marks  his  grave  bears  this  simple 
inscription  : 

"DR  JOHN  MCLAUGHLIN, 

DIED, 

Sept.  3d,   1857,  aged  73  years. 
THE  PIONEER  AND  FRIEND  OF  OREGON. 

ALSO 
THE  FOUNDER  OF  THIS  ClTY." 

It  is  a  duty  which  the  Oregon  Pioneers  owe  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  McLaughlin, 
to  prepare  a  memorial  wreath  from  the  flowers  which  his  benevolent  hand 
strewed  along  the  pathway  of  life,  flowers  whose  fragrance  is  imperishable,  and 
whose  unwithering  colors  will  ever  remain  bright  as  the  dewy  star  of  dawn. 

Long  ages  will  the  name  of  Dr.  John  McLanglin  be  known  in  the  land, 

By  the  good  deeds  left  behind  him, 

By  the  wrong  he  scorned  to  do, 
Virtues  sacred  to  his  memory, 

Unfading  wreath  anew. 


OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


FOR  THE  YEAR  1847. 


BY  HON.  RALPH  C.  GEER. 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN 

OF  THE  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  OF  OREGON  : 

Surrounded  as  I  am  to-day  with  old  pioneers  who  crossed  the  plains  long 
before  I  did,  and  unaccustomed  to  public  speaking  as  I  am,  it  will  not  be  ex 
pected  of  me  that  I  shall  be  able  to  instruct  or  interest  to  any  great  extent  those 
who  may  listen  to  me  on  this  occasion. 

I  propose  to  occupy  but  little  time,  as  there  are  others  to  speak  who  can  edify 
you  better  than  I. 

The  emigration  of  1847,  like  all  former  emigrations,  was  composed  of  men 
and  women  that  were  willing  to  brave  all  manner  of  hardships  for  the  purpose 
of  finding  a  better  country  to  live  in  ;  some,  and  not  a  few  either,  were  willing 
to  undergo  the  toilsome  and  tedious  trip  for  the  sake  of  finding  a  healthy  coun 
try.  For  that  reason  alone  I  sold  my  little  farm  in  Knox  County,  Illinois,  bid 
farewell  to  civilization,  as  everybody  thought  at  that  time,  and  started  to  cross 
the  '"  great  American  desert."  Others  were  influenced  by  the  inducements  held 
out  by  the  general  government  in  the  shape  of  a  large  land  grant  to  all  actual 
settlers,  and  the  accounts  given  by  writers  from  here  and  elsewhere,  and  also 
by  the  lectures  of  reliable  men  who  had  seen  this  beautiful,  and  to  me,  un- 
equaled  country.  Like  all  the  preceding  emigrations,  the  starting  points  were 
on  the  Missouri  river  at  all  points  and  crossings  from  below  Lexington  to  Coun 
cil  Bluffs,  and  all  wended  their  way  to  the  main  road  leading  up  the  Platte 
valley. 

To  describe  the  trip  in  all  its  details  would  be  tedious  and  uninteresting  to 
an  intelligent  audience  of  Oregon  pioneers  such  as  I  now  have  the  honor  of 
addressing. 

The  emigration  got  a  good  start  that  year.     We   had   considerable  rain  the 


THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS.  33 

first  month,  but  after  that  we  had  fine  weather,  until  we  arrived  at  the  Cascade 
mountains. 

We  left  the  Missouri  river  the  6th  of  June,  and  when  we  got  to  Wolf  creek  we 
organized  by  electing  Joel  Palmer  captain,  and  the  usual  officers  that  belong  to 
such  organizations. 

When  we  organized,  we  had  about  85  wagons,  and  in  the  Nemaha  country, 
we  overtook  what  was  called  the  Chicago  company,  headed  by  Uncle  Thomas 
Cox,  which  increased  our  company  to  99  wagons.  The  morning  after  we  were 
joined  by  that  company,  Captain  Palmer  took  a  company  of  men  and  went 
ahead  of  the  wagons,  and  worked  the  road  at  the  crossing  of  Big  Nemaha,  as 
well  as  they  could,  until  the  wagons  came  up,  but  still  we  had  to  let  the  wagons 
down  the  grade  by  ropes,  with  from  two  to  four  men  standing  on  the  off  wheels 
of  each  wagon  ;  and  still  we  made  the  usual  day's  travel  that  day.  We  depar 
ted  from  the  usual  rule  adopted  by  the  emigrations  in  former  years.  Instead  of 
forming  a  corral  with  our  wagons  for  the  stock,  we  camped  in  such  a  way  that 
we  could  yoke  the  cattle  and  hitch  on  to  the  wagons  without  danger  of  running 
over  the  women  and  children.  Our  corral  was  for  the  people,  both  great  and 
small,  not  for  the  cattle  and  horses  ;  and  those  who  had  camped  the  usual  way 
considered  this  the  better  mode. 

When  I  left  Knox  county,  Illinois,  the  Democratic  Central  Committee  hao^  a 
small  wrought-iron  cannon,  made  by  a  Whig  to  celebrate  the  election  of  Henry 
Clay,  in  1844,  and  when  he  was  beaten,  gave  it  to  the  Democrats,  and  they 
named  it  the  Young  Democrat ;  and  they  gave  it  to  me  to  bring  to  Oregon.  It 
was  a  real  screamer  to  talk — it  could  be  heard  15  or  20  miles,  and  old  moun 
taineers  said  that  if  we  fired  that  every  night  after  we  camped,  Indians  would 
not  trouble  us.  And  I  think  it  was  true,  for  we  adopted  that  plan  and  no 
stealing  only  when  we  neglected  to  let  her  bark. 

Some  thought  our  company  too  large,  but  still  we  made  good  travel  every 
day. 

We  traveled  that  way  until  we  crossed  Big- Blue  river.  There  Wm.  Graham's 
son  was  so  sick  we  concluded  to  lay  by  a  day  or  two.  That  camp  was  the  finest 
camp  of  pioneers  I  ever  saw.  It  contained  99  wagons,  about  400  men,  women 
and  children,  from  six  days  to  60  years  of  age  ;  representing  nearly  all  the  pro 
fessions,  trades  and  occupations.  I  think  that  camp  was  a  good  average  of  the 
pioneers  of  1847.  We  had  preachers  with  their  bibles  and  psalm  books,  doc 
tors  with  their  medicine  chests,  lawyeis  with  their  law  books,  school  teachers, 
anxious  to  teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot,  merchants  with  their  goods,  nur 
serymen  with  their  trees  and  seeds,  stockmen  with  their  fine  horses  and  cattle, 
millers,  millmen,  millwrights,  wheelwrights,  carpenters,  cabinet  makers  with 

3 


34  THE     OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

their  chest  of  tools,  blacksmiths  with  anvels,  bojlows,  hammers  and  tongs  ready 
and  willing  to  do  all  kinds  of  repairing  at  any  time  and  place,  gunsmiths  and 
silversmiths  with  their  fine  tools,  tailors  with  their  gooses  or  geese  (which  is  it?) 
shoemakers  with  the  lasts,  awls,  hammers  and  bristles,  saddlers  with  their  tools, 
dressmakers  and  milliners  with  their  needles,  thimbles  and  patterns,  a  lumber 
man  with  his  heavy  log  wagon,  and  last,  though  not  least,  farmers  with  and 
without  families.  The  men  all  well  armed  and  plenty  of  ammunition  ;  all  de 
termined  to  go  to  Oregon  and  develop  its  resources. 

The  child  getting  no  better  the  second  day  after  we  stopped,  50  wagons  drove 
on  and  left.  Capt.  Palmer  said  he  would  not  leave  a  fellow-traveler  on  the 
way  whose  child  was  unable  to  travel  and  would  probably  die  in  a  few  days. 

Capt.  Palmer  had  brought  a  box  of  cultivated  fruit  trees  from  Indiana  to  St. 
Joseph,  and  was  so  heavily  laden  that  he  could  not  bring  them,  and  I  had  un 
dertaken  to  take  them  for  him,  and  did  not  feel  right  in  leaving  him,  and  after 
traveling  two  days  I  prevailed  upon  my  father  to  stop  at  Little  Blue  and  await 
the  balance  of  the  train,  which  they  did,  and  Alva  Post  and  myself  went  back 
to  meet  the  train.  The  boy  had  died,  and  the  train  started  on  the  morning  we 
started  back.  When  father  and  his  little  band  of  seven  wagons  stopped,  forty- 
three  wagons  went  on  and  we  never  overtook  them. 

When  we  (the  forty-nine  wagons  and  our  seven)  all  got  together  again,  we 
were  as  happy  a  company  of  pioneers  as  ever  crossed  the  plains,  and  we  stayed 
together  nearly  all  the  way  to  Oregon  City. 

One  evening,  on  Little  Blue,  the  Captain  called  the  men  together  and  told  us 
as  we  drew  near  the  buffalo  country  our  teams  would  become  restless,  our  horses 
would  take  fright  at  every  little  noise,  and  that  the  men  and  women  even  would 
become  restive  and  would  not  like  to  be  controlled  ;  he  said  he  did  not  know 
why  it  was  thus,  but  such  was  the  case,  and  that  we  must  be  on  our  guard  all 
the  time  to  prevent  "  stampedes  "  or  quarrels  in  the  camp  or  train,  but  in  spite 
of  all  his  and  our  caution,  we  had  a  grand  stampede  as  we  were  going  into 
camp  for  the  last  time  on  Little  Bhfe.  I  did  not  see  it,  but  those  who  did  said 
it  was  terrible.  No  person  hurt  ;  one  of  my  wagons  went  into  camp  on  three 
wheels,  and  one  of  S.  Coffin's  oxen  on  three  legs.  I  was  out  on  my  last  wild 
turkey  hunt  and  missed  the  exciting  time.  We  were  delayed  one  day  by  the 
"  stampede." 

We  struck  the  Platte  river  on  the  first  day  of  June.  We  saw  the  first  buffalo 
the  day  we  passed  Grand  Island.  They  were  on  the  north  side  of  main  Platte. 
Some  of  them  were  lying  down,  others  were  apparently  feeding,  and  others 
traveling  about.  I  was  raised  near  the  Darby  Plains  in  Ohio,  where  they  had 
immense  herds  of  cattle,  but  I  never  saw  so  large  a  herd  as  that  was;  it  extended 


THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS.  35 

for  miles  and  covered  sections,  and  when  some  of  the  hunters  from  a  company 
just  ahead  of  us  rode  wildly  into  the  drove  and  fired  a  volley  at  them,  they 
fairly  made  the  earth  tremble  in  their  endeavor  to  escape.  (The  tremble  part  1* 
have  from  the  hunters,  as  I  was  too  far  away  to  feel  it.)  After  we  crossed 
South  Platte,  we  took  a  turn  at  buffalo  chasing  and  found  it  both  agreeable  and 
profitable. 

At  Ash  Hollow,  on  the  North  Platte,  we  stopped  a  day  for  washing,  there 
being  plenty  of  wood  and  water.  Our  oxen  and  cows  began  to  get  footsore  and 
we  had  to  leave  some  of  them  on  the  way,  which  were  generally  killed  and 
eaten  by  the  wolves.  I,  with  several  others,  visited  the  grand  towers,  from  the 
tops  of  which  we  could  see  the"  emigrant  road  from  Ash  Hollow  to  Scott's 
Bluffs,  and  I  think  it  was  the  finest  sight  I  ever  saw.  The  long  trains  of  cov 
ered  wagons  one  after  another  just  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  each  way,  with 
their  loads  of  brave  pioneers  silently  wending  their  way  towards  the  setting 
sun  ;  it  appeared  to  me  that  there  were  1,000  wagons  in  sight. 

We  reached  Fort  Laramie  just  as  the  Indians  had  returned  from  a  successful 
raid  on  the  Pawnees,  and  were  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  Laramie  river  on  both 
sides  of  both  rivers.  The  officers  at  the  Fort  told  me  that  this  camp  contained 
1,500  lodges.  We  stopped  one  day  at  Lavamie  to  set  wagon  tires  and  trade  our 
lame  stock  for  sound  ones,  giving  two  and  sometimes  three  for  one.  There  our 
lumberman  left  his  log  wagon,  which  he  was  advised  to  leave  at  St.  Joe.  At 
Box  Alder  Creek  we  saw  the  graves  of  several  of  the  Woodside  family,  who,  it 
was  said,  were  poisoned  by  eating  fruit  that  had  been  cooked  and  allowed  to 
stand  in  brass  kettles. 

We  crossed  the  Platte  on  the  last  day  of  June  on  a  raft,  and  Captain  Palmer 
swam  his  horses  hitched  to  his  hack  across  the  river  after  sunset. 

From  the  best  data  I  can  get,  we  were  at  this  place  about  the  middle  of  the 
emigration.  We  passed  Independence  Rock,  on  Sweetwater,  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,  and  hoisted  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  fired  the  cannon  on  top  of  said  rock 
at  12  o'clock  that  day  ;  met  the  first  company  returning  from  Oregon  that  night; 
heard  good  news  from  Oregon,  and  also  heard  that  the  emigrants  in  front  were 
getting  along  finely,  which  cheered  the  despairing  ones,  if  any,  in  our  company. 

Our  Captain  told  us  we  might  expect  sickness  in  our  camp  on  Sweetwater, 
and  we  did  have  it,  but  no  one  died,  although  many  were  sick  and  some  nigh 
unto  death.  At  the  snow  bank  we  met  J.  G.  Campbell,  of  Oregon  City,  and 
Wm.  and  Samuel  Campbell,  who  were  going  back  east  for  their  father  and 
family.  At  the  last  crossing  of  Sweetwater,  we  met  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Grant,  with  his  whole  family  on  his  way  back  to  Missouri.  When  asked  what 
his  objections  to  Oregon  were,  he  said  :  "In  the  first  place  they  have  no  bees 


36  THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

there  ;  and  in  the  second  place,  they  can't  raise  corn,  and  whar  they  can't  raise 
corn  they  can't  raise  hogs,  and  whar  they  can't  raise  hogs  they  can't  have  ba 
con,  and  I'm  going  back  to  old  Missouri  whar  I  can  have  corn  bread,  bacon 
and  honey." 

In  going  from  Pacific  Springs  to  Bear  river,  half  the  company  went  by  Fort 
Bridges,  and  half  by  the  desert,  but  the  half  that  went  by  the  cut  off  had  the 
worst  of  it.  Three  days  travel  before  we  got  to  the  Soda  Springs,  we  passed 
the  grave  of  Elias  Brown,  who  died  June  I7th,  1847,  of  Mountain  Fever,  father 
of  J.  Henry  Brown,  our  efficient  Secretary,  the  first  grave  of  the  company  that 
left  us  on  Little  Blue  that  we  had  seen,  and  the  only  one  we  did  see. 

At  the  Soda  Springs  all  the  sick  were  healed ;  and  on  the  first  day  of  August 
we  camped  on  Snake  river.  At  what  was  called  Bluff  camp,  a  few  miles  be 
low  the  great  falls  of  Snake  river,  part  of  the  cattle  swam  across  Snake  river, 
and  in  the  morning  the  Captain  and  Hi.  Simpkins  swam  over  and  tried  to  make 
them  swim  back,  but  all  their  efforts  were  in  vain.  The  boys  finding  it  impos 
sible  to  force  them  into  the  water  called  for  help,  Judge  Grim,  J.  Whitney  and 
Wallace  Foster  swam  over  and  helped  them.  John  Whitney  caught  hold  of  an 
ox's  tail  and  was  ferried  back,  and  the  others  swam  back.  The  Captain  and 
Simpkins  had  been  in  the  hot  sun  under  the  bluff  so  long  trying  to  make  the 
cattle  take  water,  that  they  were  perfectly  sunburnt,  and  the  next  night  they 
were  two  as  sick  men  as  I  ever  saw.  They  both  shed  their  skin  like  snakes. 

At  Salmon  Falls  we  laid  in  such  a  supply  of  salmon  that  we  had  to  throw 
away  two-thirds  of  it  before  we  traveled  far.  We  crossed  Snake  river  at  the 
Three  Islands.  We  rested  our  teams  one  day  before  crossing,  and  on  that  day 
we  lost  a  fine  young  man  by  the  name  of  Elijah  Weeks.  He  and  others  went 
into  the  river  to  bathe,  and,  although  an  excellent  swimmer,  was  cuaght  in  a 
whirlpool  and  drawn  in  and  did  not  come  out  while  we  stayed,  but  came  out 
and  was  picked  up  by  a  company  who  knew  him  and  was  buried  three  days 
after  we  left. 

After  leaving  the  river  and  traveling  about  six  miles,  we  struck  a  bee  line  for 
the  Hot  Springs,  and  about  half  way  between  where  we  left  the  road  and  the 
Springs,  we  camped  at  what  we  called  Palmer's  encampment,  on  Palmer's  cut 
off,  at  a  fine  spring  and  as  fine  grass  and  clover  as  I  ever  saw.  We  had  three 
horses  stolen  at  that  camp,  and  the  boys  said  it  was  because  I  did  not  fire  the 
cannon  that  night. 

We  saw  a  notice  on  a  tree  one  day's  travel  this  side  of  Barrel  creek,  inform 
ing  us  that  a  man  had  been  shot  at  that  camp  a  day  or  two  before,  and  for  all 
emigrants  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  the  red  devils.  I  fired  the  "  Young  Demo 
crat"  twice  that  night,  loaded  to  the  muzzle.  We  saw  no  Indians  that  night. 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  37 

We  saw  Hiram  Buffum's  grave  on  Goose  creek.  He  was  a  brother  of  Wm. 
Buffum  of  Yamhill  county.  We  left  Snake  river  the  1st  day  of  September. 

On  Powder  river,  James  Harpole's  wife  died,  and  in  digging  her  grave  they 
found  a  great  deal  of  mica,  and  in  1848,  after  gold  had  been  found  in  California 
and  brought  to  Oregon,  the  boys  that  dug  the  grave  said  that  they  knew  there 
was  millions  of  ounces  of  just  exactly  such  stuff  on  Powder  river,  where  they 
buried  Mrs.  Harpole  ;and  a  company  went  from  near  Butteville  in  the  winter  of 
1848-9  to  make  their  fortunes  ;  but  they  were  bitterly  disappointed  when  they 
found  only  worthless  mica  or  isinglass.  It  turned  very  cold  and  one  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Asa  Martin,  who  drove  a  team  across  the  plains  for  John  W. 
Grim  in  1847,  was  so  frozen  that  he  died  soon  after  returning  or  on  his  way 
home,  I  have  forgotten  which. 

At  Umatilla,  some  of  the  emigrants  concluded  to  go  to  Dr.  Whitman's  on 
the  Walla  Walla  river  and  stay  all  winter,  and  their  sad  history  was  written  in 
blood,  and  is  familiar  as  household  words  to  all  Oregon  Pioneers. 

At  the  first  crossing  of  Umatilla,  we  met  F.  W.  Geer  of  Butteville,  who  told 
us  how  it  had  rained  in  the  Cascade  mountains  and  what  we  had  to  encounter, 
but  we  did  not  realize  the  situation  then,  but  we  did  afterwards. 

On  the  Columbia  river  the  Indians  had  become  very  saucy  and  insolent  ; 
would  drive  off  stock  and  then  demand  pay  for  returning  it ;  and  some  of  the 
boys  gave  them  the  end  of  the  whip  lash,  and  I  gave  one  the  end  of  my  right 
arm  quicker  than  he  wanted  it.  My  wife  had  brought  a  very  large  turkey  wing 
across  the  plains,  and  an  Indian  saw  it  and  wanted  it  for  Big  Medicine,  and 
caught  hold  of  one  end  of  it  and  tried  to  take  it  away  from  her,  but  failed  ;  and 
I  suppose  thought  he  would  scare  her  by  pretending  he  would  cut  her  hand 
with  a  knife  that  he  had  drawn  from  his  belt.  I  told  her  to  hold  on,  for  he  dare 
not  hurt  her  and  that  I  would  attend  to  him  as  soon  as  I  got  the  cow  yoked,  as 
I  was  then  putting  the  yoke  on  a  cow  ;  and  she  held  on  of  course,  but  before  I 
got  the  cow  yoked,  he  let  go  and  was  trying  to  make  it  up  with  her  by  saying 
that  she  was  a  close  kloochman,  and  other  words.  But  the  drawing  of  his  knife 
and  making  motions  with  it  that  he  had,  had  got  my  blood  all  warmed  up,  and 
the  closer  I  got  to  him,  the  warmer  I  got,  and  when  in  reach  of  him  I  gave  him 
an  under  handed  lift  that  raised  him  about  two  feet,  and  he  came  down  badly 
demoralized.  The  old  chief  was  in  the  camp  with  several  of  his  braves,  and  he 
blustered  around  terribly,  and  wanted  me  to  give  him  a  shirt  or  blanket.  I 
felt  I  was  "  Big  Injun"  then,  and  picked  up  a  tent  pole  and  went  for  them,  and 
told  them  that  if  they  did  not  leave  I  would  sweep  them  from  the  face  of  the 
earth;  of  course  they  left. 

The  next  Sunday  evening  Dr.  Whitman  preached  to  our  company  on  Willow 


38  THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

creek,  and  complimented  us  and  the  young  man  that  gave  the  Indian  the  whip 
lash,  by  saying  if  more  men  would  do  likewise,  instead  of  giving  them  presents 
for  their  impudence  and  theft,  it  would  be  better  for  all  concerned. 

At  Rock  creek,  we  had  several  head  of  cattle  drowned  in  a  short  time  after 
we  stopped  and  we  called  that  creek  Drowning  Creek. 

We  crossed  the  Des  Chutes  river  on  two  wagon  beds  lashed  together,  and  ar 
rived  at  Barlow's  Gate  on  September  29th,  and  on  the  last  day  of  October,  we 
started  to  cross  the  Cascade  monntains,  and  right  here  our  trouble  began.  Capt. 
Bowman's  company  had  got  to  the  gate  just  one  month  ahead  of  us,  and  before 
any  rain  had  fallen,  and  as  the  road  was  new  or  comparatively  so,  having  been 
opened  in  1846,  and  newly  worked  and  but  one  track  for  the  wagon,  Bowman's 
and  other  trains  immediately  following  him  rendered  it  very  dusty,  and  the  rains 
of  September  had  washed  the  dust  all  off  the  hills  and  worked  it  into  mortar  on 
the  levels  and  rolling  ground,  which  was  followed  by  a  few  days  of  pleasant 
weather,  which  dried  the  hills  and  stiffened  the  mud  in  other  places  so  that  it 
would  bear  a  wagon,  and  when  it  had  rained  two  days,  the  2d  and  3d  of  Octo- 
beo,  the  road  was  just  horrible,  a  description  of  it  is  impossible  by  me,  at  least 
at  this  time. 

When  we  started  into  the  mountains  there  had  been  a  continual  string  of 
wagons  and  loose  stock  passing  for  one  month,  and  consequently  had  eaten 
what  little  grass  there  was  near  the  road.  On  account  of  the  horrible  condition 
of  the  road  and  continual  rain  from  the  time  we  started  into  the  mountains,  we 
were  thirteen  days  in  reaching  the  valley,  but  we  all  got  through  with  good  ap 
petites  and  found  plenty  of  good  substantial  food  to  satisfy  any  reasonable  man, 
woman  or  child. 

The  Pioneers  of  1847  found  plenty  of  bread,  meat  and  potatoes  and  pea-coffee, 
and  certainly  had  no  reasonable  right  to  complain  of  the  prices,  and  all  found 
work  that  wanted  to  work  for  a  reasonable  price.  From  the  best  information  I 
am  able  to  obtain,  I  think  the  emigration  of  1847  numbered  5,000  souls.  Gov. 
Abernethy  says  in  his  message,  between  four  and  five  thousand  souls.  The  em 
igrants  were  scattered,  and  not  very  thinly  scattered  either,  over  at  least  500 
miles  of  road,  which  satisfies  me  that  there  were  at  least  5,000  souls  crossed  the 
plains  in  that  year. 

Squire  Shively  arrived  at  Oregon  City  with  the  United  States  mail,  drawn  by 
horses,  September  7th,  and  Capt.  Nat.  Bowman's  company  was  the  first  to  the 
gate  and  arrived  at  Oregon  City  a  day  or  two  after  Shively.  But  few  started 
into  the  mountains  after  the  5th  of  October,  then  turned  to  The  Dalles  and  went 
down  the  river. 


THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS.  39 

The  emigration  of  1847  nearly  if  not  quite  doubled  the  white  population  of 
Oregon,  for  I  find  the  whole  population  in  1850  to  be  but  13,080,  after  receiving 
the  emigrations  of  1848  and  1849,  besides  large  accessions  from  California  dur 
ing  these  years,  and  also  the  natural  increase  which  was  considerable.  This 
doubling  the  population,  enabled  the  people  not  only  to  defend  themselves,  but 
to  send  an  army  east  of  the  mountains  and  chastise  the  murderers  of  Dr.  Whit 
man,  and  compel  the  Indians  to  give  up  the  murderers,  who  were  tried,  condem 
ned  and  executed  at  Oregon  City,  thus  showing  the  Indians  that  we  were  mas 
ters  of  the  situation. 

The  Pioneers  of  1847  spread  all  over  this  valley  and  Umpqua,  thereby  enab 
ling  the  people  to  establish  schools  all  over  the  land .  The  stock  interests  were 
advanced  by  the  introduction  of  fine  horses,  cattle  and  sheep,  by  enterprising 
Pioneers  of  that  year,  a  few  of  whom  I  will  speak.  Uncle  Johnny  Wilson,  as 
we  used  to  call  him,  of  Linn  county,  brought  a  drove  of  Durhams  from  Henry 
Clay's  herd  at  Blue  Grass  Grove,  Illinois,  which  vastly  improved  the  stock  of 
Oregon,  for  he  sold  breeding  animals  all  over  the  State.  A  great  difference  was 
perceptible  wherever  they  ranged.  He  also  brought  as  fine  mares  as  could 
be  bought  in  Illinois.  Uucle  Johnny  came  near  losing  his  whole  band  of  horses 
on  the  Platte.  The  horses  took  a  stampede  and  ran  off  with  a  herd  of  buffalos, 
but  he  followed  them  all  one  day  and  finally  got  them.  He  was  out  one  or  two 
nights,  I  forget  which.  My  wife  thinks  it  was  two  or  three  nights;  at  all  events 
he  brought  them  back  all  right. 

Captain  Benser  brought  a  herd  of  fine  cattle  and  improved  the  herds  of  the 
Columbia  bottoms  vastly.  J.  C.  Geer,  Sr..  brought  a  fine  cow  of  Henry  Clay's 
favorite  stock.  She  was  a  very  large,  well  proportioned  cow,  and  worked  all 
the  way  across  the  plains,  missing  only  two  or  three  days  the  whole  trip,  walk 
ing  down  two  large  steers  ;  her  descendants  are  to  be  seen  at  this  time  in  the 
Waldo  Hills  and  are  prized. 

Mr.  M.  L.  Savage  brought  old  George  that  year.  Mr.  Savage  staid  over  one 
year  for  the  purpose  of  getting  him  to  bring  to  Oregon,  believing  him  to  be  the 
best  race  horse  in  the  United  States  at  that  time.  Old  George  made  a  record 
for  himself  that  any  owner  might  be  proud  of  and  I  presume  Mr.  Savage  is  sat 
isfied  he  brought  the  horse  to  Oregon. 

Sheep  husbandry  received  a  big  lift  that  year.  Mr.  Fields  brought  a  flock  of 
fine  sheep  from  Missouri  and  stopped  with  them  near  Uncle  Dan  Waldo's. 
Fields  and  his  wife  both  died  under  a  large  fir  tree  with  the  measles.  The 
sheep  were  sold  at  auction  in  small  flocks  ;  they  proved  to  be  superior  sheep  to 
say  the  least.  I  got  a  small  flock  of  them  in  1850,  and  in  1853  I  sold  a  lot  of  fat 
sheep  to  the  butcher  Fields  of  Portland  for  $16  a  head.  The  wool  was  fine  and 


40  THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

long,  the  carcasses  heavy.  I  have  inquiry  for  the  Fields  sheep  often  yet.  I 
believe  they  made  for  themselves  a  wider  and  better  name  than  any  sheep  that 
ever  have  or  ever  will  be  brought  to  Oregon.  Uncle  Headrick,  Wm.  Turpin 
and  Johnson  Mulkey,  brought  a  fine  flock,  Priest  Fackler  drove  them  all  the 
way  as  far  as  they  traveled  with  us.  Turpin 's  were  Saxony,  and  Uncle  Head- 
rick  gave  him  $25  for  a  half-blooded  buck  at  Foster's  which  was  certainly  a  big 
price,  for  dollars  were  larger  then  than  now.  This  stock  of  sheep  is  still  on  the 
Howell  Prairie  and  they  speak  for  themselves.  R.  Patton  brought  a  large 
flock  and  took  them  to  Yamhill  county,  but  I  do  not  know  thejr  history. 

This  emigration  brought  everything  nearly,  from  a  paper  of  pins  to  a  4-foot 
burr.  Mr.  Haun,  of  Haun's  mill  noteriety  in  Missouri,  brought  a  pair  of  mill 
burr-stones.  I  do  not  know,  but  suppose  they  were  French  burrs. 

Uncle  Thomas  Cox,  and  William  his  son,  brought  a  respectable  store  across 
the  plains  and  opened  out  at  Salem  the  first  store  south  of  Champoeg.  William 
also  brought  some  peach  pits  and  planted  them,  and  originated  the  celebrated 
Cox  cling  peach,  the  boss  peach  of  California,  or  at  least  was  in  1870. 

Uncle  A.  E.  Dimick,  the  originator  of  the  Dimick  potatoe,  brought  the  seeds 
of  the  Early  or  Shaker  Blue  potatoe  from  Michigan  with  him  in  1847,  and  planted 
them  on  his  farm  in  the  north  part  of  Marion  county,  and  from  these  seeds 
sprang  the  famous  Dimick  potato. 

But  the  greatest  undertaking,  and  one  that  was  crowned  with  success,  and 
one  that  contributed  the  most  to  the  name  and  fame  of  Oregon,  was  the  "  Travel 
ing  Nursery,"  brought  across  the  plains  by  the  late  Henderson  Luelling,  in  1847. 
If  a  man  is  a  benefactor  to  his  race  who  makes  two  spears  of  grass  grow  where 
only  one  grew  before,  what  is  he  to  his  State,  who  makes  lucious  pears,  cherries, 
plums  and  apples  grow,  where  only  poor  seedlings  or  none,  grew  before.  Mr. 
Henderson  Luelling  by  bringing  that  splendid  assortment  of  apples,  pears, 
plums,  cherries,  quinces,  grapes,  berries  and  flowers  in  his  "  Traveling  Nursery" 
to  Oregon  in  1847,  gave  to  Oregon  the  name  of  "  God's  country,  or  the  Land  of 
Big  Red  Apples,"  a  name  that  every  Pioneer  of  Oregon  feels  proud  of.  I  never 
thought  Mr.  Luelling  received  the  reward  that  his  enterprise  merited.  I  have 
dealt  with  him  to  the  extent  of  thousands  of  dollars,  from  one  dollar  to  two  thous 
and  dollar  transactions,  and  always  found  him  honest.  Being  honest  himself  he 
trusted  too  much  and  consequently  was  victimized  to  a  fearful  extent.  The  con 
ception  and  carrying  out  of  that  enterprise  was  not  the  sudden  conviction  as  to 
the  importance  of  the  fruit  business,  but  was  the  result  of  a  train  of  circum 
stances,  the  most  controlling  of  which  was  his  long  and  successful  engagement 
in  the  nursery  business. 

In  the  fall  of  1845  he  began  to  prepare  to  start  to  Oregon,  but  could  not  dis- 


THE     OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS.  4* 

pose  of  his  land  in  time  to  start  until  it  would  be  quite  late,  so  he  concluded  to 
wait  another  year  and  bring  the  "  Traveling  Nursery."  He  planted  his  nursery 
thus  :  He  made  two  boxes  12  inches  deep,  and  just  wide  and  long  enough  to 
fill  the  wagon  bed,  and  filled  them  with  a  compost  consisting  principally  of 
charcoal  and  earth,  into  which  he  planted  about  700  trees  and  shrubs,  from  20 
inches  to  4  feet  high,  and  protected  them  from  the  stock  by  a  light  though, 
strong  frame  fastened  to  the  wagon  box.  He  left  the  Missouri  river  the  iyth  of 
May. 

On  the  Platte,  Mr.  Luelling  took  charge  of  the  nursery  wagon  and  team  to 
bring  it  through  in  his  own  way  and  time,  for  it  was  already  pronounced  by 
some  of  his  friends  a  very  hazardous  undertaking  to  draw  such  a  heavy  load  all 
the  way  over  the  Rocky  mountains  ;  but  every  discourging  proposition,  he  inva 
riably  answered,  that  so  long  as  he  could  take  it  without  endangering  the  safety 
of  his  family,  he  would  stick  to  it.  The  last  time  that  any  one  tried  to  discour 
age  him  about  the  nursery  wagon  was  on  the  North  Platte.  Rev.  Mr.  White 
suggested  that  it  would  be  better  to  leave  it,  as  the  cattle  were  becoming  weary 
and  foot  sore,  and  that  owing  to  the  continued  weight  of  that  load,  it  would  kill 
all  his  cattle  and  prevent  his  getting  through  ,•  but  his  answer  was  such  an  em 
phatic  "no"  that  he  was  allowed  to  follow  his  own  course  after  that  without 
remonstrance. 

The  nursery  reached  The  Dalles  about  the  ist  of  October,  and  the  trees  were 
there  taken  out  of  the  boxes  and  securely  wrapped  in  cloths  to  protect  them 
from  frosty  nights  and  the  various  handlings  that  they  had  to  undergo  in  the 
in  the  transit  down  the  Columbia.  That  load  of  trees  contained  health,  wealth 
and  comfort,  for  the  old  Pioneers  of  Oregon.  It  was  the  mother  of  all  our  early 
nurseries  and  orchards,  and  gave  Oregon  a  name  and  fame  that  she  never  would 
have  had  without  it.  That  load  of  living  trees  and  shrubs  brought  more  wealth 
to  Oregon  than  any  ship  that  ever  entered  the  Columbia  river.  Then,  I  say, 
hail,  all  hail  to  the  traveling  nursery  that  crossed  the  plains  in  1847. 

Excuse  me,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  brought  one  bushel  of  apple,  and  one-half 
bushel  of  pear  seeds,  which  went  far  towards  supplying  this  coast  with  trees, 
especially  pear  trees,  for  I  furnished  Luelling  with  stock  and  he  furnished  me 
with  buds  from  his  traveling  nursery,  which  enabled  both  of  us  to  furnish  culti 
vated  trees  in  great  numbers  at  a.n  early  day,  and  certainly  that  traveling  nur 
sery  was  a  God-send  to  me  and  mine. 

One  good  effect  of  the  emigration  of  1847,  a«  I  have  already  stated,  was  to  swell 
the  white  population  of  Oregon  to  such  an  extent  that  there  were  men  enough 
to  go  east  of  the  Cascade  mountains  and  conquor  the  hostile  Indians  and  bring 
the  murderers  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  others  to  justice,  and  so  overawe  all  the  In- 


42  THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS. 

dians  in  the  country  that  it  was  perfectly  safe  to  travel  any  where  in  the  country 
in  small  parties. 

And  when  the  gold  mines  "  broke  out,"  thousands  of  men  could  and  did  leave 
Oregon  for  the  gold  fields,  and  left  their  families  perfectly  safe  at  their  homes, 
thus  enabling  the  Oregonians  to  skim  the  gold  fields  of  California  and  return  to 
Oregon  and  spend  the  cream  in  developing  the  country.  To  mention  all  the 
good  results  of  that  large  emigration  would  exceed  my  limits,  but  I  could  not  do 
less  than  hint  at  some  of  them. 

The  emigration  of  1847  gave  us  many  of  our  prominent  men  ;  it  gave  us 
Samuel  B.  Thurston,  our  first  Delegate  to  Congress,  who,  by  his  indefatigable 
energy  and  perseverance,  obtained  what  all  old  Oregon  Pioneers  had  long 
prayed  for  in  vain,  the  passage  of  the  bill  donating  lands  to  the  Pioneers  of 
Oregon.  But  Samuel  R.  Thurston  needs  no  eulogy  from  me  ;  his  deeds  live  in 
the  hearts  of  all  old  Pioneers,  and  his  name  is  a  household  word  among  many 
families  in  the  land  for  which  he  toiled. 


A  REMINISCENCE. 


A  RECOLLECTION  OF  THE  ROGUE  RIVER  WAR  OF  1853, 


BY   HON.   ).   W.    NESMITH, 

During  the  month  of  August,  1853,  the  different  tribes  of  Indians  inhabiting 
the  Rogue  river  valley,  in  Southern  Oregon,  suddenly  assumed  a  hostile  attitude. 
They  murdered  many  settlers  and  miners,  and  burned  nearly  all  of  the  build- 
ings  for  over  a  hundred  miles  along  the  main  traveled  route,  extending  from 
Cow  Creek,  on  the  north,  in  a  southerly  direction  to  the  Siskiyou  mountains. 
Gen.  Lane  at  the  time  being  in  the  Rogue  river  valley,  at  the  request  of  citi 
zens,  assumed  control  of  a  body  of  militia,  suddenly  called  for  the  defense  of 
the  citizens. 

Captain  Alden,  of  the  regular  army,  and  Col.  John  E.  Ross,  of  Jackson 
county,  joined  Gen.  Lane  and  served  under  his  command.  Old  Joe,  John  and 
Sam  were  the  principal  leaders  of  the  Indians,  aided  by  such  young  and  vigor 
ous  warriors  as  George  and  Limpy. 

The  Indians  collected  in  a  large  body  and  retreated  northward  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Umpqua.  Gen.  Lane  made  a  vigorous  pursuit,  and  on  the  24th  of 
August  overtook  and  attacked  the  foe  in  a  rough,  mountainous  and  heavily  tim 
bered  region  upon  Evans  Creek.  The  Indians  had  fortified  their  encampment 
by  fallen  timber,  and  being  well  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition,  made  a 
vigorous  resistance.  In  an  attempt  to  charge  through  the  brush,  Gen.  Lane 
was  shot  through  the  arm  and  Capt.  Alden  received  a  wound  from  which  he 
never  fully  recovered.  Several  other  of  the  attacking  party  were  wounded, 
some  of  whom  subsequently  died  of  their  injuries.  Capt.  Pleasant  Armstrong, 
an  old  and  respected  citizen  of  Yamhill  county,  was  shot  through  the  heart  and 
died  instantly. 

The  Indians  and  whites  were  so  close  together  that  they  could  easily  converse 


44  A      REMINISCENCE. 

The  most  of  them  knew  Gen.  Lane,  and  when  they  found  that  he  was  in  com 
mand  of  the  troops,  they  called  out  to  "  Joe  Lane  "  and  asked  him  to  come 
into  their  camp  to  arrange  some  terms  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  The  gen 
eral,  with  more  courage  than  discretion, in  his  wounded  condition  ordered  a  ces 
sation  of  hostilities  and  fearlessly  walked  into  the  hostile  camp,  where  he  saw 
many  wounded  Indians,  together  with  several  who  were  dead  and  being  burned 
to  keep  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  which  clearly  demon 
strated  that  the  Indians  had  got  the  worst  of  the  fight.  After  a  long  confer 
ence  it  was  finally  agreed  that  there  should  be  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  and 
that  both  parties  should  return  to  the  neighborhood  of  Table  Rock,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Rogue  river  valley,  and  that  an  ai  mistice  should  exist  until 
Gen.  Joel  Palmer,  then  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  Oregon,  could  be 
sent  for,  and  that  a  treaty  should  be  negotiated  with  the  United  States  authori 
ties,  in  which  all  grievances  should  be  adjusted  between  the  parties.  Both 
whites  and  Indians  marched  back  slowly  over  the  same  trail,  encumbered  with 
their  wounded,  each  party  keeping  a  vigilant  watch  of  the  other.  General 
Lane  encamped  on  Rogue  river,  while  the  Indians  selected  a  strong  and  almost 
inaccessible  position,  high  up  and  just  under  the  perpendicular  cliffs  of  Table 
Rock,  to  await  the  arrival  of  Superintendent  Palmer  and  Agent  Culver. 

At  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  the  people  of  Rogue  river  valley  were 
sadly  deficient  in  arms  and  ammunition,  many  of  the  settlers  and  miners  having 
traded  their  arms  to  the  Indians,  who  were  much  better  armed  and  equipped 
for  war  than  their  white  neighbors.  The  rifle  and  revolver  had  displaced  the 
bow  and  arrow  and  the  war  clubs  with  which  the  natives  were  armed  when  the 
writer  of  this  knew  and  fought  them  in  1848. 

General  Lane  and  Capt.  Alden,  at  the  commencement  of  the  outbreak,  had 
sent  an  express  to  Governor  George  L.  Curry,  then  Secretary  and  Acting  Gov 
ernor.  Major  Rains,  of  the  4th  U.  S.  Infantry,  commanding  the  district,  with 
headquarters  at  Fort  Vancouver,  was  called  upon  to  supply  the  threatened  set 
tlers  with  arms  and  ammunition.  Major  'Rains  responded  to  the  call  for  arms 
and  ammunition,  but  was  deficient  in  troops  to  escort  them  to  their  destination 
at  the  seat  of  war.  Governor  Curry  at  once  authorized  the  writer  to  raise  sev 
enty-five  men  and  escort  the  arms  to  the  threatened  settlements.  The  escort 
was  soon  raised  in  the  town  of  Salem  and  marched  to  Albany  where  it  waited 
a  couple  of  days  for  the  arrival  of  Second  Lieutenant  August  V.  Kautz,  in 
charge  of  the  wagons  with  rifles  and  catridges  ;  together  with  a  twelve  pound 
howitzer  and  a  good  supply  of  fixed  ammunition.  Kautz  was  then  fresh  from 
West  Point  and  this  was  his  first  campaign.  He  subsequently  achieved  the 
rank  of  major-general  and  rendered  good  service  during  the  "  late  unpleasant 
ness  "  with  the  south,  and  is  now  Colonel  of  the  8th  U.  S.  Infantry. 


A     REMINISCENCE.  45 

After  a  toilsome  march,  dragging  the  howitzer  and  other  materials  of  war 
through  the  Umpqua  canyon,  and  up  and  down  the  mountain  trails  made  slip 
pery  by  recent  rains,  we  arrived  at  Gen.  Lane's  encampment  on  Rogue  river 
near  the  subsequent  site  of  Fort  Lane,  on  the  8th  day  of  September.  On  the 
same  day  Capt.  A.  J.  Smith,  since  the  distinguished  General  Smith,  of  the 
Union  army,  arrived  at  headquarters  with  Company  C,  First  Dragoons.  The 
accession  of  Capt.  Smith's  company  with  my  own  gave  General  Lane  a  force 
sufficient  to  cope  with  the  enemy,  then  supposed  to  be  about  700  strong.  The 
encampment  of  the  Indians  was  still  on  the  side  of  the  mountains  of  which 
Table  Rock  forms  the  summit,  and  at  night  we  could  plainly  see  their  camp 
fire,  while  they  could  look  directly  upon  us.  The  whole  command  was  anxious 
and  willing  to  fight,  but  Gen.  Lane  had  pledged  the  Indians  that  an  effort 
should  be  made  to  treat  for  peace.  Superintendent  Palmer  and  Agent  Culver 
were  upon  the  ground.  The  armistice  had  not  yet  expired,  and  the  loth  was 
fixed  for  the  time  of  the  council.  On  the  morning  of  that  day  Gen.  Lane  sent 
for  me  and  desired  me  to  go  with  him  to  the  council  ground,  inside  the  Indian 
encampment  to  act  as  interpreter,  as  I  was  master  of  the  Chinook  jargon.  I 
asked  the  general  upon  what  terms  and  where  we  were  to  meet  the  Indians, 
He  replied  that  the  agreement  was  that  the  meeting  should  take  place  within 
the  encampment  of  the  enemy  ;  and  that  he  should  be  accompanied  with  ten 
other  men  of  his  own  selection,  unarmed.  Against  those  terms  I  protested, 
and  told  the  general  that  I  had  traversed  that  country  five  years  before  and 
fought  those  same  Indians  ;  that  they  were  notoriously  treacherous,  and  in  early 
times  had  earned  the  designation  of  "  Rogues,"  by  never  permitting  a  white 
man  to  escape  with  his  scalp  when  once  within  their  power ;  that  I  knew  them 
better  than  he  did,  and  that  it  was  criminal  folly  for  eleven  unarmed  white  men 
to  place  themselves  voluntarily  within  the  power  of  seven  hundred  well  armed 
hostile  Indians,  in  their  own  secure  encampment.  I  reminded  him  that  I  was  a 
soldier  in  command  of  a  company  of  cavalry,  and  was  ready  to  obey  his  order 
to  lead  my  men  into  action  or  to  discharge  any  soldierly  duty,  no  part  of  which 
was  to  go  into  the  enemy's  camp  as  an  unarmed  interpreter.  The  general  lis 
tened  to  my  protest  and  replied  that  he  had  fixed  upon  the  terms  of  meeting 
the  Indians  and  should  keep  his  word,  and  if  I  was  afraid  to  go  I  could  remain 
behind.  When  he  put  it  upon  that  ground  I  responded  that  I  thought  I  was  as 
little  acquainted  with  fear  as  he  was,  and  that  I  would  accompany  him  to  what 
I  believed  would  be  our  slaughter. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  loth  of  September,  1853,  we  mounted  our  horses 
and  set  out  in  the  direciionof  the  Indian  encampment.  Onr  party  consisted  of 
the  following  named  persons  :  Gen.  Joseph  Lane,  Joel  Palmer,  Superintendent 
of  Indian  Affairs  ;  Samuel  P.  Culver,  Indian  Agent  ;  Capt.  A.  J.  Smith,  First 


46  A    REMINISCENCE. 

Dragoons ;  Capt.  L.  F.  Mosher,  Adjutant  ;  Col.  John  E.  Ross,  Capt.  J.  W. 
Nesmith,  Lieut.  A.  V.  Kautz,  R.  B.  Metcalf,  J.  D.  Mason,  T.  T.  Tierney.  By 
reference  to  the  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  v.  10,  p.  1020,  the  most  of  the  above 
names  will  be  found  appended  to  the  treaty  that  day  executed.  After  riding  a 
couple  of  miles  across  the  level  valley,  we  came  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
where  it  was  too  steep  for  horses  to  ascend.  We  dismounted  and  hitched  our 
horses  and  scrambled  up  for  half  a  mile  over  huge  rocks  and  through  brush, 
and  then  found  ourselves  in  the  Indian's  stronghold,  just  under  the  perpendicu 
lar  cliff  of  Table  Rock,  and  surrounded  by  700  fierce  and  well  armed  hostile 
savages,  arrayed  in  all  their  gorgeous  war  paint  and  feathers.  Captain  Smith 
had  drawn  out  his  company  of  dragoons  and  left  them  in  line  on  the  plain 
below.  It  was  a  bright  beautiful  morning  and  the  Rogue  river  valleys  lay  like 
a  panorama  at  our  feet ;  the  exact  line  of  dragoons,  sitting  statue-like  upon 
their  horses,  with  their  white  belts  and  burnished  scabbards  and  carbines, 
looked  like  they  were  engraven  upon  a  picture,  while  a  few  paces  in  our  rear 
the  huge  perpendicular  wall  of  Table  Rock  towered  frowningly,  many  hundred 
feet  above  us.  The  business  of  the  treaty  commenced  at  once.  Long  speeches 
were  made  by  General  Lane  and  Superintendent  Palmer ;  they  had  to  be  trans 
lated  twice.  When  an  Indian  spoke  the  Rogue  river  tongue,  it  was  translated 
by  an  Indian  interpreter  into  Chinook  or  jargon  to  me,  when  I  translated  it  into 
English  ;  when  Lane  or  Palmer  spoke,  the  process  was  reversed,  I  giving  the 
speech  to  the  Indian  interpreter  in  Chinook  and  he  translating  it  to  the  Indians 
in  their  own  tongue.  This  double  translation  of  long  speeches  made  the  labor 
tedious,  and  it  was  not  until  late  in  the  afternoon  that  the  treaty  was  completed 
and  signed.  In  the  meantime  an  episode  occurred  which  came  near  termina 
ting  the  treaty  as  well  as  the  representation  of  one  of  the  "  high  contracting" 
parties  in  a  sudden  and  tragic  manner.  About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  a 
young  Indian  came  running  into  camp  stark  naked  with  the  perspiration  stream 
ing  from  every  pore.  He  made  a  brief  harrangue  and  threw  himself  upon  the 
ground  apparently  exhaused.  His  speech  had  created  a  great  tumult  among 
his  tribe.  Gen.  Lane  told  me  to  inquire  of  the  Indian  intepreter  the  cause  of 
the  commotion.  The  Indian  responded  that  a  company  of  white  men  down  on 
Applegate  creek,  and  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Owen,  had  that  morning 
captured  an  Indian  known  as  Jim  Taylor,  and  tied  him  up  to  a  tree  and  shot 
him  to  death.  The  hubbub  and  confusion  among  the  Indians  at  once  became 
intense  and  murder  glared  from  each  savage  visage.  The  Indian  interpreter 
told  me  that  the  Indians  were  threatening  to  tie  us  up  to  trees  and  serve  us  as 
Owen's  men  had  served  Jim  Taylor.  I  saw  some  Indians  gathering  up  lass 
ropes,  while  others  drew  the  skin  covers  from  their  guns  and  the  wiping  sticks 
from  their  muzzles.  There  appeared  a  strong  probability  of  our  party  being 


A    REMINISCENCE.  47 

subjected  to  a  sudden  volley.  I  explained  as  briefly  as  I  could  that  the  inter 
preter  had  communicated  to  me,  and  in  order  to  keep  our  people  from  huddling 
together  and  thus  make  a  better  target  for  the  savages,  I  used  a  few  English 
words  not  likely  to  be  understood  by  the  Indian  interpreter,  such  as  "  disperse" 
and  "  segregate."  In  fact  we  kept  so  close  to  the  savages,  and  separated  from 
one  another,  that  any  general  firing  must  have  been  nearly  as  fatal  to  the  In 
dians  as  to  the  whites.  While  I  admit  that  I  thought  my  time  had  come,  and 
hurriedly  thought  of  wife  and  children,  I  noticed  nothing  but  coolness  among 
rny  companions.  Gen.  Lane  sat  upon  a  log  with  his  arm  bandaged  in  a  sling, 
the  lines  about  his  mouth  rigidly  compressing  his  lips,  while  his  eyes  flashed 
fire.  He  asked  brief  questions  and  gave  me  sententious  answers  to  what  little 
the  Indians*said  to  us.  Capt.  A.  J.  Smith,  who  was  prematurely  gray-haired 
and  was  afflicted  with  a  nervous  snapping  of  the  eyes,  leaned  upon  his  cavalry 
sabre  and  looked  anxiously  down  upon  his  well  formed  line  of  dragoons  in  the 
valley  below.  His  eyes  snapped  more  vigorously  than  usual  and  muttered 
words  escaped  from  under  the  old  dragoon's  white  mustache  that  did  not  sound 
like  prayers.  His  squadron  looked  beautiful,  but  alas  !  they  could  render  us 
no  service.  I  sat  down  on  a  log  close  to  old  chief  Joe,  and  having  a  sharp 
hunting  knife  under  my  hunting  shirt,  kept  one  hand  near  its  handle,  deter 
mined  that  there  would  be  one  Indian  made  "  good  "  about  the  time  the  firing 
commenced.  In  a  few  moments  Gen.  Lane  stood  up  and  commenced  to  speak 
slowly  but  very  distinctly.  He  said  Owens,  who  has  violated  the  armistice  and 
killed  Jim  Taylor  is  a  bad  man.  He  is  not  one  of  my  soldiers.  When  I  catch 
him  he  shall  be  punished.  I  promised  in  good  faith  to  come  into  your  camp 
with  ten  other  unarmed  men  to  secure  peace.  Myself  and  men  are  placed 
in  your  power  ;  I  do  not  believe  that  you  are  such  cowardly  dogs  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  our  unarmed  condition.  I  know  that  you  have  the  power  to  murder 
us,  and  can  do  so  as  quickly  as  you  please,  but  what  good  will  our  blood  do 
you  ?  Our  murder  will  exasperate  our  friends,  and  yonr  tribe  will  be  hunted 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Let  us  proceed  with  the  treaty,  and  in  place  of  war 
have  a  lasting  peace.  Much  more  was  said  in  this  strain  by  the  general,  all 
rather  defiant,  and  nothing  of  a  begging  character.  The  excitement  gradually 
subsided  after  Lane  promised  to  give  a  fair  compensation  for  the  defunct  Jim 
Taylor  in  shirts  and  blankets. 

The  treaty  of  the  loth  of  September,  1853,  was  completed  and  signed,  and 
peace  restored  for  the  next  two  years.  Our  party  wended  their  way  among  the 
rocks  down  to  where  our  horses  were  tied,  and  mounted.  -Old  A.  J.  Smith  gal 
loped  up  to  his  squadron  and  gave  a  brief  order.  The  bugle  sounded  a  note 
or  two,  and  the  squadron  wheeled  and  trotted  off  to  camp.  As  Gen.  Lane  and 
party  rode  back  across  the  valley,  we  looked  up  and  saw  the  rays  of  the  setting 


48  A    REMINISCENCE. 

sun  gilding  the  summit  of  Table  Rock.  I  drew  a  long  breath,  and  remarked 
to  the  old  general  that  the  next  time  he  wanted  to  go  unarmed  into  a  hostile 
camp,  he  must  hunt  up  some  one  besides  myself  to  act  AS  intepreter.  With  a 
beningant  smile  he  responded  :  "God  bless  you,  luck  is  better  than  science." 

I  never  hear  the  fate  of  Gen.  Canby,  at  the  Modoc  camp  referred  to,  that  I 
do  not  think  of  our  narrow  escape  of  a  similar  fate  at  Table  Rock. 


TYRUS  HIMES. 


BORN,    I8l8  ;    DIED,    1879. 


BY   HON.    ELWOOD   EVANS. 

Tyrus  Himes,  with  his  wife  and  their  four  eldest  children,  were  of  the  emi 
gration  of  1853.  They  started  for  Monmouth,  Polk  county,  Oregon,  which  had 
been  the  destination  of  several  acquaintances  in  the  preceding  year.  Loss  of 
stock  upon  the  plains  had  occasioned  serious  delay.  The  supply  of  provisions 
had  become  scant  ere  half  the  weary  journey  had  been  accomplished.  Reach 
ing  at  length  the  Rocky  mountains,  Mr.  Himes  fell  in  with  a  numerous  train 
from  Kentucky,  en  route  to  Puget  Sound.  Hon:  James  Biles,  now  of  Turn  water, 
and  among  the  most  prominent  and  worthy  of  Washington's  citizens,  was  leader 
of  that  band.  In  him,  Mr.  Himes  found  a  sympathizing  friend,  one  to  whom 
he  could  recount  his  misfortunes,  his  doubts,  his  difficulties — yes,  his  necessities. 
That  excellent  Christian  and  model  gentleman,  who  never  turned  the  deaf  ear 
to  distress  or  misfortune,  cheered  the  desponding,  weary,  care-worn  fellow-trav 
eler.  Cordially  he  invited  Mr.  Himes  to  accompany  the  party  to  Puget  Sound, 
promising  to  assist  him  through  the  journey.  Mr.  Himes  was  reluctant  to  aban 
don  his  original  plan  ;  he  felt  unwilling  to  place  himself  under  so  great  an  obli 
gation  to  a  stranger.  But  good  Mr.  Biles'  straight- forworward,  unselfish  wel 
come  prevailed.  Mr.  Himes  gratefully  accepted  the  proffered  assistance,  and 
thenceforward  journeyed  toward  Washington  Territory.  The  party  whom  he 
joined  in  the  Rocky  mountains  constituted  the  Pioneer  emigration  into  the  basin 
of  Puget  Sound  via  the  Nah-Chess  Pass  of  the  Cascade  mountains.  That  hardy 
and  heroic  band,  Pioneers  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  cut  their  road,  cleared 
their  way  through  the  mountain-gorges  as  they  marched  onward  to  convert  the 
wilderness  intp  the  homes  of  civilization.  After  a  weary,  tedious  voyage  across 
the  great  plains,  worn  out  and  fatigued,  short  of  provisions,  passing  over  a  route 
never  travelled  before  by  their  race,  the  winter  approaching,  their  teams  re 
duced  to  starvation — they  labored  on  and  triumphed  over  every  difficulty. 

He  was  born  on  the  I4th  of  April  1818,  at  Troy,  Bradford  county,  Pennsyl- 

4: 


50  TYRUS    HIMES. 

vania.  At  that  period,  his  birth  place  was  almost  a  frontier  settlement.  The 
admirable  system  of  common  schools,  for  which  his  native  State  has  since  be 
come  so  noted,  had  not  then  been  inaugurated.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  in 
his  youth,  lived  in  a  neighborhood  where  schools  had  not  been  introduced. 
Still  he  did  not  fail  to  acquire  knowledge.  While  it  was  his  great  misfortune 
that  there  were  no  schools  for  him  to  attend,  yet  was  he  a  close  observer,  ren 
dered  himself  well  informed,  and  in  his  later  years  became  an  extensive  reader. 
At  the  age  of  15,  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  trade  of  shoe-making,  after 
which  he  acquired  thorough  proficiency  in  harness-making,  tanning  and  curry 
ing.  He  was  a  worker.  Throughout  his  long  life,  when  not  physically  inca 
pacitated  by  painful  disease,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  be  idle.  During  the 
hours  assigned  to  daily  labor,  he  was  ever  on  the  go.  Mr.  Himes  was  a  man  of 
iron  constitution,  great  will,  and  in  his  early  manhood  of  powerful  physique 
and  endurance,  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  severely  cut  his  knee  with  a  draw 
ing  knife.  He  neglected  the  wound,  took  cold  in  it,  and  severe  rheumatism 
followed.  He  suffered  through  a  lingering  illness  of  eighteen  months,  most  of 
which  time  he  was  confined  to  his  bed.  He  at  length  recovered  health  sufficient 
to  get  about.  Reduced  by  long  illness  and  acute  bodily  pain  to  a  shadow  of 
his  former  self,  his  weight  decreased  from  175  to  135  pounds  ;  he  was  no  longer 
the  man  of  erect  habit  and  perfect  limb,  enjoying  perfect  health.  His  right 
knee  had  become  bent  nearly  at  right  angle,  and  the  joint  permanently  stiff 
ened.  Henceforth  he  was  doomed  to  be  the  subject  of  chronic  rheumatism. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1843,  he  married  Emeline  Holcomb,  of  LeEoy,  Bradford 
county.  In  1845,  returning  and  continuing  ill  health  having  disqualified  him 
for  work,  he  was  induced  to  make  a  tour  through  the  Southern  States.  The 
succeeding  winter  he  remained  at  Bayou  La  Fourche,  about  eighty  miles  south 
of  New  Orleans,  upon  the  sugar  plantation  of  an  older  brother.  The  next 
spring,  renewed  in  strength,  he  went  to  Rock  Island,  on  the  Upper  Mississippi; 
thence,  after  a  short  stay,  to  Chicago,  then  in  its  infancy.  In  that  now  great 
emporium  and  centre  of  bustle  and  business,  he  was  afforded  the  opportunity  to 
purchase  a  quarter  section  of  land  just  outside  of  that  city,  for  the  sum  of  $800. 
His  trip  had  reduced  his  capital  to  $300.  In  this  emergency,  he  appealed  to 
an  older  brother  to  advance  him  the  required  $500.  Tyrus  had  faith  in  the 

West in  that  investment.     His  brother  thought  him  wild  and  visionary,  and, 

as  he  thought  to  save  Tyrus  from  being  sacrificed  by  what  he  termed  a  "wild- 
goose  speculation,"  refused  him.  The  rebuff  disappointed  Mr.  Himes,  but  he 
was  not  one  to  be  disheartened.  If  he  could  not  buy  land  near  Chicago,  he 
could  elsewhere.  He  located  a  claim  at  Lafayette,  Stark  county,  and  then  re 
turned  to  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  the  spring  of  1847,  with  his  little 
family,  then  consisting  of  himself,  wife  and  infant  son,  (George  H..)  then  two 


TYRUS    HIMES.  51 

and  a  half  years  of  age,  he  returned  to  Lafayette.  He  now  devoted  himself  to 
farming,  conducting  also  the  shoe  business  in  the  town.  His  industry  was  re 
warded  with  prosperity.  But  he  had  started  toward  the  setting  sun,  and  no 
half-way  measures  suited  his  ardent  temperament.  Illinois  was  "  out  West" 
from  Pennsylvania  ;  but  after  the  "  days  of  '49,"  California  and  Oregon  had  be 
come  "  The  West."  The  Pacific  Slope  was  Mr.  Himes'  goal.  In  1852,  he  re 
solved  upon  going  to  Oregon.  To  resolve,  was  with  him  but  the  precedent  of 
to  perform.  On  the  2 1st  of  March,  1853,  we  find  him,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  four  children,  starting  upon  their  tedious,  wearisome  pilgrimage  across 
the  plains.  After  seven  months  of  toil  and  hardship,  and  danger  from  Indians, 
they  arrived  at  Olympia,  Washington  Territory. 

He  took  a  donation  claim  of  a  half  section  of  land,  in  the  timber  fringing  a 
beautiful  lake,  and  skirting  a  prairie,  situated  about  six  miles  east  of  Olympia, 
on  the  road  to  Nisqually  and  Steilacoom.  He  commenced  to  drain  this  lake, 
to  reduce  to  cultivation  this  huge  forest,  with  its  mighty  trees,  the  growth  of 
centuries.  In  October,  1855,  the  Indian  war  broke  out,  and  until  March,  1857, 
the  families  of  Mr.  Himes  and  his  neighbors  were  obliged  to  leave  their  claims 
t:>  take  shelter  in  block  houses.  Impoverished  by  the  war,  with  the  view  of  af 
fording  to  his  children  the  opportunity  to  attend  school,  as  also  for  himself  to 
earn  something  to  improve  his  farm,  when  not  engaged  in  putting  in  crops  and 
their  neccessary  occasional  cultivation,  he  pursued  his  trade,  in  the  town  of 
Olympia  from  1857  until  1862.  He  then  returned  to  his  farm  and  ever  after 
wards  devoted  himself  entirely  to  its  cultivation. 

During  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life,  he  was  subject  to  attacks  of  rheumatism 
in  the  stomach,  from  which,  at  times,  he  suffered  the  most  intense  agony.  He 
bore  it  without  a  murmur,  heroically,  patiently,  submissively,  through  those 
long  weary  years.  Outside  of  the  little  family  circle  this  was  unknown,  even  to 
his  nearest  friends.  None  heard  him  complain.  He  always  met  them  with 
cordial  greeting,  none  dreaming  but  that  he  was  in  as  good  health  as  his  flow  of 
good  spirits  indicated.  Bearing  his  burden,  Christian  hero  that  he  was,  he  hob 
bled  through  life's  weary  journey  ever  kind  and  genial  to  all.  It  is  but  truth 
to  say,  he  was  always  at  work,  never  idle  ;  he  had  a  good  word  for  all  as  he  hast 
ened  on  to  dispatch  the  several  things  he  had  to  do,  and  then  hurry  back  to 
his  bench  or  farm.  If  nothing  required  attention,  if  the  routine  work  was  fin 
ished,  he  would,  through  sheer  love  of  being  employed,  fill  up  his  time  by 
making  work.  He  has  been  known  to  go  out  and  dig  up  stumps,  simply  to  be 
at  work.  He  loved  labor  for  its  sake.  To  remove  a  stump  of  an  old  forest 
tree,  centuries  old,  is  truly  labor,  but  good  Father  Himes  never  any  more  shrank 
from  such  a  task  than  he  would  from  weeding  a  garden  or  slashing  brush,  and 


52  TYRTJS    HIMES. 

his  model  farm  furnishes  the  evidence  of  what  well  directed  industry  will  ac 
complish.  To  his  pains-taking,  persistent,  steady  work,  the  lake  had  been  con 
verted  into  the  most  luxuriant  meadow,  the  heavy  forest  has  become  the  garden 
where  small  fruits  and  early  vegetables  are  supplied  in  the  greatest  profusion 
and  excellence. 

Uncomplaining,  except  at  home,  and  only  then  when  oppressed  naature  could 
no  longer  endure  intense  bodily  suffering,  he  had  gradually  failed,  and  his  fam 
ily  could  see  his  disease  was  mastering  him.  Still  he  worked  on.  With  his 
own  hands  he  prepared  and  planted  his  early  garden  for  1879.  The  heavy 
rains  of  that  spring  overflowed  the  drained  lake,  the  ditches  proved  insufficient 
to  carry  off  the  surplus  waters — the  garden  was  destroyed,  his  work  was  ren 
dered  abortive.  He  realized  that  he  was  failing  in  health,  he  felt  that  his 
former  energy  was  deserting  him,  he  grieved  that  his  labor  should  have  proved 
useless,  he  experienced  that  he  had  not  time  to  do  twice  over  the  same  work. 
Life  was  too  short  to  be  thus  baffled  near  its  close,  and  so  this  strong-hearted 
man  was  giving  up.  His  strong  will,  that  never  forsook  him,  was  now  yield 
ing.  He  fretted,  and  showed  that  small  causes  could  now  discourage  him.  At 
this  time,  (late  in  March),  he  wrote  to  his  eldest  son  in  Portland.  It  was  his 
last  letter,  and  it  gave  unmistakable  indication  that  the  father  was  anticipating 
the  close  of  a  life  which  had  been  laborious.  It  was  the  premonition  that  his 
best  energies  were  failing.  But  he  did  not,  would  not,  give  up.  He  labored 
on.  He  was  at  the  plow  on  the  22nd  day  of  April,  doing  his  accustomed  share 
of  the  work  of  the  farm.  There  was  no  need  for  him  to  be  there.  Eut  if  the 
work  was  to  do,  he  would  do  it.  He  came  in  at  noon,  but  could  eat  nothing. 
He  was  worn  out.  He  had  finished  his  earthly  work.  The  strong  man  suc 
cumbed.  His  long  infirmity  had  at  length  conquered.  His  strength  failed  him. 
His  spirit  sank  within  him.  Plaintively  he  told  the  family  he  was  too  ill  to 
work.  In  the  evening,  when  the  time  came  for  milking,  he  wanted  to  do  his 
accustomed  share,  but  for  the  first  time  he  asked  his  sons  to  relieve  him  of  the 
task.  Night  followed,  but  with  it  came  no  sleep  for  him.  He  suffered  through 
till  morning,  when  the  physician  came,  to  bring  but  temporary  relief.  He 
could  eat  no  food,  take  no  nourishment,  his  stomach  rejected  everything.  The 
strong  constitution  was  hopelessly  worn  out.  In  the  evening,  conscious  of  early 
dissolution,  he  calmly  summoned  the  family  to  his  bedside,  and  bade  them  an 
affectionate  farewell.  Then  the  old  man  patiently  waited  for  his  eternal  release 
from  that  agony  and  pain  which  so  long  and  so  often  had  been  his  companion. 
Till  then  he  had  been  conscious  of  all  that  was  passing.  He  soon  became  de 
lirious,  and  so  continued  until  9  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when  welcome  death 
terminated  his  suffering. 

A  widow  well  advanced  in  years,  several  children,  the  majority  of  whom  are 


TYRUS    HIMES.  53 

settled  in  life,  and  a  number  of  grand-children,  survive  to  mourn  the  loss  of  an 
aged  and  honored  parent  and  ancestor.  Among  his  children  are  several  of 
Washington's  best  citizens.  His  eldest  son  is  better  known  than  the  deceased 
father ;  worthy  and  enterprising  as  he  is,  he  but  imitates  some  of  the  most  marked 
characteristics  of  his  deceased  parent.  The  Pioneers  and  old  settlers  are  again 
reminded,  that  they,  who  carried  American  settlement  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
are  one  by  one  passing  away. 

Tyrus  Himes  was  an  affectionate  husband,  the  tender  and  loving  parent,  the 
steadfast  friend.  This  feeble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  an  exemplary  man  and 
good  citizen,  by  one  who  knew  him  well  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  cannot  more 
fittingly  close  than  by  adopting  the  words  of  an  admirer  and  grateful  friend  of 
the  deceased, — one  who  had  been  the  recipient  of  his  good  offices,  had  lived  for 
a  time  one  of  his  household,  who  had  the  opportunity  to  learn  his  inner  life,  to 
see  his  many  noble  traits,  and  knowing  him  and  them,  loved  his  deceased  friend 
and  reveres  his  memory. 

And  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Himes'  son,  I  wrote:  "  I  deeply  sympathize  with  you 
in  your  loss.  It  was  to  me,  like  the  losing  of  and  elder  brother.  I  had  no 
friend  whom  I  esteemed  higher,  and  none  who,  to  the  same  extent,  possessed 
my  confidence.  While  a  child  might  see  much  in  a  parent  to  admire,  k  is  for  a 
stranger  to  see  and  appreciate  those  qualities,  shown  in  every-day  life,  which 
are  the  natural  outgrowth  of  a  comprehensive  mind  and  an  innate  goodness  of 
of  heart.  Your  father,  as  a  friend  to  a  stranger,  was  a  gem  so  rare  that  it  is  sel 
dom  to  be  met  with.  .Such  qualities  comprehend  what  I  call  practical  Christi 
anity." 


MORGAN  L.  SAVAGE. 


Died  February  9th,  1880. 


Instead  of  the  usual  ministerial  services  at  the  funeral,  at  the 
request  of  his  friends,  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith  delivered  the  follow 
ing  touching  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased  : 

FRIENDS: — We  are  assembled  around  the  open  portals  of  the  tomb  to  do  the 
last  sad  offices  for  our  departed  neighbor  and  friend,  Morgan  Lewis  Savage. 
At  i  o'clock  on  yesterday  morning,  he  breathed  his  last,  and  his  remains  in  the 
Cold  embraces  of  death  now  lay  before  us,  consigned  to  their  last  resting  place. 
Mr.  Savage  was  born  in  1816  and  came  to  Oregon  in  1847.  ^e  was  twice  mar 
ried,  and  leaves  a  widow  and  six  children  to  mourn  his  loss.  I  shall  not  invade 
that  sacred  home  to  offer  any  poor  consolation.  Time — that  relieves  our  sorrows 
will  mollify  their  grief,  while  the  memory  of  the  departed  will  always  be  cher 
ished  in  their  hearts. 

"  When  spring  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  this  hallowed  mould, 
She  then  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 
Than  fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod, 
*  *  *  # 

And  honor  comes  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  his  clay." 

Our  friend  has  gone  to  "That  undiscovered  country,  whose  bourne  from 
whence  no  traveler  returns."  He  has  passed  the  dark  vale  that  divides  the 
here  from  the  hereafter,  and  which  no  mortal  ken  has  ever  penetrated.  Who 
has  the  right  to  speak  of  his  future  ?  I  speak  or.ly  of  his  past,  that  at  least  is 
secure.  It  is  said  that  good  men's  deeds  live  after  them.  Judged  by  the  rule 
of  his  good  works,  our  friends'  future  is  secure. 

As  I  look  upon  the  thin  lines  of  old  Pioneers  that  are  here,  I  am  reminded  of 
the  inevitable  hour  when  we,  too,  shall  follow. 

"  Our  hearts,  though  strong  and  brave, 
Still,  like  muffled  drums,  are  beating, 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 


MORGAN.  L.    SAVAGE.  55 

It  was  my  fortune  to  know  our  deceased  friend  long  and  well.  Very  nearly  a 
third  of  a  century  ago,  when  Oregon  was  a  wilderness,  and  unreclaimed  from 
the  dominion  of  the  savage  Indians,  we  were  fellow  soldiers  in  the  same  battal- 
lion  in  the  Cayuse  war.  Together  we  made  long  and  dreary  marches,  and 
shared  the  rude  comforts  of  the  bivouac  around  the  same  camp  fires  ;  we  divided 
the  scanty  rations,  and  alternately  guarded  the  camp  through  the  long  dreary 
vigils  of  the  night,  while  our  weary  comrades  slept  upon  their  trusty  rifles.  In 
the  hour  of  peril  I  have  looked  in  his  manly  face  for  that  sympathy  and  support 
that  one  soldier  expects  from  another,  and  I  always  found  it.  No  man  among 
us  could  have  fallen  who  would  be  more  missed  than  "  Lute"  Savage.  He  was 
honored  by  his  neighbors  with  a  seat  in  the  higher  branch  of  our  Legislature, 
and  in  all  his  relations  in  life,  as  a  citizen,  soldier,  legislator,  husband,  father, 
and  friend,  he  did  his  whole  duty,  and  acquitted  himself  with  that  honor  and 
fidelity  that  renders  his  memory  dear  to  us,  his  neighbors  and  friends.  I  hope 
that  each  of  us  may  leave  as  honorable  a  record.  You  may  engrave  upon  his 

tombstone— 

HERE  LIES  AN  HONEST  MAN  ! 

«'  The  noblest  work  of  God." 

No  cynic  shall  question  the  record  by  saying  that  you  have  written,  "Not 
what  he  was,  but  what  he  should  have  been." 

Here  at  the  open  grave  of  our  friend,  we  tender  our  heart-felt  sympathy  to 
his  bereaved  family — the  sad  melancholy  surroundings  here  burden  and  oppress 
my  heart,  and  paralyze  my  utterances,  I  will  . 

"No  further  seek  his  merits  to  disclose, 

Or  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode  ; 
There  they  alike  in  trembling  trust  repose, 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." 


DONALD  MANSON 

BOKN  APRIL  6,  1800 ;   DIED  JANUARY  7,  1880. 


BY   HON.    WILLIARD   H.    REES. 


The  fur  traders  who  spent  many  years  of  their  lives  in  Oregon,  during  the 
first  half  of  the  present  century,  were  actors  in  those  interesting  events  connected 
with  the  early  history  and  settlement  of  the  North  Pacific  coast. 

Many  of  those  pioneer  adventurers  beheld  the  country  while  yet  unchanged 
from  the  primitive  condition  in  which  it  was  found  by  the  intrepid  Gray  on  that 
eventful  morning,  May  7,  1792,  when  he  passed  in  safety  the  surging  billows 
that  dashed  upon  the  bar  and  anchored  his  bark  Columbia,  upon  the  placid  bo 
som  of  the  long  sought,  but  hitherto  undiscovered  river  of  the  West. 

But  few  of  those  brave,  strong  men — harbingers  of  the  downfall  of  the  Red 
man's  sway,  and  founders  of  the  Anglo-American  civilization  upon  the  Pacific 
coast,  were  spared  by  old  Time  to  witness  the  wonderful  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  this  land  of  wonders  during  the  last  score  of  years.  Prominent  among 
the  few  exceptions,  was  the  venerable  Donald  Manson,  who  died  at  his  home 
near  Champoeg,  January  7,  1880,  aged  79  years  and  9  months. 

Mr.  Manson  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  April  6,  1800.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  in  easy  circumstances,  and  Donald  was  sent  to  school  with  the  view  to 
prepare  him  to  enter  into  mercantile  pursuits  ;  but  other  counsels  prevailed,  and 
young  Donald  received  the  appointment  of  a  clerkship  in  the  service  of  the 
Honorable  Hudson  Bay  Company  in  the  spring  of  1817.  Reporting  himself  at 
the  London  office,  he  was  sent  at  once  to  Fort  York  on  Hudson's  Bay,  head 
quarters  of  the  company  in  America.  Here  he  remained  until  the  spring  of 
1820,  when  he  was  sent  to  Lake  Winnepeg.  While  at  that  post,  he  first  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  who  was  then  a  distinguished  officer 
of  the  Northwest  Fur  Company.  At  this  time,  said  Mr.  Manson,  Dr.  Mc 
Laughlin  was  some  36  years  of  age,  and  as  imposing  in  his  person  as  he  was 


DONALD    MANSON.  57 

formable  and  far-reaching  in  his  rivalship  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Al 
ways  prompt,  yet  dignified  in  bearing,  he  had  no  equal  in  executive  manage 
ment  at  that  day,  nor  thereafter  in  the  vast  fur-fields  of  the  great  Northwest. 
Soon  after,  these  two  powerful  rivals  in  the  American  fur  trade  were  united  un 
der  the  charter  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Dr.  McLaughlin  was  placed  in  com 
mand  of  the  Companies  affairs  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  arriving  at  Fort 
George  or  Astoria,  the  then  headquarters  of  the  Columbia  Department  early  in 
1823. 

In  January,  1823,  Mr.  Manson  received  instructions  to  report  to  Mr.  Samuel 
Black,  chief  of  an  expedition  then  preparing  to  explore  the  British  possessions 
bordering  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Said  Mr.  Manson,  although  I  had  been  six 
years  in  America  and  traveled  pretty  extensively  through  the  country  draining 
into  Hudson  Bay  and  Lake  Superior,  I  had  in  reality  but  a  very  imperfect  con 
ception  of  the  great  extent  and  grandeur  of  the  American  continent  until  cross 
ing  to  the  western  watershed  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Here,  amid  the  stupen 
dous  works  of  nature,  those  celebrated  crags  and  deep  shady  dells  of  old  Cale 
donia,  upon  which  in  my  boyhood  I  had  so  often  gazed  with  awe  and  admira 
tion,  were  tame  indeed,  when  compared  with  the  broad  plains,  lofty  mountains 
and  vastness  of  the  wild  landscape  which  every  where  met  the  eye  in  this  great 
land  of  countless  wonders. 

Prior  to  starting  upon  this  hitherto  unexplored  northern  route  to  the  Pacific,  I 
had  seen  the  great  plains  of  the  Saskatchawan,  doted  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  with  immense  herds  of  buffalo  and  antelope,  and  as  we  neared  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  elk  and  moose  were  plentiful,  but  not  un 
til  descending  the  western  slope  toward  the  Pacific,  did  we  meet  with  and  feast 
upon  the  delicious  cariboo. 

The  Indians  of  the  interior  were  generally  found  to  be  somewhat  shy  on  first 
approaching  their  villiages,  especially  was  this  the  .case  to  the  westward  of 
Athabasca  river,  but  this  coyness  on  their  part  soon  gave  place  to  most  friendly 
and  liberal  acts  of  hospitality.  Their  lodges  were  all  inclosed  with  dressed 
buffalo  skins.  Their  country  abounded  in  game,  lake  fish  of  an  excellent  qual 
ity  and  nutritious  roots  ;  yet,  those  Northwestern  people  of  the  interior,  were 
the  most  provident  Indians  whom  I  have  ever  met.  While  the  Indians  near  the 
coast,  as  we  had  reasons  to  regret,  were  more  bold,  deceitful  and  treacherous. 

Mr.  Manson  at  different  interviews  during  the  last  twenty  years,  has  given 
the  writer  a  very  interesting  account  of  those  wild,  untutored  tribes,  their  man 
ner  of  living,  strange  superstitions,  cruel  forms  of  worship  and  surprising  me 
chanical  ingenuity  found  existing  among  these  people  of  the  North  Pacific  coast. 

At  the  close  of  their  explorations  early  in  August,  1824,  the  expedition  then 


58  DONALD    MANSOW. 

in  the  country  now  known  as  the  Cassiar  mining  district,  was  divided.  Mr. 
Black  at  the  head  of  one  division  proceeded  to  the  Columbia,  while  Mr.  Manson 
in  charge  of  the  other  with  the  journal  and  maps  of  the  expedition,  was  to 
travel  by  way  of  Peace  river  and  lake  Athabasca  to  York  factory  on  Hudson 
Bay. 

The  route  by  way  of  Peace  river  being  somewhat  circuitous,  requiring  a  con 
siderable  detour  to  the  north,  the  party  did  not  reach  lake  Athabasca  until  late 
in  the  fall.  Here  Mr.  Manson  met  an  express  sent  out  by  Gov.  Simpson,  con 
taining  instructions  to  forward  the  report  of  the  exploring  expedition  to  York 
Factory,  take  charge  of  the  western  bound  express  and  with  four  men  proceed 
to  Columbia  Department  and  report  to  Dr.  John  McLaughlin  in  charge.  Those 
strong  brave  men,  who  spent  all  the  mature  years  of  their  lives  in  the  wilds  of 
the  fur  producing  regions  of  the  great  Northwest,  had  entered  into  a  solemn 
engagement  with  their  respective  companies  to  labor  for  the  advancement  of  their 
interests  and  obey  the  commands  of  their  superior  officers.  Neither  the  broad 
plains  of  the  wilderness,  the  wild  savage  character  of  its  inhabitants,  lofty 
mountains,  nor  driving  snow  storms  of  mid-winter  seemed  to  daunt  the  courage 
or  obstruct  the  onward  march  of  those  hardy  mountaineers. 

Turning  their  faces  from  the  midland  post  at  Athabasca,  they  were  once  more 
enroute  toward  the  setting  sun.  After  a  toilsome  march  over  a  most  rugged 
country,  Mr.  Manson  with  his  four  men  reached  Fort  Vancouver,  Jan.  6,  1825, 
This  young  Scotch  officer  had  been  sent  to  the  Columbia  Department  by  re 
quest  of  Dr.  McLaughlin,  who,  in  1824  removed  the  headquarters  of  hfs  de 
partment  from  Astoria  to  Vancouver,  where  he  occupied  a  new  stockade  fort, 
then  just  completed  which  was  located  upon  the  high  point  of  land  a  short  dis 
tance  up  the  river  from  the  present  town.  Mr.  Manson  was  appointed  by  the 
Doctor,  Superintendent  of  improvements  at  the  post,  with  some  forty  men  under 
his  charge.  Dr.  McLaughlin  finding  this  location  upon  the  highland  inconven 
ient  on  account  of  the  water  supply  and  shipping  facilities,  decided  to  begin  at 
once  the  erection  of  a  new  fort  on  the  site  upon  which  the  town  of  Vancouver 
has  since  been  built.  To  this  end,  Mr.  Manson  was  instructed  to  commence 
the  work  of  building  a  new  stockade,  inclosing  two  acres  of  ground,  which  in 
due  time  he  completed.  This  was  the  old  Fort  Vancouver  so  well  remembered 
by  all  the  surviving  pioneers  who  found  homes  in  Oregon  during  the  second 
quarter  of  the  present  century,  the  old  P'ort  Vancouver  which  under  the  wise 
administration  of  the  late  Dr.  John  McLaughlin  controlled  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century  the  lucrative  trade  of  a  vast  region  of  the  Northwest,  lying  be 
tween  the  Rocky  mountains  and  Pacific  ocean.  Dr.  McLaughlin  who  for  many 
years,  exercised  almost  illimitable  sway  over  the  then  new  empire,  as  it  were,  of 


DONALD  MANSON.  59 

the  great  Northwest,  through  his  wisdom,  justice  and  humanity  has  left  to  man 
kind  a  noble  example,  and  his  acts  of  benevolence  will  in  due  time  adorn  the 
pages  of  truthful  history. 

Soon  after  completing  the  new  stockade  at  Vancouver,  Mr.  Manson  with  a 
force  of  men  was  sent  via  Nasqualla  to  Frazier  river,  where  he  selected  a  site 
and  superintended  the  building  of  Fort  Langley,  situated  on  that  river  near  the 
northern  boundary  of  Washington  Territory.  Soon  after  completing  this  large 
fort,  he  returned  to  Vancouver. 

In  the  spring  of  1827,  two  Boston  fur  trading  vessels  entered  the  Columbia, 
the  brig  Owyhee,  commanded  by  Capt.  Dominas,  and  the  schooner  Conyoy, 
Capt.  Thompson.  Dr.  McLaughlin  directed  Mr.  Manson  to  get  ready  the 
Multnomah,  a  river  sloop  and  taking  on  board  a  cargo  of  Indian  goods,  was 
sent  to  old  Fort  Astor,  (which  had  been  abandoned  three  years  before  and  was 
now  a  complete  ruin)  to  oppose  the  Yankee  traders.  A  sharp  competition  was 
at  once  inaugurated  between  these  maritime  fur  traders  and  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  which  was  every  where  the  case  with  rival  companies  so  long  as  furs 
continued  to  rule  high  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  While  this  competition 
was  of  the  most  persevering  and  vigilant  character,  the  personal  relations  of  the 
traders  were  always  amicable.  Festive  entertainments  were  held  by  the  officers 
on  board  their  respective  vessels,  and  in  pleasant  weather,  on  the  site  of  the  old 
fortress,  where  nothing  but  its  fallen  ruins  were  now  left  to  mark  the  place 
where  important  national  events  had  taken  place  but  a  few  years  before — here 
upon  this  historic  spot  on  gaily  days,  would  come  in  regal  pomp,  old  king  Con- 
comily,  his  brother  Scon-ich-ko,  Che-nain-us  the  young  chief,  and  Qua-luk  or 
George,  the  interpeter  on  board  the  Tonquin,  and  only  survivor  of  the  disaster 
of  that  ill  fated  ship  ;  with  an  aggregate  fleet  from  all  the  villages  of  more  than 
a  hundred  canoes.  Then  would  follow  a  feast  lasting  several  days.  Many 
of  those  present  on  these  occasions  were  the  same  people  who  had  seen  Captains 
Robert  Gray  of  the  Columbia,  and  Broughton  of  the  Chatham,  who  entered  the 
river  in  1792 — Lewis  and  Clark  who  made  the  first  overland  journey  in  1805 — 
had  witnessed  the  building  of  Fort  Astoria  in  the  wilderness  and  in  the  pride  of 
her  early  prime,  had  heard  the  first  report  of  her  great  guns  come  booming 
across  the  broad  river,  awakening  the  slumbering  echoes  of  the  mountain  soli 
tudes.  Here,  at  the  witching  hour  of  twilight  in  bygone  years,  had  proud  old 
Concomly  and  his  boasted  thousand  warriors,  ofttimes  listened  to  the  resounding 
melody  of  the  Canadian  boat-song  as  they  glided  leisurely  along  through  the 
sunset  waters  of  one  of  the  grandest  rivers  on  the  globe. 

During  Mr.  Manson's  stay  at  Astoria,  one  of  the  Companies  ships,  the  William 
and  Ann  from  London,  with  a  cargo  of  supplies  was  wrecked  on  the  bar,  every 


6o  DONALD    MANSON. 

person  on  board  perished.  The  Princess  Chowa,  daughter  of  Concomly,  King 
of  the  Chinooks,  who  had  been  the  wife  of  Mr.  McKenzie,  one  of  the  Astor 
partners,  but  at  this  time  was  living  in  regal  splendor  at  the  Chinook  villages, 
arrived  at  Astoria  in  one  of  her  large  handsomely  decorated  canoes,  bringing 
the  startling  intelligence  that  a  ship  was  being  dashed  to  pieces  in  the  breakers 
off  Clatsop  Point,  saying  to  Mr.  Manson,  my  canoe  and  men  are  at  your  service, 
I  will  take  you  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster.  He  accepted  her  generous  offer. 
Calling  to  his  assistance  Michelle  Lafranboise,  John  McLain,  a  Scotchman,  and 
Jack,  a  brave  Kanaka  sailor,  and  after  a  hurried  preparation,  they  embarked 
with  the  Princess,  sailing  for  Clatsop  Point.  When  they  arrived  at  the  beach, 
the  sun  was  low,  the  ship's  boats,  portions  of  the  cargo  and  rigging  were  strewed 
along  the  shore  for  more  than  a  mile.  Several  hundred  Indians  had  collected 
along  the  beach,  all  wild  with  excitement,  appropriating  to  themselves  whatever 
they  deemed  of  most  value.  They  had  found  two  casks  of  rum  which  they 
had  opened  and  many  were  already  intoxicated.  Mr.  Manson  was  not  aware 
that  the  vessel  belonged  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  until  finding  the  Cap 
tain's  gig  bearing  his  name,  also  that  of  his  ship. 

The  Clatsop  Indians  persistingly  refused  to  comply  with  the  repeated  de 
mands  of  Mr.  Manson  to  surrender  the  rum  and  other  goods,  saying  this  land  is 
ours,  and  whatever  the  ocean  casts  upon  these  shores  and  is  saved  by  our  labor 
belongs  to  us.  Seemingly  determined  to  resist  all  overtures  which  he  thought 
proper  to  offer,  Mr.  Manson's  little  party  having  been  strengthened  by  the  arrival 
of  a  half  dozen  Indians  from  Chinook  Point,  his  party  retired  behind  the  first 
sand  ridge  where  they  had  left  their  guns  and  other  equipage  with  the  Kanaka 
and  Chowa's  slaves.  Here  Mr.  Manson  informed  the  Princess  and  the  mes  as 
to  the  course  he  intended  to  pursue,  gave  orders  to  march  to  the  summit  of  the 
of  the  sand  ridge  where  they  halted,  fired  their  muskets  into  the  air,  then  delib 
erately  reloading  in  plain  view  of  the  tumultuous  Indians,  he  led  the  way  directly 
to  the  crowd  surrounding  the  nearest  rnm  cask.  As  they  appioached,  the  Indi 
ans  divided  permitting  them  to  pass  unmolested.  Having  no  means  of  securing 
such  large  casks,  he  broke  the  head  and  the  rum  mingled  with  the  waters  of  the 
ocean.  Then  followed  by  his  party  a  few  hundred  yards  down  the  beach  he 
dispersed  the  Indians,  and  secured  the  second  cask  in  like  manner. 

For  this  insolent  exhibition  and  thefts  which  followed,  Dr.  McLauglin  gave 
those  Indians  a  justly  merited  chastisement  which  they  never  forgot,  while  the 
Princess  Chowa  and  her  few  brave  adherents  were  suitably  rewarded. 

Captain  Uominas  having  sailed  on  a  cruise  up  the  Northwest  coast,  and  the 
Convoy  had  gone  into  the  Willamette  river  and  opened  trade  a  short  distance 
below  Clackamas  rapids.  Said  Mr.  Manson:  Capt.  Thompson  of  the  Convoy, 


DONALD    MANSON.  6 I 

was  a  man  of  fine  social  qualities,  a  skillful  navigator,  a  lively  trader,  but 
knew  little  of  Indian  character.  Having  built  a  small  block  house  at  Astoria, 
I  was  recalled  to  Vancouver.  Arriving  at  Multnomah  village  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Willamette,  I  was  hailed  by  an  Indian  who  had  just  come  from  the  Falls  ; 
he  informed  me  that  the  Boston  ship  was  aground.  This  was  in  July,  when  the 
back  water  caused  by  the  annual  rise  of  the  Columbia  was  fast  receding. 
The  Clackamas  Indians  taking  advantage  of  the  stranger  while  in  this  hapless 
condition,  had  become  so  insolent  as  to  endanger  the  safety  of  the  vessel  and 
crew.  Hastening  forward  to  Vancouver,  I  informed  Dr.  McLaughhn  of  the  sit 
uation  of  Thompson's  vessel  and  reported  danger  from  Indians.  The  Doctor 
ordered  Michelle  Lafranboise  to  get  a  boat  and  ten  men  in  readiness  at  once, 
gave  me  the  command,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  we  were  pulling  away  for  the 
unfortunate  ship,  which  we  did  not  reach  until  the  following  morning. 

Captain  Thompson  had  acted  imprudent  by  permitting  to  much  familiarity, 
and  allowing  too  many  Indians  to  board  his  ship  at  one  time.  Thus  to  a  great 
extent,  had  lost  control  of  both  vessel  and  Indians,  who  at  that  day  were  very 
numerous  throughout  the  Willamette  valley,  especially  at  that  season  in  the  vi 
cinity  of  the  Falls.  On  my  arrival,  which  was  a  complete  surprise,  the  Indians 
immediately  left  the  ship,  and  employed  a  large  force  of  Indians  who  had  not 
participated  in  these  depredations,  we  having  succeeded  in  relieving  the  schooner. 
The  Indians  were  compelled  to  restore  the  stolen  or  extorted  property  and  were 
duly  punished  by  Dr.  McLaughlin. 

In  this  connection,  I  will  mention  one  other  similar  circumstance  which  took 
place  near  Fort  McLaughlin  on  Mill  Bank  Sound  in  1832,  while  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Manson.  The  brig  Lama,  Capt.  McNeill  a  fur  trader  from  Boston,  entered 
the  sound  and  was  moored  some  three  miles  below  the  fort,  where  the  Captain 
conducted  a  brisk  trade  for  a  few  months.  But  as  was  too  apt  to  be  the  case 
with  inexperienced  traders  who  understood  but  little  of  the  treacherous  character 
of  the  north  coast  Indians,  permiting  too  much  familiarity.  They  soon  grew 
more  impudent,  boarding  his  vessel  a  few  at  a  time,  until  some  40  or  50  were  on 
deck.  The  Indians  then  defied  his  authority.  This  commenced  early  in  the 
morning  and  the  wildest  confusion  was  kept  up  throughout  the  day.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  the  Captain  had  managed  to  send  two  of  the  men.  to  the  fort  with 
an  earnest  request  for  immediate  assistance.  Maning  a  boat  with  armed  Cana 
dians,  I  started  for  the  Lama  ;  on  rounding  a  point  at  evening  twilight,  the  old 
voyageurs  as  usual  singing  one  of  their  favorite  boat  songs.  The  vessel  was 
now  in  full  view,  anchored  near  the  beach.  Ihe  attention  of  the  Indians  at 
tracted  by  the  resounding  chorus  of  the  Canadians,  and  were  soon  in  their  canoes 
pulling  for  the  shore .  The  ringleader,  a  stalwart  rascally  chief  of  the  village 
was  still  on  board  when  I  reached  the  deck.  He  was  made  prisoner  and  held 


62  DONALD    MANSON. 

at  the  fort  until  his  people  had  restored  all  they  had  stolen  and   satisfied  the 
Captain  for  damages  committed. 

Capt.  McNeill  soon  after  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  where  he  sold  his 
vessel  to  Mr.  Duncan  Finalyson,  agent  of  Dr.  McLaughlin.  Capt  McNeill 
sailed  the  Lama  to  Columbia  river,  invested  his  money  and  entered  the  service 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  became  a  Chief  Factor  and  died  at  Victoria  in 

1875. 

In  1827,  Mr.  Manson  first  visited  the  Champoeg  villages  to  fit  out  the  southern 
bound  brigade.  In  1829,  in  company  with  Dr.  McLaughlin,  made  an  extended 
tour  through  the  Willamette  valley  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  careful  exami 
nation  as  to  its  adaptability  to  agricultural  purposes.  But  to  recount  in  chrono 
logical  order  the  more  interesting  events  in  which  Mr.  Manson  has  borne  a  con 
spicuous  part  during  a  life  of  55  years  upon  this  coast,  would  greatly  exceed  the 
limited  space  at  my  command.  It  must  therefore  suffice  to  say,  he  took  a  lead 
ing  part  in  the  construction  and  at  different  times  had  charge  of  nearly  all  the 
Companies  forts  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

When  for  a  term  of  years,  his  company  held  a  lease  or  fur  trading  privilege 
upon  a  part  of  Rusian  America,  for  which  Dr.  McLaughlin  paid  annually  a  stip 
ulated  price  in  Oregon  wheat,  Mr.  Manson  was  several  times  sent  into  those 
high  northern  latitudes.  No  man  of  his  generation  was  more  conversant  with 
the  hiitory  of  the  native  tribes  or  possessed  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
country  from  the  head  of  the  Willamette  valley  to  the  frozen  glaciers  of  Alaska, 
than  the  venerable  Donald  Manson.  One  of  the  most  vigilant,  sagacious  and 
dauntless  frontiersmen  on  the  North  Pacific  coast,  he  was  the  officer  upon  whom 
Dr.  McLaughlin  relied  to  command  the  post  of  most  iminent  danger.  In  1839, 
after  a  service  of  22  consecutive  years,  he  was  given  one  year's  furlow  which  he 
spent  in  visiting  his  native  Highland  home.  His  parents  were  then  living.  Said 
Mr.  Manson,  this  was  the  great  holiday  of  my  life  which,  with  a  host  of  friends, 
I  enjoyed  beyond  measure. 

On  his  refurn  to  Vancouver  in  1841,  he  learned  that  his  old  traveling  com 
panion,-  Mr.  Black,  with  whom  he  had  journeyed  across  the  continent  in  1823, 
had  been  murdered  by  Indians  at  Fort  Camloops.  Dr.  McLaughlin  sent  him 
to  that  post  to  apprehend  and  punish  the  guilty  parties,  which  was  soon  satis 
factorily  accomplished,  as  was  also  an  insubordination  which  occured  at  Fort 
Stikine,  resulting  in  the  death  of  Dr.  McLaughlin's  son  John. 

In  1844,  he  was  appointed  Executive  officer  of  the  district  of  New  Calidonia, 
continued  to  administer  its  affairs  with  his  usual  ability  for  14  years,  when  he 
tendered  the  resignation  of  his  commission  to  the  Company  which  he  had  faith 
fully  served  for  more  than  forty  years.  Having  purchased  of  Dr.  Newell  his 


DONALD    MANSON.  63 

donation  land  claim  at  Champoeg,  in  Marion  county,  Oregon,  he  settled  here 
with  his  family  in  the  spring  of  1858.  In  the  enjoyment  of  affluence,  he  spent 
large  sums  of  money  in  improving  and  stocking  his  farm,  all  of  which  was  swept 
away  by  the  great  flood  of  December,  1861. 

In  October,  1828,  Mr.  Manson  married  the  daughter  of  Etennie  Lucier,  one  o 
the  Astor  men,  who  came  to  Oregon  with  Capt.  Hunt  in  1811,  and  was  one  o 
the  founders  of  the  French  Prairie  settlement,  where  he  located  as  farmer  in  the 
fall  of  1827. 

Calling  at  Vancouver  on  business  in  May,  1845,  the  writer  had  the  gratifica 
tion  of  being  introduced  by  Dr.  McLaughlin  to  Mr.  Donald  Manson  and  Dr. 
Whitman,  then  just  arrived  at  the  Fort.  They  were  active,  energetic,  fine  look 
ing  men  in  the  full  prime  of  life.  After  getting  through  with  the  long  ceremo 
nial  supper,  the  social  converse  which  followed  during  the  evening  was  very  en 
joyable.  Dr.  McLaughlin  had  sent  to  headquarters  his  resignation,  and  was 
preparing  to  settle  permanently  at  Oregon  City.  He  spoke  in  very  feeling  terms 
of  his  long  continued  service  and  great  attachment  to  some  of  his  officers,  and 
taking  occasion  to  express  to  the  company  his  admiration  for  the  great  energy 
and  will-power  which  the  two  gentlemen  above  named  were  capable  of  exerting, 
at  the  same  time  relating  a  number  of  their  performances  to  illustrate  the  pecu" 
liar  qualities  of  his  two  friends.  I  retired  that  evening  fully  impressed  with  the 
Doctor's  views. 

Mr.  Manson  was  six  feet  in  height,  symmetrically  formed,  of  a  quick  military 
bearing  ;  yet  one  of  the  most  affable  of  men,  endowed  with  uncommon  physical 
powers,  a  strong  will  united  with  true  courage.  Insubordination  in  the  slightest 
degree  was  never  manifested  among  the  men  under  his  command. 

Fond  of  reading,  he  was  quite  conversant  with  the  general  literature  of  his 
time.  A  great  admirer  of  old  Scota's  immortal  bards,  Burns  the  emotional, 
and  Scott,  their  descriptive  and  martial  poet. 

Mr.  Manson  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  a  man  of  true  courage, 
he  was  content  to  cultivate  and  follow  the  better  impulses  of  his  nature,  while 
the  unpardonable  sin  of  self-righteousness  or  false  pretentions,  found  no  abiding 
place  in  the  manly  breast  of  Donald  Manson. 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF   THE 


EIGHTH     ANNUAL     RE-UNION 


OF   THE 


FOR 


1880; 


AIOTAL  DBUTBR1D  II  101.  J.  W, 

TOGETHER    WITH 

THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS  BY  REV.  GL  H.  ATKINSON,  AND 
OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTEREST. 


SALEM,    OREGON: 

E.    M.    WAITE,    STEAM    PRINTER   AND    BOOKBINDER. 

1881. 


EIGHTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 


At  Portland,  June  15,  18SO. 


Nature  smiled  on  the  Pioneers  Tuesday.  As  if  to  repay  for 
many  days  hiding,  the  sun  came  out  gloriously,  and  during  the 
entire  day  the  weather  was  as  pleasant  as  could  be  desired.  The 
crowd  was  increased  by  arrivals  on  the  morning  boats,  the 
Albany  express  and  the  west  side  train.  Flags  were  generously 
displayed  from  staffs  all  over  the  city,  and  Portland  wore  a  hol- 
liday  look. 

THE  PROCESSION.    . 

Shortly  after  12:30  P.  M.  the  procession  was   formed  in  front 
of  the  Clarendon  Hotel,  in  the  following  order: 
Two  Boys  on  Horseback  as  Videttes. 
Grand  Marshal  Al  Zieber  and  Aids. 

National  Flag. 

Washington  Guard  Band. 

Grand  Standard  Bearer. 

Chaplain. 

Members  of  the  Association  who  came  to  the  Territory  previous  to  1841. 
Divisions  of  Members  who  came  from  1841  to  1854,  with  Appropriate  Banners. 

Carnages  with  Orators  of  the  Day. 

Carriages  with  President  and  Officers  of  the  Society. 

Carriages  with  Mayor  Thompson  and  City  Officers  of  Portland. 

Carriages  with  Invited  Guests. 

Citizens  on  Foot. 


EIGHTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION 


The  following  gentlemen  were  division  standard  bearers: 


1841—}.  L.  Parrish. 
1842—}.  R.  Robb. 
1843 — Jeptha  Garrison. 
1844 — Cyrus  Nelson. 
1845 — T.  R.  Cornelius. 
1846— Alvin  C.  Brown. 
1847 — John  T.  Apperson. 


1848— John  Catlin. 
1849— Frank  Cooper. 
1850— T.  A.  Davis. 
1851— Geo.  L.  Story. 
1852— Jos.  Buchtel. 
1853— P.  E.  Mathoit. 
1855 — Marion  Wilcox. 


The  procession  moved  up  First  street  to  Columbia,  out  Col 
umbia  to  Second,  and  up  Second  to  the  pavilion.  It  was  wit 
nessed  by  large  crowds  all  along  the  line. 

AT  THE  PAVILION. 

When  the  exercises  at  the  pavilion  began,  not  less  than  2500 
or  3000  persons  had  assembled.  The  audience  was  called  to 
order  by  the  president,  Capt.  Medorum  Crawford,  who  intro 
duced  Mayor  D.  P.  Thompson.  He  delivered  the  following 

ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 

To  the  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  4s satiation: 

The  privilege  of  welcoming  the  Society  of  Oregon  Pioneers  on  this  occasion 
of  your  annual  re-union  in  the  City  of  Portland  has  been  assigned  to  me.  Had 
I  consulted  my  own  feelings,  another  and  abler  speaker  would  have  stood  be 
fore  you  to  welcome  you.  But  inasmuch  as  the  duty  has  been  imposed  upon 
me,  I  will  say  that  in  behalf  of  the  City  of  Portland,  I  welcome  you  to  its  hos 
pitalities. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  I  came  to  the  Territory  of  Oregon.  The 
pioneers  were  here  at  that  time.  I  see  before  me  the  pioneers  of  1841,  and  of 
each  succeding  year  up  to  1854. 

My  business  after  arriving  in  the  Territory  in  1853  brought  me  in  contact 
with  the  leading  spirits  who  had  come  to  the  Territory  before  that  time. 

Nearly  all  the  pioneers  came  to  Oregon  either  by  pack  trains  or  ox  teams 
across  the  great  plains,  er  by  way  of  Cape  Horn.  Many  months  were  occupied 
in  the  journey  and  all  manner  of  dangers  were  encountered,  either  by  savages 
or  want  of  provisions  on  the  plains,  or  by  dangers  of  the  sea  in  the  long  and 
tedious  sea  voyage  in  sailing  vessels  around  Cape  Horn. 


EIGHTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  5 

It  is  you,  the  leading  spirits,  who  braved  so  many  dangers,  who  are  jusfly 
entitled  to  claim  the  honor  of  laying  the  foundation  of  this  proud  common 
wealth.  The  development  of  the  State  of  Oregon  has  been  wonderful  within 
the  last  decade.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  know  that  so  many  of  those  whose 
energy  and  enterprise  has  brought  about  this  wonderful  development  are  before 
me  to-day,  to  celebrate  this,  the  Eighth  Annual  Re-Union  of  your  Society,  and 
to  know  that  so  many  of  you  still  live  to  witness  the  advancement  of  the  insti 
tutions  your  energy  and  enterprise  inaugurated.  You  have  been  found  fore 
most  in  every  enterprise  that  has  added  wealth  and  greatness  to  the  State. 

I  am  glad  to  see  so  many  of  you  here  to-day,  and  when  I  extend  to  you  this 
friendly  greeting  it  is  with  a  feeling  of  fraternal  friendship  which  I  can  express 
in  no  words  so  fitting  as  those  of  the  poet  who  wrote — 

"There  are  lio  friends  like  the  old  friends." 

I  will  not  enter  into  dry  statistics  on  this  occasion.  When  the  site  of  the 
proud  city  in  which  we  are  assembled  was  a  dense  fir  forest,  some  of  you  were 
here.  When  the  valleys  of  the  Willamette  and  Umpqua  were  a  howling  wil 
derness  and  as  untamed  as  the  wilds  of  Africa;  when  the  great  eastern  portion 
of  our  State  was  regarded  as  only  fit  for  herds  of  Indian  ponies  to  feed  upon, 
you  were  here.  You  have  assisted  to  bring  about  a  glorious  transition. 

The  untamed  wilds  have  been  made  blooming  gardens  and  fruitful  fields. 
The  untried  fields  of  Eastern  Oregon  have  been  found  to  be  fertile  fields  for  the 
production  of  grain,  from  which  bread  is  made  to  feed  the  millions  of  our  race 
whose  lots  have  been  cast  in  countries  beyond  the  seas  more  inhospitable  than 
ours. 

Pioneers  of  Oregon,  permit  me  to  greet  you  as  one  common  brotherhood.  It 
has  been  yours  to  open  up  an  empire  in  which  thousands  of  happy  homes  have 
been  and  are  being  established,  where  virtue,  religion,  good  morals,  patriotism, 
together  with  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  all  things  pure  and  elevating,  shall  be 
taught  for  all  time.  Here  you  meet  many  who  can  recall  incidents  with  which 
you  are  all  familiar — incidents  which  cannot  fail  to  cause  us  all  in  our  minds  to 
live  over  again  the  days  of  the  past ;  to  view  this  fair  domain  as  it  was  a  quar 
ter  of  a  century  ago,  when  the  "trail  and  foot-log"  were  our  only  thoroughfares, 
and  the  "cayuse  pony"  and  the  "shoulder  pack"  from  necessity  supplied  the 
place  of  the  locomotive  and  steamboat,  and  compare  that  time  with  the  present, 
and  the  fact  can  scarcely  be  realized  that  so  great  a  change  could  be  wrought 
in  so  short  a  time. 

With  the  magnificent  steamers  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Com 
pany,  that  plough  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  along  the  whole  northern  boun- 


O  EIGHTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

dary  of  our  State,  and  penetrating  almost  to  the  Rocky  mountains  in  the  Terri 
tory  of  Idaho,  and  which  convey  the  products  of  Eastern  Oregon,  Washington 
Territory  and  Idaho  to  the  seaboard,  there  to  be  shipped  by  sea-going  vessels 
to  all  parts  of  the  world.  With  lines  of  railroad  that  traverse  the  western  por 
tion  of  the  State  from  the  northern  almost  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State; 
with  the  lines  of  railroads  in  Eastern  Oregon  and  the  Willamette  valley,  now  in 
the  course  of  construction,  that  furnish  employment  for  thousands  of  laborers, 
and  which  will  open  up  for  settlement  millions  of  acres-of  land  to  profitable  cul 
tivation  ;  with  the  magnificent  lines  of  ocean  steamships  sailing  from  Portland  to 
far-off  Sitka  on  the  north,  and  to  San  Francisco  on  the  South,  and  whose  home 
port  is  within  our  State ;  with  the  telegraph  lines  extending  to  almost  every 
village  in  the  State,  bringing  them  into  instantaneous  communication  with 
every  part  of  the  civilized  world;  with  the  telephone  that  connects  almost  every 
business  house  in  the  City  of  Portland  with  the  others  in  instantaneous  com 
munication,  shows  the  changes  that  have  been  brought  about  in  great  part  by 
you  in  Oregon  since  your  arrival  here. 

And  now,  having  briefly  alluded  to  the  past  and  the  present,  in  the  name  of 
o"  the  City  of  Portland— the  Queen  City  of  the  great  Northwest — we  welcome 
you  to  meet  with  us  on  this,  your  Eighth  Annual  Reunion. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Griffin  offered  a  feeling  prayer,  after  which  the 
President  delivered  the 

OPENING  ADDRESS. 

Pioneers  of  Oregon ,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

On  this,  the  Eighth  Annual  Reunion  of  our  Society,  it  was  decided  by  your 
officers  to  hold  our  annual  meeting  here  at  the  metropolis  of  our  adopted  State. 

The  substantial  interest  in  our  association  manifested  by  the  citizens  of  Port 
land  ever  since  its  organization,  and  a  desire  to  encourage  and  accommodate  the 
large  and  increasing  number  of  Pioneers  who  are  located  in  Eastern  Oregon  and 
Washington  Territory,  were  important  reasons;  and  the  time  for  holding  the 
annual  State  Fair  at  Salem  having  been  changed  to  within  a  few  days  of  the  time 
appointed  by  our  constitution  for  our  annual  reunion,  determined  your  commit 
tee  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Pioneers  and  citizens  of  Portland  to  meet  here 
on  this  occasion. 

The  very  cordial  manner  in  whichwe  have  been  received,  and  this  magnificent 
pavilion,  so  beautifully  decorated,  provided  for  our  use,  proves  that  the  citizens 
of  Portland  are  not  unmindful  of  the  respect  due  to  those  pioneers  who  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  prosperity  they  now  enjoy. 


EIGHTH    AXNUAL    RE-UNION.  7 

Some  there  are  yet  left  among  us  who  remember  when  the  ground  upon 
which  this  beautiful  city  stands  was  an  uninhabitable  wilderness,  and  the  spot 
now  occupied  by  this  magnificent  building  an  almost  impenetrable  jungle. 

These  changes  so  noticeable  here  are  but  little  less  marked  throughout  our 
adopted  country. 

The  Indian  canoe  and  Hudson  Bay  beatteau  have  been  superceded  by  steam 
boats,  while  the  Spanish  bronco  and  Indian  pony  have  abandoned  the  trail  to 
the  locomotive. 

A  few  more  years  will  not  only  remove  all  traces  of  our  pioneer  customs,  but 
the  pioneers  themselves  will  be  beyond  the  reach  of  reunions  and  camp  fires. 
Let  us  not  therefore  neglect  these  annual  opportunities  of  recalling  the  past  and 
enjoying  the  present* 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 


fiY    COL.   J.    W.    NESMITH. 


Jlfr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association^  and 
Feltoiu  Citizens  : 

We  assemble  to-day  in  the  beautiful  and  flourishing  commercial  emporium  of 
the  great  northwest  to  hold  the  Eighth  Annual  Re  union  of  the  members  of  our 
Society.  We  shall  pass  some  time  in  social  intercourse,  and  refer  to  the  days  of 
Auld  Lang  Syne,  when  some  of  us  beheld  the  site  of  this  city  as  a  wilderness, 
and  before  it  or  its  surrounding  solitude  were  disturbed  by  civilized  man  ;  we 
will  indulge  in  pleasant  reminiscences  of  the  long  past,  and  glance  back  at  the 
pleasures  as  well  as  the  toils  and  privations  of  the  early  pioneers. 

The  links  in  the  chain  of  personal  friendship  will  again  be  brightened  by 
those  of  us  who  long  ago,  in  poverty  and  obscurity,  shared  the  common  toils 
and  dangers  incident  to  the  reclaiming  of  the  wilderness  from  the  dominion  of 
the  savages  and  wild  beasts,  and  causing  it  to  "  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose." 
Those  of  us  who  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life  can  hardly  realize  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place  under  our  observation  since  the  hopeful  days  of  our  young 
and  vigorous  manhood.  We  have  witnessed  the  invasion  of  the  solitude  of  the 
forests  by  civilization.  We  have  seen  what  we  used  to  know  from  our  school 
geographies  as  "  the  great  American  desert,"  stretching  away  nearly  2,000  miles 
west  from  the  bordeis  of  the  old  republic  to  the  Pacific,  dotted  all  over  with 
cities,  towns  and  rich  productive  farms.  The  domestic  cattle  of  the  herdsman 
now  graze  upon  the  thousand  hills  over  which  we  once  saw  the  bison  and  wolf 
roaming.  Great  marts  of  trade  have  arisen  upon  spots  that  it  only  seems  to  us 
like  yesterday  were  inhabited  by  hostile  savages  and  wild  beasts.  Agricultural 
and  mechanical  industries  have  sought  out  beautiful  and  remote  places,  which 
we  recollect  as  many  days'  travel  from  the  nearest  settler's  cabin.  Commerce, 
in  its  ceaseless  activity,  not  content  with  vexing  all  our  rivers  with  the  steamer's 
prow,  has  sought  out  the  remote  valleys,  and  sent  the  iron  horse  to  disturb  with 
his  resounding  scream,  solitude  which  had  existed  since  the  hour  of  creation. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  9 

It  would  seem  eminently  proper  that  we  who  can  say  of  those  changes,  "all 
of  which  we  saw,  and  part  of  which  we  were,"  should,  as  we  descend  life's  hill 
together,  annually  pause  for  a  day  upon  our  journey  to  indulge  in  remimscenses 
relative  to  that  past  which  is  never  to  return. 

Your  committee  has  imposed  upon  me  the  duty  of  addressing  you  to-day. 
Five  years  ago  I  discharged  a  similar  task,  and  I  think  that  every  other  pioneer 
should  have  been  called  upon  before  my  turn  came  round  again. 

The  ablest  speakers  and  writers  of  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory  have 
been  edifying  you  annually  for  the  last  seven  years,  and  would  seem  to  have 
left  but  little  to  be  said  about  our  early  history  or  the  incidents  of  pioneer  life. 
Judge  Deady,  in  his  admirable  address  of  1875,  left  nothing  to  be  said  upon  the 
subject  of  the  question  of  our  title  to  Oregon,  and  the  question  of  joint  occupancy 
with  Great  Britain.  Hon.  Elwood  Evans,  of  Washington  Territory,  in  his  inter 
esting  address  of  1877,  exhausted  all  of  the  eloquence  that  pertains  to  the  subject. 
Our  friend  Willard  H.  Rees,  in  1879,  gave  us  an  address  replete  with  facts 
and  incidents  of  pioneer  life.  Others  have  entertained  you  with  able  addresses. 
In  my  effort  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  what  has  already  been  so  well  said,  I  shall 
purposely  be  discursive  in  trying  to  gather  up  some  odds  and  ends  which  have 
escaped  the  attention  of  the  more  brilliant  orators,  and  as  I  think,  are  worthy 
of  preservation.  Judge  Strong,  in  his  address  of  1878,  gave  us  an  interesting 
account  of  the  building  up  of  our  internal  commerce  by  the  Oregon  Steam  Nav 
igation  Company.  I  now  propose  to  briefly  refer  to  the  inception  of  our  com 
merce,  at  a  time  anterior  to  that  of  which  Judge  Strong  spoke,  as  it  may  be  in- 
teresting  to  those  who  are  to  come  after  us  to  know  how  and  by  what  means  the 
early  pioneers  succeeded  in  availing  themselves  of  the  inestimable  advantages 
of  those  intercommunications  and  exchanges  called  commerce  ;  and  which,  as 
political  economists  tell  us,  are  the  necessary  adjuncts  to  progress  and  civiliza 
tion,  and  without  which  no  advance  can  be  made  beyond  a  state  of  barbarianism. 
History  is  replete  with  the  wonderful  triumphs  of  commercial  enterprise  achieved 
during  the  world's  progress.  I  cannot  take  the  time  to  even  refer  to  their  mag 
nificent  results,  or  repeat  the  lessons  of  history,  which  demonstrate  that  by  its 
wonderful  power,  at  some  period  it  has  changed  the  great  centers  of  wealth  and 
empire  from  one  spot  upon  the  earth's  surface  to  another. 

I  must  leave  you  to  indulge  in  such  historical  reminiscenses  and  reveries  at 
your  leisure.  There  are  some  men  now  within  the  sound  of  my  voice  who  re 
sided  in  Oregon  when  all  of  the  imports  and  exports  by  the  mouth  of  the  Col 
umbia  river,  aside  from  the  business  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  did  not 
amount  to  $1,000  per  annum.  We  have  lived  to  see  the  exports  alone  of  last 
year  amount  to  the  approximate  sum  of  ten  millions,  and  there  are  men  now 


to  ANNUAL   ADDRESS. 

listening  to  me  who  will  live  to  see  our  great  "  Inland  Empire  "  developed,  and 
when  the  commerce  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  the  Straits  of  Juan  de 
Fuca  will  amount  to  $200,000,000  per  annum. 

It  is,  as  I  said,  my  purpose  to  speak  briefly  of  the  inception  of  our  external 
and  internal  commerce,  as  inagurated  by  the  efforts  of  the  early  pioneers. 
The  grand  results  up  to  1880  are  before  you.  Let  us  compare  them  with  theif 
humble  origin  while  we  may  still,  with  reference  to  the  future,  regard  them  as 
in  their  infancy. 

Forty  years  Ago  the  few  American  citizens  in  Oregon  were  isolated  from  the 
outside  world.  Some  adventureous  and  enterprising  persons  conceived  the  idea 
of  building  a  Vessel  of  sufficient  capacity  to  cross  the  Columbia  river  bar  and 
navigate  the  ocean.  Those  persons  were  mostly  old  Rocky  mountain  beaver 
trappers  and  sailors  who  had  drifted  like  waifs  to  the  Willamette  Valley. 
Their  names  were  Joseph  Gale,  John  Canan,  Ralph  Kilbourn,  Pleasant  Arm 
strong)  Henry  Woods,  George  Davis  and  Jacob  Green.  Felix  Hathaway  was 
employed  as  master  ship  carpenter,  and  Thomas  Hubbard  and  J.  L.  Parrish  did 
the  blacksmith  work.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1840,  there  was  laid 
the  keel  of*  the  schooner  Star  of  Oregon,  upon  the  east  side  of  Swan  Island, 
near  the  junction  of  the  Willamette  and  Columbia  rivers.  The  representatives 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  either  dreading  commercial  competition,  or 
doubtful  about  their  pay,  at  first  refused  to  furnish  any  supplies.  But  through 
the  earnest  representation  of  Capt.  Wilkes — then  here  in  command  of  the 
American  exploring  squadron,  and  who  offered  to  become  responsible  for  the 
payment — Dr.  McLaughlin  furnished  all  such  necessary  articles  as  were  in  store 
at  Vancouver.  On  the  igth  of  May,  1841,  the  schooner  was  launched.  She 
had  only  been  planked  up  to  the  water  ways,  and  in  that  condition  was  worked 
up  to  the  falls  of  the  Willamette.  Owing  to  destitution  of  means  and  scarcity 
of  provisions,  the  enterprising  ship  builders  were  compelled  to  suspend  work 
upon  their  vessel  until  May,  1842.  On  the  25th  of  August,  the  vessel  was  com 
pleted  and  the  crew  went  on  board  at  the  falls.  They  consisted  of  the  follow 
ing  named  persons  :  Joseph  Gale,  Captain  ;  John  Canan,  Pleasant  Armstrong, 
Ralph  Kilbourn,  Jacob  Green  and  one  Indian  boy  ten  yeaas  old.  There  was 
but  one  passenger,  a  Mr.  Piffenhauser.  Capt.  Wilkes  furnished  the  shipbuilders 
with  an  anchor,  hawser,  nautical  instruments,  a  flag  and  a  clearance.  On  the 
1 2th  of  September,  1842,  she  crossed  the  bar  of  the  Columbia,  coming  very 
near  being  wrecked  in  the  breakers,  and  took  latitude  and  departure  from  Cape 
Disappointment  just  as  the  sun  touched  the  western  horizon. 

That  night  there  arose  a  terrific  storm  which  lasted  for  thirty-six  hours,  dur 
ing  which  Capt.  Gale,  who  was  the  only  experienced  sailor  on  board,  never  left 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  11 

the  helm.  The  little  Star  behaved  beautifully  in  the  stortn,  and  after  a  voyage 
of  five  days  anchored  in  the  foreign  port  of  Yerba  Buena,  as  San  Francisco  was 
then  called. 

The  Star  was  48  feet  8  inches  on  the  keel,  and  53  feet  8  inches  over  all,  with 
lo  feet  9  inches  in  the  widest  part,  and  drew,  in  good  ballast  triin,  4  feet  and  6 
inches  of  water;  her  frame  was  of  swamp  white  oak,  her  knees  of  seasoned  red 
fir  roots,  her  beam  and  carlins  of  red  fir.  She  was  clinker  built,  and  of  the 
Baltimore  clipper  model.  She  was  planked  with  clear  cedar,  dressed  to  i% 
inches,  which  was  spiked  to  every  rib  with  a  wrought  iron  spike  half  an  inch 
square  and  clinched  on  the  inside.  The  deck  was  double  and  she  was  what  is 
known  as  a  fore  and  aft  schooner,  having  no  topsails,  but  simply  fore  and  main 
sails,  jib  and  flying  jib.  She  was  painted  black,  with  a  small  white  ribbon  run 
ning  from  stem  to  stern,  and  was  one  of  the  handsomest  little  crafts  that  ever 
sat  upon  the  water.  Captain  Gale  and  the  crew,  who  were  the  owners  of  the 
Star,  sold  her  at  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  in  the  fall  of  1842,  to  a  French  cap* 
tain  named  Josa  Lamantour,  who  had  recently  wrecked  his  vessel.  The  price 
paid  was  350  cows. 

Shortly  after  Capt.  Gale  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  the  captains  of  several  ves 
sels  then  in  the  harbor  came  on  board  his  schooner,  and  when  passing  around 
the  stern,  read  Star  of  Oregon;  he  heard  them  swear  that  there  was  no  such 
port  in  the  world.  * 

Capt.  Gale  and  his  crew  remained  in  California  all  winter,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1843  started  to  Oregon  with  a  party  of  42  men,  who  brought  with  them  an 
aggregate  of  1,250  head  of  cattle,  600  head  of  mares,  Colts,  horses  and  mules, 
and  3,000  sheep.  They  were  75  days  in  reaching  the  Willamette  Valley.  On 
their  arrival  with  their  herds,  the  monopoly  in  stock  cattle  came  to  an  end  in 
Oregon. 

Capt.  Joseph  Gale,  the  master  spirit  of  the  enterprise,  was  born,  I  believe,  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  his  younger  days  followed  the  sea,  where  he 
obtained  a  good  knowledge  of  navigation  and  seamanship.  Capt.  Wilkes,  be 
fore  he  would  give  him  papers,  examined  him  satisfactorily  upon  these 
subjects. 

Gale,  abandoning  the  sea,  found  his  way  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  was 
for  several  years  a  trapper.  I  knew  him  well  and  lived  with  him  in  the  winter 
of  1843-4,  and  often  listened  to  his  thrilling  adventures  by  sea  and  land.  He 
then  had  the  American  flag  that  Wilkes  gave  him,  and  made  a  soat  of  canopy 
of  it,  under  which  he  slept.  No  saint  was  evermore  devoted  to  his  shrine  than 
Gale  was  to  that  dear  old  flag.  The  old  man  now  lives  at  New  Bridge,  in 


12  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Union  County,  in  this  State,  and,  I  believe,  is  the  only  survivor  of  the  brave 
and  venturous  men  who  owned  and  sailed  the  Star.  Rev.  J.  L.  Parrish,  who 
honors  us  with  his  presence  to-day,  is  the  only  surviving  mechanic  who  aided 
in  her  construction. 

Capt.  Gale  has  always  been  a  man  of  great  energy,  brave,  fearless  and  hon 
est.  I  wish  that  he  was  with  us  to-day  that  he  might  enjoy  the  congratulations 
due  to  his  enterprise  in  inaugurating  what  at  no  distant  day  will  constitute  a 
great  commercial  marine. 

In  the  summer  of  1844,  Aaron  Cook,  a  burly  and  bluff  old  Englishman, 
strongly  imbued  with  American  sentiments,  conceived  the  idea  of  building 
a  schooner  to  supersede  the  Indian  canoes  then  doing  the  carrying  trade  upon 
the  Columbia  and  Willamette  rivers.  Cook  employed  Edwin  W.  and  M.  B. 
Otie  and  myself  as  the  carpenters  to  construct  the  craft.  We  built  her  in  a 
cove  or  recess  of  the  rocks  just  in  front  of  Frank  Ermitinger's  old  house,  near 
the  upper  end  of  Oregon  City.- 

None  of  us  had  any  knowledge  of  ship  building,  but  by  dint  of  perseverence 
we  constructed  a  schooner  of  about  35  tons  burthen.  She  was  called  the  Cali- 
pooiah.  Jack  Warner  did  the  "calking,"  paying  and  rigging.  Warner  was  a 
young  Scotchman  with  a  good  education,  which  he  never  turned  to  any  practi 
cal  account.  He  ran  away  frorn  school  in  the  "Land  o'  Cakes,"  and  took  to 
the  sea,  where  he  picked  up  a  good  deal  of  knowledge  pertaining  to  the  sailor's 
craft. 

I  recollect  one  day  when  Jack,  with  a  kettle  of  hot  pitch,  and  a  long-handled 
swab,  was  pitching  the  hull  of  the  Calipooiah,  he  was  accosted  by  an  "uncouth 
Missourian,"  who  had  evidently  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind  before,  with  an 
inquiry  as  to  his  occupation.  Jack  responded  in  broad  Scotch,  "I  am  a  land 
scape  painter  by  profession,  and  am  doing  a  wee  bit  of  adornment  for  Capt. 
Cook's  schooner." 

In  the  month  of  August,  1844,  we  had  launched  and  finished  the  Calipooiah, 
and  went  upon  a  pleasure  excursion  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  The  crew 
and  passengers  consisted  of  Capt.  Aaron  Cook,  Jack  Werner,  Jack  Campbell, 
Rev.  A.  F.  Waller  and  family,  W.  H.  Gray  and  wife,  A.  E.  Wilson,  Robert 
Shortess,  W.  H.  Raymond,  E.  W.  Otie,  M.  B.  Otie  and  J.  W.  Nesmith.  There 
may  have  been  others  on  board,  if  so,  their  names  have  escaped  me.  The  after 
portion  had  a  small  cabin,  which  was  given  up  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
ladies  and  children.  Forward  was  a  box  filled  with  earth,  upon  which  a  fire 
was  made  for  cooking  purposes.  We  had  our  own  blankets  and  slept  upon  the 
deck.  The  weather  was  delightful  and  we  listlessly  drifted  down  the  Willam- 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  13 

ette  and  Columbia  rivers,  sometimes  aided  by  the  wind.  Portland  was  then  a 
solitude,  like  any  other  part  of  the  forest-clad  banks.  There  were  then  no 
revenue  officers  here  under  pretense  of  "protecting  American  industries,"  and 
no  custom  house  boat  boarded  us. 

In  four  days  we  reached  Astoria,  or  Fort  George,  as  the  single  old  shanty 
upon  the  place — in  charge  of  an  old  Scotchman— was  then  called.  The  river 
was  full  of  fish  and  the  shores  abounded  in  game.  We  had  our  rifles  along, 
and  subsisted  upon  those  delicacies.  There  were  then  numerous  large  Indian 
villages  along  the  margin  of  the  river,  and  the  canoes  of  the  natives  were  rarely 
out  of  sight.  They  often  came  on  board  to  dispose  of  salmon.  Their  price  was 
a  bullet  and  a  charge  of  powder  for  a  fish. 

The  grand  old  river  and  its  surroundings  existed  then  in  its  natural  state,  as 
Lewis  and  Clarke  found  it  forty  years  before.  I  believe  that  there  was  but  one 
American  settler's  cabin  upon  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  from  its  source  to  the 
ocean.  That  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  near  Cathlamet,  and  belonged 
to  Henry  Hunt  and  Ben  Wood,  who  were  building  a  sawmill  at  that  point. 

On  an  island  near  Cathlamet  some  of  us  went  ashore  to  visit  a  large  Indian 
village,  where  the  natives  lived  in  large  and  comparatively  comfortable  houses. 
They  showed  us  some  articles  which  they  said  were  presented  to  them  by  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  among  which  was  a  faded  cotton  handkerchief  and  a  small  mirror, 
about  two  inches  square,  in  a  tin  case.  The  corners  of  the  case  were  worn  off 
and  the  sides  worn  through  by  much  handling.  The  Indians  seemed  to  i-egard 
the  articles  with  great  veneration,  and  would  not  dispose  of  them  to  us  for  any 
price  we  were  able  to  offer. 

The  only  vessel  we  saw  in  the  river  was  her  Britanic  Majesty's  sloop-of-war 
Modeste,  of  18  guns,  under  command  of  Capt.  Thomas  Bailie.  We  passed  her 
in  a  long  reach  in  the  river,  as  she  lay  at  anchor.  We  had  a  spanking  breeze, 
and  with  all  of  our  sails  set  and  the  American  flag  flying  at  our  mast  head,  we 
proudly  ran  close  under  her  broadside.  A  long  line  of  officers  and  sailors 
looked  down  over  the  hammocks  and  from  the  quarter-deck  at  our  unpainted 
and  primitive  craft,  in  apparently  as  much  astonishment  as  'though  we  were  the 
Flying  Dutchman  or  some  other  phantom  ship  come  down  from  the  moon  to 
flaunt  the  stars  and  stripes  upon  the  neutral  waters  of  the  Columbia. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  speak  we  were  a  generation  nearer  the  revolutionary 
war  and  the  war  of  1812  than  we  are  now.  Many  of  the  survivors  of  both  wars 
were  then  alive.  Great  Britain  was  the  only  country  with  which  we  had  ever 
had  any  conflict  of  arms,  and  the  generation  to  which  we  belonged,  particularly 
in  the  west,  had  been  taught  to  look  upon  the  "Britishers"  as  natural  enemies. 


14  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Consequently  we  exulted  not  a  little  at  showing  the  Modeste  people  our  na 
tional  colors.  Happily  time — aided  by  social  and  commercial  intercourse — 
have  done  away  with  our  ancient  prejudices  and  hatreds,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
they  will  never  be  revived. 

Arrived  at  Astoria  we  came  to  anchor — that  is,  if  a  huge  bassaltic  boulder, 
made  fast  to  the  end  of  a  rawhide  rope,  can  be  called  an  anchor.  In  the  after 
noon  Mr.  Shortess,  and  myself  walked  down  to  the  point  below  Astoria — now,  I 
believe,  calles  Sharkes  Point.  The  weather  was  calm  and  the  sun  shone 
brightly.  While  looking  out  across  the  bar  I  observed  a  white  spot  upon  the 
horizon,  and  remarked  to  Shortess  that  it  was  a  sail.  He  was  unable  to  see  it, 
and  said  it  could  not  be  one,  as  the  annual  ship  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
had  arrived  the  previous  June,  and  none  other  was  expected  until  the  next  year. 
The  k  nger  we  discussed  the  matter  the  more  I  became  convinced  that  I  was 
right.  Shortess  was  a  man  who  did  not  readily  yield  his  convictions,  and  to 
settle  the  matter  I  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  tall  fir  tree,  from  which  I  could  see 
the  hull  of  the  vessel  making  in  for  Clatsop  point.  I  remained  up  in  the  tree 
watching  the  vessel  and  describing  her  course  to  Shortess,  who  insisted  that  she 
would  run  aground,  as  there  was  no  channel  so  near  the  point.  But  she  came" 
safely  in,  and  the  light  wind  failing,  she  cast  anchor  about  sundown. 

The  next  morning  we  procured  a  canoe  and  boarded  the  vessel.  We  found 
her  to  be  an  old  Belgian  brig  from  Antwerp,  and  called  the  Indefatigable. 
Father  P.  J.  De  Smet;  whom  I  had  previously  known,  was  on  board,  together 
with  several  Catholic  Priests  and  Sisters.  The  brig  was  freighted  with  supplies 
for  the  Catholic  mission  in  Oregon.  There  was  not  a  person  on  board  who  had 
ever  seen  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  they  had  no  chart  on  board.  They 
had  worked  up  to  the  latitude  of  the  river,  and  with  a  flood  tide  and  light 
breeze  drifted  in  over  the  bar.  Father  De  Smet  attributed  the  successful 
entrance  to  "Divine  pilotage."  The  profane,  I  suppose,  would  have  called  it 
the  biggest  sort  of  luck. 

For  several  years  Capt.  Cook,  with  his  Callipooia,  did  the  principal  part  of 
the  carrying  trade  upon  the  lower  Columbia  and  Willamette  rivers.  In  1845 
Robert  Newell  fitted  up  a  couple  of  old  beatteaux,  and  ran  them  from  the  head 
of  the  falls  to  Champoeg.  One  was  called  the  Mogul  and  the  other  Ben  Frank 
lin.  The  following  is  the'  advertisement  of  the  line,  cut  from  the  Oregon 
Spectator: 

Passengers'  Own  Line— Mogul   and  B.   Franklin.— We  beg 
Cleave  to  tender  our  thanks  to  the  public  for  the  liberal  support  received 

»during  the  last  season,  particularly  for  the  provisions  furnished  by  the 

passengers.     The  Mogul  and    Ben  Franklin  have  just  been  slipped  into  the 
water,  after  a  thorough  gumming,  and  intend  to  ply  regularly  between  Oregon 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  1 5 

City  and  Champoeg  the  present  season.  The  boats  will  leave  Champoeg  on 
Mondays  and  Thursdays — from  Oregon  City  on  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  dur 
ing  the  season,  passengers  or  no  passengers.  fgp'As  the  proprietors  intend,  as 
they  always  have  done,  to  keep  the  best  boats  on  the  waters  above  the  falls,  they 
hope  to  receive  a  share  of  public  patronage.  X.  Y.  Z.  can  have  two  passages 
free  gratis  for  nothing.  fTipThe  first  Lieutenant  will  attend  to  all  business  in 
the  absence  of  the  Captain. 

N.  B. — A  reasonable  price  will  be  paid  for  a  quantity  of  good  Gum. 

Oct.  i,  1845 — i8tf. 

This  line  of  boats,  propelled  by  wind  and  oars,  did  the  carrying  business 
upon  both  the  rivers.  The  transportation  by  land  around  the  falls  at  Oregon 
City  was  done  by  Medorum  Crawford,  -who  came  to  Oregon  in  1842,  and  resided 
for  a  year  or  two  in  "old  Yamhill"  county,  wheret  like  many  other  of  our  dis 
tinguished  men,  he  "got  his  start."  In  the  spring  of  1845  Crawford  came  to 
Oregon  City  with  a  pair  of  black  oxen  and  an  old  emigrant  wagon,  the  result  of 
of  his  accumulations  in  Yamhill.  He  entered  into  some  sort  of  combination 
with  Cook  and  Newell  to  monopolize  the  transportation  business  of  the  country. 
Crawford,  with  his  black  oxen  and  old  wagon,  not  only  did  jail  the  trans 
portation  business  between  the  two  lines  of  boats  around  the  falls,  but  was  prac 
tically  the  hack  and  dray  company  of  Oregon  City. 

This  trio  of  monopolists,  with  their  great  wealth  in  boats,  wagon  and  black 
oxen,  held  as  firm  a  grasp  upon  the  carrying  trade  of  the  country  and  the  port 
age  at  the  falls,  as  ever  Leonidas  and  his  Spartans  did  at  that  historic  pass  of 
Thermopylre,  and  nothing  like  it  was  ever  known  in  this  country  until  later  and 
wealthier  companies,  aided  by  the  power  of  steamers,  held  all  the  passes  upon 
both  rivers. 

There  are  men  now  in  this  audience  who,  in  the  days  of  their  youth,  looked 
with  admiration  and  envy  upon  that  wealthy  trinity  of  capitalists.  It  seems  to 
me  that  I  can  now  see  Crawford  as  he  strode  along  what  are  now  the  streets  of 
Oregon  City,  clad  in  moccasins  and  skin  sacollocks,  by  the  side  of  his  black 
bovines,  with  his  long  buckskin  revolver  hanging  over  his  shoulder  to  whack 

them  up  occasionally. 

• 

After  two  or  three  years  enjoyment  of  this  monopoly,  Cook,  Newell  &  Craw 
ford  had  accumulated  a  fortune  and  retired.  Their  jointly  acquired  wealth 
must  have  amounted  to  $500  or  $600  in  trade.  I  say  trade,  because  there  was 
no  money  in  the  country.  It  consisted  of  beaver  skins,  buckskins,  wheat, 
shingles,  hooppoles,  salt  salmon  and  saw  logs. 

The  Callipooiah,  the  Mogul  and  the  Ben  Franklin,  with  the  black  oxen  and 
old  emigrant  wagon,  has  long  since  dissappeared,  but  they  are  still  entitled  to 
a  place  in  our  history  as  a  medium  by  which  our  great  internal  commerce  of  to 
day  had  its  origin.  Subsequently  Capt.  Charles  Bennett  built  a  keel  boat  that 


1 6  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

ran  from  the  falls  to  Salem,  and  others  built  boats  upon  the  lower  rivers,  all  of 
which  were  displaced  by  the  steamers  of  which  Judge  Strong  gave  you  an  ac 
count  two  years  ago. 

The  change  that  we  have  witnessed  in  our  commercial  facilities  are  only  indi 
cations  of  the  revolutions  that  have  taken  place  in  all  our  other  industries 
as  well  as  in  our  social  relations,  dress  and  mode  of  living. 

Until  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1848,  when  we  began  to  receive  returns  from 
the  California  gold  mines,  there  was  no  money  in  circulation  in  the  coun 
try.  During  the  first  five  years  of  my  residence  in  Oregon,  three  Mexican  dol 
lars  was  all  the  money  that  I  received  or  handled.  The  provincial  government 
issued  paper  money  in  payment  of  its  liabilities,  which  was  a  legal  tender  for 
all  public  dues.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  five  dollar  bill  issued  and  paid  to 
me  on  the  28th  day  of  December,  1847,  in  Part  payment  of  my  per  diem  as  a 
member  of  the  Legislature.  It  reads  as  follows  : 

$5.00.  OREGON  CITY,  Dec.  28th,  1847. 

.     OREGON  TERRITORY 

Promises  to  pay  to  the  order  of  J.  W.  Nesmith,  five  dollars,  with  interest,  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum  from  date. 

WM.  K.  KILBOURN,  Treasurer. 
No.  508.  By  N.  SMITH,  Deputy. 

This  bill  belongs  to  the  same  family,  and  is  a  legitimate  descendent  of  the  old 
continental  money  and  the  French  assignet,  and  has  irredeemable  qualities  that 
would  cause  the  heart  of  a  radical  greenback  inflationist  to  leap  for  joy  and  sing 
eternal  praises  to  fiat  money.  I  have  carried  it  around  in  my  pocket  for  about 
a  third  of  a  century,  or  to  be  exact,  32  years,  5  months  and  17  days,  and  have 
arrived  at  the  painful  conclusion  that  it  has  no  redeemer  living.  You  Mr. 
President,  served  in  that  Legislature  with  me,  and  know  how  poor  the  perqui 
sites  were.  Indeed,  the  whole  contents  of  our  treasury  were  not  sufficient  to 
tempt  the  cupidity  of  a  modern  statesman,  but  those  were  days  long  before  the 
"omces  were  organized." 

I  have  made  up  my  mind,  Mr.  President,  to  present  to  you  this  valuable  pub 
lic  security,  to  be  deposited  in  the  secure  archives  of  our  society.  The  day  will 
come  when  its  principal  and  interest  will  amount  to  a  sum  sufficient  to  erect  a 
monument  to  each  and  every  member  of  our  society — higher  and  more  durable 
than  that  which  crowns  Bunker  Hill  and  looks  down  upon  the  hub  of  the  Uni 
verse — and  it  is  my  wish  that  the  proceeds  be  devoted  to  that  purpose.  Mr. 
President,  accept  this  magnificent  donation  and  regard  it  as  a  sacred  trust. 

The  business  of  the  country  was  conducted  entirely  by  barter.  The  Hudson 
Bay  Company  imported  and  sold  many  articles  of  prime  necessity  to  those  who 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  I  7 

were  able  to  purchase.  Wheat  or  beaver  skins  would  buy  anything  the  com 
pany  had  for  sale.  But  poor,  wayworn  emigrants,  just  arriving  in  the  country, 
were  as  destitute  of  wheat  and  beaver  as  they  were  of  coin.  The  skins  pur 
chased  by  the  company  were  annually  shipped  in  their  own  vessels  to  London, 
while  the  wheat  was  shipped  to  the  Russian  possessions  on  the  north,  and  to 
California,  to  fill  a  contract  that  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  had  with  the  Rus 
sian  Fur  Company. 

A  small  trade  in  lumber,  salt  salmon,  shingles  and  hooppoles  gradually  grew 
up  with  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  brought  in  return  a  limited  supply  of  black 
and  dirty  sugar,  in  grass  sacks,  together  with  some  salt  and  coffee. 

There  being  no  duties  collected  upon  importations  into  Oregon  previous  to 
1849,  foreign  goods  were  comparatively  cheap,  though  the  supply  was  always 
limited  ;  nor  had  the  people  means  to  purchase  beyond  the  pure  necessities. 
Iron,  steel,  salt,  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  tobacco,  powder  and  lead,  and  a  little  ready 
made  clothing  and  some  calico  and  domestics  were  the  principal  articles  pur 
chased  by  the  settlers.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  their  long  intercourse 
with  the  Indians  had,  from  prudential  motives,  adopted  the  plan  in  their  trade 
of  passing  articles  called  for  out  through  a  hole  in  the  wall  or  partition.  Per 
sons  were  not  allowed  inside  among  the  goods  to  make  selections,  and  the  pur 
chaser  had  to  be  content  with  what  was  passed  out  to  him  through  the  aper 
ture.  Thus,  in  buying  a  suit  of  clothes,  there  was  often  an  odd  medley  of  color 
and  size.  The  garments  were  all  gotten  up  on  the  most  magnificent  proportions 
in  regard  to  size.  The  settlers  used  to  say  that  Dr.  McLaughlin,  who  was  a 
very  large  man,  had  sent  his  measure  to  London,  and  all  of  the  clothing  was 
made  to  fit  him.  The  hickory  shirts  we  used  to  buy  came  down  to  our  heels,  and 
the  wrist-bands  protruded  a  foot  beyond  the  hands  ;  and  as  Sancho  Panza  said 
of  sleep,  "they  covered  one  all  over  like  a  mantle."  They  wer^nosuch  "cutty 
sark"  affairs  of  "Paisley  ham"  as  fuddled  Tarn  O'Shanter  saw  when  peeping  in 
upon  the  dancing  warlocks  of  "Alloway's  auld  haunted  kirk." 

A  small-sized  settler  purchasing  one,  could,  by  a  reasonable  curtailment  of 
the  extremities,  have  sufficient  material  to  clothe  one  of  the  children. 

There  was  no  importation  of  what  is  comprised  in  the  term  agricultural  im 
plements,  beyond  a  few  old-fashioned  and  illy  constructed  English  scythes, 
sickles  and  augers,  and  the  simpler  indispensable  tools  used  by  a  very  primitive 
people.  The  grain  was  all  cut  with  the  cradle,  or  sickle,  bound  in  bundles  and 
tramped  out  in  pens  by  horses  or  oxen,  and  winnowed  by  the  breeze. 

Plows,  mouldboard  and  all,  except  the  cutting  portion,  known  as  the  share, 
were  constructed  of  wood,  while  the  harrow  teeth  were  made  of  tough,  seasoned 


1 8  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

white  oak.     Axes,  chains  and  other  tools  of  iron  or  steel  consisted  of  the  rough 
article  as  they  came  from  the  hammer  of  not  very  expert  blacksmiths. 

The  pioneer  home  was  a  log  cabin  with  a  puncheon  floor  and  mud  chimney, 
all  constructed  without  sawed  lumber,  glass  or  nails,  the  boards  being  secured 
upon  the  roof  by  heavy  weight  poles.  Sugar,  coffee,  tea  and  even  salt  were 
not  every  day  luxuries,  and  in  many  cabins  were  entirely  unknown.  Moccasins 
mado  of  deer  or  elk  skins  and  soled  with  rawhide  made  a  sub.stitute  for  shoes, 
and  were  worn  by  both  sexes.  Buckskin  was  the  material  from  which  the 
greater  portion  of  the  male  attire  was  manufactured,  while  the  cheapest  kind 
of  coarse  cotton  goods  furnished  the  remainder.  A  white  or  boiled  shirt  was 
raivly  seen,  and  was  a  sure  indication  of  great  wealth  and  aristocratic  preten 
sion.  Meat  was  obtained  in  some  quantities  from  the  wild  game  of  the  forests 
or  the  wild  fowl  with  which  .the  country  abounded  at  certain  seasons,  until  such 
time  as  cattle  or  swine  became  sufficiently  numerous  to  be  slaughtered  for  food. 
The  hides  of  both  wild  and  domestic  animals  were  utilized  in  many  ways. 
Clothing,  moccasins,  saddles  and  their  rigging,  bridles,  ropes,  harness  and 
other  necessary  articles  were  made  from  them.  A  pair  of  buckskin  pants,  moc 
casins,  a  hickory  shirt  and  some  sort  of  cheaply  extemporized  hat  rendered  a 
man  comfortable  as  well  as  presentable  in  the  best  society,  the  whole  outfit  not 
costing  one-tenth  part  of  the  essential  gewgaws  that  some  of  our  exquisite  sons 
now  sport  at  the  ends  of  their  watch-chains,  on  their  shirt-fronts  or  dainty  fin 
gers.  Buckskin  clothing  answered  wonderfully  well  for  rough  and  tumble 
wear,  particularly  in  dry  weather,  but  I  have  known  them  after  exposure  to  a 
hard  day's  rain,  to  contract  in  a  single  night  by  a  warm  fire,  a  foot  in  longitude, 
and  after  being  subjected  to  a  web-foot  winter  or  two,  and  a  succeeding  dry 
summer,  they  would  assume  grotesque  and  unfashionable  shapes,  generally 
leaving  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  of  nude  find  arid  skin  between  the  top  of  the 
moccasins  and  ^ower  end  of  the  breeches  ;  the  knee  protruded  in  front,  while 
the  rear  started  off  in  the  opposite  directions,  so  that  when  the  wearer  stood  up, 
the  breeches  were  in  a  constant  struggle  to  sit  down,  and  vice  versa. 

The  pioneers  brought  garden  seeds  with  them,  and  much  attention  was  paid 
to  the  production  of  vegetables,  which,  with  milk,  game  and  fish  went  a  long 
way  toward  the  support  of  the  family.  Reaping  machines,  threshers,  headers, 
mowing  machines,  pleasure  carriages,  silks,  satins,  laces,  kid  gloves,  plug  hats, 
high-heeled  boots,  crinoline,  bustles,  false  hair,  hair  dye,  jewelry,  patent  medi 
cines,  railroad  tickets,  postage  stamps,  telegrams,  pianos  and  organs,  together 
with  the  thousand  and  one  articles  to  purchase  which  the  country  is  now  drained 
of  millions  of  dollars  annually,  were  then  unknown,  and  consequently  not 
wanted.  A  higher  ci  vilation  has  introduced  us  to  all  these  modern  improvements, 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  19 

and  apparently  made  them  necessaries,  together  with  the  rum-mill,  the  jail,  the 
insane  asylum,  the  poor  house,  the  penitentiary  aud  the  gallows. 

Judge  Burnett,  of  California,  has  recently  written  a  book  entitled,  "Recol 
lections  of  an  Old  Pioneer."  In  giving  his  experience  of  pioneer  life  in  Oregon 
from  1843  to  I84S3,  he  says,  "it  was  interesting  to  observe  the  influence  of  new 
circumstances  upon  human  character.  Among  the  men  who  came  to  Oregon 
the  year  I  did,  some  were  idle,  worthless  young  men,  too  lazy  to  work  at  home 
and  too  genteel  to  steal,  while  some  were  gamblers  and  others  reputed  thieves. 
But  when  we  arrived  in  Oregon,  they  were  compelled  to  work  or  starve.  It 
was  a  dire  necessity.  There  were  :here  no  able  relative  or  indulgent  friend 
upon  whom  the  idle  could  quarter  themselves,  and  there  was  little  or  nothing 
for  the  rogues  to  steal.  There  was  no  ready  way  by  which  they  could  escape 
into  another  country,  and  they  could  not  conceal  themselves  in  Oregon." 

"I  never  knew  so  fine  a  population,  as  a  whole  community,  as  I  saw  in  Ore 
gon  most  of  the  time  I  was  there.  They  were  all  honest,  because  there  was 
nothing  to  steal;  they  were  all  sober,  because  there  was  no  liquor  to  drink;  there 
were  no  misers,  because  there  was  nothing  to  hoard;  they  were  all  industrious, 
because  it  was  work  or  starve."  Whether  our  primitive  condition  of  poverty 
and  virtue,  enforced  by  the  absence  of  temptation  and  the  means  of  gratifying 
vice,  was  preferable  to  what  we  now  enjoy,  I  leave  to  others  of  a  more  enquir 
ing  turn  of  mind  to  determine. 

Some  misapprehension  has,  I  conceive,  existed  relative  to  the  self-sacrificing 
character  of  the  early  missionaries  who  came  to  Oregon.  My  own  observation 
of  them  was  principally  confined  to  the  Methodist  missionary  station  at  The 
Dalles,  and  those  of  the  Willamette  valley.  They  were  not  the  sort  of  people 
who  explore  and  develope  the  resourcer  of  a  new  country.  They  were  hired 
and  paid  for  their  services  by  a  wealthy  society  in  the  East,  ajid  sent  here  in 
comfortable  ships.  On  their  arrival  they  were  provided  with  homes,  food  and 
clothing  for  themselves  and  families,  and  were. exempt  from  the  trials,  priva 
tions  and  sufferings  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  poor  immigrant,  in  his  unaided 
struggle  to  support  himself  and  family.  Their  ostensible  object  was  to  convert 
the  Indian  to  Christianity,  of  which  they  made  a  lamentable  failure.  Large 
sums  of  money  had  been  contributed  by  charitable  people  in  the  East  for  the 
bennefit  of  the  Indians,  and  great  quantities  of  clothing  and  other  articles 
had  been  donated  for  the  same  purpose.  The  clothing  and  goods  were  sold 
to  the  natives  and  settlers,  and  the  only  benefits  conferred  'upon  the  Indians 
were  opportunities  to  obtain  by  barter  and  trade,  what  the  generous  donors 
had  intended  as  a  gratuity.  Before  leaving  the  East,  I  had  read  accounts 
in  a  New  York  missionary  paper,  of  the  most  wonderful  success  of  the 


20  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Methodist  missionaries  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  in  Oregon,  and  that 
at  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  1500  of  them  had  been  brought  to  a  knowledge 
of  Christ,  baptized  and  received  into  the  church  militant  in  tivo  days.  'Ihe  ac 
count  concluded  with  an  appeal  for  more  material  aid,  and  urged  the  young 
people  to  sell  their  jewelry  and  turn  the  proceeds  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord, 
to  aid  his  self-sacrificing  servants  in  far  away  Oregon,  to  bring  the  benighted 
heathen  to  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  of  salvation.  After  my  arrival  here,  I 
was  surprised  to  find  but  one  Indian — old  Stiecus,  of  Dr.  Whitman's  mission — 
who  made  any  pretention  to  Christianity  or  practiced  its  precepts.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Mission  we  found  the  most  abandoned  Indians  and  worth 
less  characters  that  we  had  anywhere  met  in  our  travels.  It  was  not  entirely, 
perhaps,  the  fault  of  the  missionaries  themselves,  that  their  evangelical  labors 
were  not  crowned  with  success,  as  there  seems  to  be  inherent  difficulties  in  the 
inculcation  of  the  abstract  doctrines  of  Christianity  in  the  minds  of  the  untutored 
children  of  Nature. 

On  one  occasion  I  attended  service  conducted  by  a  missionary  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Indians  at  the  Willamette  Falls.  The  old  chiefs,  Yalocus  and  Wansa- 
mus,  with  Slacom,  and  other  head  men  of  their  tribe,  and  about  300  of  their 
people,  were  present.  The  sermon  was  preached  in  Chinook  jargon,  and  con 
sisted  in  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  preacher  to  unfold  to  his  benighted,  filthy 
and  half  naked  audience,  the  mysteries  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  The  poverty 
of  the  language  did  not  admit  of  any  elaborated  presentation  of  abstract  ideas 
or  principles;  the  preacher  dwelt  strongly  upon  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  illus 
trated  its  benefits  by  pointing  out  the  superior  physical  comforts  enjoyed  by  the 
white  people  over  the  savages,  in  habitation,  food  and  clothing;  and  told  them 
that  they  might  enjoy  similar  benefits  by  its  practice.  He  then  interrogated 
them  as  to  whether  they  were  willing  to  ask  for,  and  receive  the  inestimable 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  prayerful  supplication  to  the  Deity.  Old  Wanas- 
mus  responded  in  behalf  of  his  people:  ilNoivitka,  six;  mica  potlach  passissie, 
sakallux,  sapalell,  ittillivilla^  cayuse,  hyu  close  itca  copa  konniway  nica  tilli> 
cum.  Yaka  koni-way  kwaniisifni  wawa  copa  sohala  tyee."  Which,  translated 
to  English,  was  substantially,  "Yes,  my  friend,  if  you  will  give  us  plenty  of 
blankets,  pantaloons,  flour  and  meat,  and  tobacco,  and  lots  of  other  good  things, 
we  will  pray  to  God  all  the  time,  and  always."  I  went  away  impressed  with 
the  opinion  that  it  was  a  difficult  task  to  convince  a  people  of  the  necessity  of 
making  any  provision  for  the  next  world,  while  they  were  too  lazy  and  indiffer 
ent  to  provide  for  the  commonest  wants  of  the  present.  It  seemed  an  impossi 
bility  to  make  them  comprehend  the  advent  of  original  sin  into  the  world;  and 
that  they  were  liable  to  future  punishment  for  Adamic  transgression,  while  the 
question  of  vicarious  atonement  could  not  be  brought  within  the  grasp  of  their 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

limited  understanding.  Indeed,  I  thought  it  a  difficult  matter  for  a  man  to  be 
a  Christian  until  he  had,  by  his  own  honest  toil  and  industry,  provided  himself 
with  a  hat,  a  shirt,  a  pair  of  pantaloons  and  ammunition  for  his  stomach,rwith 
a  comfortable  place  to  sleep.  In  my  humble  judgment,  the  Methodist  mission 
aries  in  Oregon,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  have  made  the  common  mistake  of  at 
tempting  to  propagate  emotional  religion,  and  impress  upon  the  untutored  mind 
of  the  ignorant  savages,  the  mysteries  of  the  plan  of  salvation  and  the  recondite 
principles  of  theology,  about  which  the  most  intelligent  white  people  differ  so 
much  in  opinion  among  themselves,  until  they  have  first  taught  them  to  provide 
for  their  physical  comfort  by  their  labor.  The  missionary  labors  of  Cortez  and 
Pizaro,  at  an  earlier  period,  were  conducted  by  Castilian  cavalry,  mounted  upon 
Audalnsian  steeds,  and  the  truths  of  the  gospel  were  thrust  home  at  the  points 
of  the  sabre  and  the  lance.  Barring  the  cruelty  of  Cortez  and  Pizaro's  plan,  it 
was  as  rational  as  that  adopted  by  the  Methodist  Missionaries.  Neither  brute 
force  nor  the  utterance  of  uncomprehended  theories,  are  likely  to  convey  to  the 
untutored  mind,  intelligent  conviction  upon  abstract  questions.  It  is  my  opin 
ion  that  the  Methodist  missionaries  conferred  no  benefit  upon  the  natives.  They 
were,  however,  of  some  advantage  to  the  early  pioneers  in  forming  a  nucleus 
for  settlement  and  trade  by  which  both  parties  were  benefited.  But  the  cause 
of  Zion  did  not  occupy  their  undivided  attention,  considerable  of  which  was  de 
voted  to  the  acquisition  of  things  that  perish.  Each  missionary  claimed  640 
acres  of  land  individually,  besides  thirty-six  sections  claimed  and  held  by  the 
church.  This  claim  of  a  principality  outside  of  their  regular  donation  claims, 
caused  about  the  first  litigation  in  Oregon  between  the  Mission  and  Chas.  E. 
Pickett,  who,  in  1845,  located  upon  vacant  land  near  the  mouth  of  the  Clacka- 
mas,  and  the  Mission  brought  suit  to  oust  him,  in  which,  aided  by  all  the  law 
yers  in  Oregon,  they  were  unsuccessful.  When  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gary  came  here 
in  1844  to  wind  up  the  business  of  the  Missions,  a  large  amount  of  property  was 
offered  for  sale,  and  there  were  persons  among  the  settlers  who  had  some 
means,  and  desired  to  make  small  purchases  of  horses,  cattle  and  other  prop 
erty,  but  they  were  prohibited  from  entering  into  competition.  The  church 
formed  a  close  corporation,  and  none  but  its  members  were  permitted  to  bid  npon 
property  ostensibly  offered  at  public  sale.  The  property  was  sold  on  a  long 
credit,  and  the  grasping  avarice  of  some  of  the  purchasers  caused  amusement  to 
the  outsider,  who  looked  upon  the  whole  thing  as  a  kind  of  "division  of  rai- 
msnt."  I  do  not  desire  to  be  understood  as  asserting  that  the  individual  mis 
sionaries  were  any  better  or  any  worse  than  the  rest  of  us.  Among  them  were 
good  and  bad  men,  some  of  whom  manifested  more  interest  in  the  accumulation 
of  the  dross  of  this  world,  than  they  did  in  the  cause  of  Zion,  and  the  work  of 
the  Lord  was  not  prospered  among  the  heathen.  The  last  lingering  benefits 


22  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

conferred  by  the  Methodist  missionaries  in  Oregon,  are  now  being  feJt  by  many 
poor  people  at  the  Dalles,  whom  the  society,  in  its  attempt  to  rob  old  pioneers 
of  their  homes,  have  involved  in  expensive  and  vexatious  law  suits,  in  their  at 
tempts  to  acquire  that  to  which  they  never  had  a  shadow  of  legal  title,  and  for 
which,  in  their  grasping  avarice,  the  society  took,  and  received  from  the  tax 
payers  of  the  nation,  twenty  thousand  dollars,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty. 

Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  in  charge  of  the  Mission  at  Wailatpu,  in  the  Walla 
Walla  valley,  was  not  a  regular  clergyman,  though  he  sometimes  preached. 
He  traveled  with  the  immigration  of  1843,  ^rom  tne  Missouri  frontier,  to  nenr 
the  Snake  river.  I  regarded  him  as  a  quiet,  unassuming  man,  and  of  g;eat 
purity  of  character.  He  was  of  a  powerful  physical  organization,  and  possessed 
a  great  and  good  heart,  full  of  charity  and  courage,  and  utterly  d-siitute  of 
cant,  hypocrisy,  shams  and  effeminacy,  and  always  terribly  in  earnest.  While 
with  us  he  was  clad  entirely  in  buckskin,  and  rode  upon  one  of  those  patient, 
long-earned  animals  said  to  be  "without  pride  of  ancestry  or  hope  ot  posterity." 
The  Doctor  spent  much  of  his  time  in  hunting  out  the  best  route  for  the  wagons, 
and  would  plunge  into  streams  in  search  of  practical  fords,  regardless  of  the 
depth  or  temperature  of  the  water,  and  sometimes  after  the  fatigue  of  a  hard 
day:s  march,  would  spend  much  of  the  night  in  going  from  one  party  to  another 
to  minister  to  the  sick.  While  his  moral  example  was  of  the  highest  charac 
ter,  he  said  more  to  us  about  the  practical  matters  connected  with  our  march 
than  he  did  about  theology  or  religious  creeds,  and  I  believe  that  his  conduct 
among  the  Indians  was  of  the  same  practical  and  useful  character  ;  and  that  he 
was  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  teaching  them  habits  of  industry  and 
economy,  as  the  surest  road  to  civilization  and  happiness. 

The  ungrateful  wretches  for  whose  benefit  Dr.  Whitman  spent  long  years  of  ardu 
ous  toil,  and  suffered  great  privntions,  rewarded  him  with  cold-blooded  murder 
and  mutilation.  He  fell  in  the  very  act  of  bestowing  merciful  charity  to  his  assail 
ants.  One  Indian  was  in  front  of  him,  attracting  his  attention  by  receiving 
medicine  for  his  sick  children,  while  a  confederate,  stealthily  approaching  him 
from  the  rear,  sent  a  tomahawk  crashing  through  his  brain.  It  has,  as  I  think, 
been  cruelly  charged  that  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  instigated  and  pro 
cured  the  murder  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  wife,  together  with  the  party  of  immigrants 
staying  at  his  place.  I  have  too  much  charity  for  human  nature  to  believe  that 
one  set  of  civilized  and  educated  men,  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
devoting  their  lives  to  the  benefit  of  their  fellow-men,  to  say  nothing  of  the  re 
straints  supposed  to  be  imposed  by  the  Christian  religion,  could  be  so  far  lost  to 
all  sense  of  right,  justice  and  mercy  as  to  cause  the  cruel  murder  of  other  men 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  23 

engaged  in  the  same  humane  and  charitable  cause.  If  my  charity  for  human 
nature  has  led  me  to  a  "wrong  conclusion  in  this  matter,  it  may,  perhaps,  be  at 
tributed  to  the  fact  that  religious  zeal  has  not  controlled  my  opinions.  I  know 
that  Dr.  Whitman  had  cause  to  dread  the  vengeance  of  the  Indians  long  before 
it  overtook  him.  I  heard  him,  hi  the  spring  of  1845,  express  his  apprehension 
on  that  subject  to  Dr.  McLaughlin,  at  Oregon  City,  and  the  latter  agreed  with 
him  upon  the  danger  of  his  situation,  and  advised  him  to  come  to  the  Willam 
ette  valley.  The  relations  that  Dr.  McLaughlin  bore  toward  the  Catholic  mis 
sionaries  and  the  Indians,  rendered  it  next  to  impossible  that  the  Whitman 
murder  could  have  been  concocted  between  the  Catholic  priests  and  the 
Indians,  without  his  knowledge  ;  and  all  the  world  could  not  make  me  believe 
that  every  impulse  of  the  heart  of  that  great  and  good  man  would  not  revolt  at 
the  bare  mention  of  such  an  atrocity. 

Mr.  Tresident,  I  turn  from  the  brief  mention  of  the  most  ruthless  and  cruel 
scence  of  slaughter  that  has  ever  cast  its  dark  shadow  over  our  own  fair  land, 
to  the  contemplation  of  more  pleasant  subjects. 

We  have  with  us  to-day,  the  person  whom,  I  think,  is  the  oldest  living  pio 
neer  in  Oregon.  The  man  who  made  moccasin  tracks  within  the  boundaries  of 
Oregon  bafore  any  other  man  now  alive.  I  refer  to  GEORGE  WARD  EBBERT. 
He  was  born  in  Augusta,  Bracken  county,  Kentucky,  in  1810.  In  1829  he 
went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  in  March  of  that  year  went  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  the  service  of  Smith,  Sublett  and  Jackson,  Indian  traders.  The 
traders  and  trappers  that  year  had  their  rendezvous  at  Piers  Hole.  Jedediah 
Smith,  one  of  the  partners,  had,  two  years  previous,  conducted  a  party  of  trap 
pers  south  into  the  "Spanish  country,"  as  the  Mexican  settlements  were  then 
calle.d,  and  failed  to  meet  his  partners*  at  the  rendezvous,  as  had  been  agreed 
upon,  and  Fitzpatrick  was  sent  out  to  hunt  Smith  and  his  missing  party.  Smith, 
in  his  wanderings,  had  visited  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  ascended  the  Sac 
ramento  river,  but  rinding  no  opening  to  cross  the  mountains  going  east,  they 
bsnt  their  course  to  the  coast,  which  they  reached  at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  river, 
and  proceeded  along  the  beach  to  the  Umpqua,  where  the  Indians  stole  their 
ax — the  only  one  they  had,  and  which  was  indispensable  to  them  in  making 
rafts  to  cross  the  stream.  They  took  the  chief  prisoner,  and  the  ax  was  re 
turned.  Early  the  following  morning.  Smith  started  in  a  canoe,,  with  two  of  his 
men  and  one  Indian,  but  during  his  absence  the  party  became  careless,  and  con 
trary  to  Smith's  orders,  permitted  a  large  number  of  Indians  to  come  into  camp. 
At  a  yell,  five  or  six  Indians  fell  upon  each  white  man,  with  war  clubs  and 
knives.  At  the  moment  of  attack,  one  of  the  men — Black — was  out  of  the 
crowd,  and  had  just  finished  cleaning  and  loading  his  rifle,  when  three  Indians 
jumped  on  him,  but  he  shook  them  off,  and  seeing  all  his  comrades  struggling 


24  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

on  the  ground,  and  the  Indians  beating  and  stabbing  them,  he  fired  his  rifle  into 
the  crowd,  and  rushed  to  the  woods  pursued  by  the  Indians,  but  fortunately 
escaped.  He  swam  across  the  Umpqua  and  made  his  way  northward,  where, 
reduced  to  great  distress  by  hunger  and  exposure,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the 
Tillamooks,  near  Cape  Lookout.  The  Indians  conducted  Black  to  Vancouver, 
where  he  arrived  in  August,  1828,  and  supposed  himself  to  be  the  only  survivor 
of  Smith's  party  of  eighteen  men. 

Ur.  McLaughlin  rewarded  the  Indians  munificently  for  bringing  Black  in. 
Subsequently  Smith,  John  Turner  and  the  other  man,  name  unknown,  who  had 
been  absent  from  the  camp,  at  the  time  of  the  attack,  reached  Vancouver.  The 
remainder  of  the  party  were  murdered.  Dr.  McLaughlin  sent  out  an  armed 
party  of  forty  men,  and  recovered  $3200  worth  of  Smith's  beaver  skins,  and 
turned  them  over  to  him  free  of  charge.  Smith,  Black  and  Turner,  with  the 
other  survivors  of  the  massacre,  started  up  the  Columbia,  and  Fitzpatrick — who 
as  formerly  stated — had  been  sent  to  hunt  them,  found  them  on  Lewises  Fork 
and  conducted  them  to  the  rendezvous  at  Piers  Hole  in  1827.  In  1836,  Ebbert 
was  sent  by  Thos.  McKay  and  Capt.  Thing,  the  partners  in  the  Indian  trade, 
with  an  express  from  Fort  Hall  to  Dr.  McLaughlin,  at  Fort  Vancouver.  Ebbert 
went  alone,  and  near  the  Salmon  falls  the  Indians  captured  him  and  robbed 
him  of  his  two  horses,  gun,  blankets,  flint  and  steel;  they  gave  him  an  old 
fuzee,  piece  of  blanket,  and  a  miserable  skeleton  of  a  pony.  On  reaching  the 
Grand  Ronde,  Ebbert  found  the  Blue  mountains  covered  with  snow  :  he  killed 
the  old  crowbait  of  a  horse  and  made  a  pair  of  snowshoes  of  the  hide,  upon 
which  he  crossed  the  mountains,  carrying  enough  of  the  old  horse's  remains  to 
keep  him  alive.  He  struck  a  band  of  Cayuse  Indians  upon  the  Umatilla  river, 
who  conducted  him  to  old  Fort  Walla  Walla— now  called  Wallula — then  in 
charge  of  Mr.  Pembrin,  an  officer  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  sent  Him 
in  a  canoe  to  For4r Vancouver,  where  he  delivered  his  letter  to  Dr.  McLaugh 
lin,  and  the  next  morning  started  back  to  Fort  Hall.  From  this  narative  you 
will  observe  that  our  friend  Ebbert  was  within  12  miles  of  the  spot  where  we 
now  stand  in  the  year  1836 — 44  years  ago.  Ebbert  followed  the  nomadic  life 
of  a  trapper  until  1839,  when  he  came  to  the  Willamette  valley,  and  took  up  a 
claim  near  Champoeg,  and  the  next  year  settled  upon  his  present  farm  in  Tuala 
tin' plains,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  has  maintained  the  reputation  of  a 
good  citizen  and  an  honest  man.  The  first  square  meal  that  I  ever  ate  west  of 
the  Willamette  river,  was  at  his  humble  but  hospitable  cabin,  thirty  seven  years 
age.  In  1848  Ebbert  accompanied  Joseph  L.  Meek  in  carrying  an  express  in 
the  dead  of  winter  from  Walla  Walla  to  Washington  City,  asking  government 
aid  in  the  Cayuse  war.  He  was  absent  more  than  a  year,  and  paid  his  own  ex 
penses,  for  which  he  never  received  any  compensation.  Of  the  companions  of 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  25 

Ebbert  prior  to  1840,  there  are  now  but  few  ailve.  Among  them  I  can  recall 
the  names  of  Courtney  M.  Walker,  of  Tillamook  county,  Capt.  Jos.  Gale,  of 
Union  county,  George  Gay,  of  Yamhill  county,  Caleb  Wilkins,  of  Washington 
county,  Dick  McCary  and  Osborn  Russell,  now  I  believe  in  Californin. 

There  may  be  other  survivors  of  those  who  were  his  early  comrades,  and  I 
shall  be  sorry  if  I  have  failed  to  mention  them.  Among  those  who  are  dead,  are 
the  names  of  Newell,  Hubbard,  Larrison,  Doty,  Meek,  Turner,  Craig,  Thomp 
son  and  others.  I  knew  them  all  well,  and  never  knew  a  braver,  more  honest, 
patriotic  set  of  men.  They  were  the  Daniel  Boones  of  the  western  coast,  and 
gave  no  trouble  to  the  criminal  court,  the  poor  house  or  the  penitentiary.  Half 
a  century  ago  the  trapping  of  beavers  was  as  fascinating  and  nearly  as  remuner 
ative  as  the  digging  of  gold  has  since  become  ;  and  attracted  a  class  of  brave, 
adventurous  young  men,  who  stuck  to  the  pursuit  as  long  as  the  skin  of  the 
animal  was  valuable.  The  great  demand  for  the  skin  of  the  beaver  was  for  the 
purpose  of  making  men's  hats  and  ladies'  bonnets. 

In  old  books  we  often  find  the  hat  or  the  bonnet  spoken  of  as  the  "beaver," 
and  the  terms  are  synonymous.  The  demand  for  the  valuable  fur  may  to  some 
extent  have  resulted  from  the  demands  of  fashion,  which  has  at  all  times  exercised 
a  powerful  influence  upon  human  affairs.  One  of  the  ostensible  objects  for 
which  Charles  II,  in  1670  granted  the  charter  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  was 
to  obtain  the  skins  of  those  innocent  and  sagacious  little  animals.  Princes, 
Dukes  and  Earls  formed  the  company,  and  it  is  probable  that  royalty  itself 
shared  in  the  profits.  Under  the  monopoly,  thousands  of  men,  with  a  simulated 
military  organization,  with  headquarters  in  London,  were  scattered  over  North 
America  in  quest  of  the  beaver.  Battles  were  fought,  treaties  negotiated,  ships 
navigated  over  distant  and  dangerous  oceans  ;  great  and  small  expeditions,  in 
volving  terrible  expense  and  hardship,  pursued  the  animal  to  strip  him  of  his 
fine  and  glossy  fur,  until  the  word  "Beaver,"  became  with  those  engaged  in  the 
pusuit,  a  sort  of  shiboleth  ;  and  the  first  steamer  navigating  the  North  Pacific 
and  the  lower  Columbia  was  called  the  Beaver.  The  agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Co.,  perhaps  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  pursuits  of  this  world  would  in  some 
way  be  connected  with  their  occupations  in  the  next,  ransacked  England  in 
quest  of  a  chaplain  whose  name  was  Beaver  ;  he  was  caught,  and  the  Rev.  Her 
bert  Beaver  was  shipped  out  to  Fort.  Vancouver  on  the  steamer  Beaver  to  admin 
ister  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  those  engaged  in  catching  and  skinning  his  name 
sake.  An  official  report  made  to  Congress  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Pendleton,  in  1841, 
shows  that  in  the  year  1840,  eighteen  thousand  beavers  were  caught  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  within  that  comparatively  small  district  of  country  be 
tween  the  Columbia  river  and  the  northern  line  of  California.  Thus  the  little, 
harmless,  amphibious  quadruped,  that  by  using  its  teeth  as  a  hatchet  and  its 


26  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

tail  as  a  shovel  in  damming  up  the  mountain  rivulets  that  have  created  the  rich 
onion  beds  of  Washington  county  ?  built  forts  and  navies,  supported  armies,  ele 
vated  men  to  the  honors  of  the  Bfittish  peerage  and  to  knighthood,  and  paid  for 
the  consolations  of  religion. 

But  such  hats' and  bonnets  as  were  made  from  his  fur,  we  shall  never  see  or 
wear  again  ;  they  were  soft,  elastic  and  glossy,  and  shed  water  like  the  back  of 
a  duck  ;  being  so  durable  that  a  man  or  woman  required  but  one  to  last  a  life 
time  ;  and  they  often  descended  in  the  line  of  their  usefulness  from  one  genera 
tion  to  another.  But  the  time  came  when  the  inventive  genius  of  the  Yankee 
found  out  a  light,  cheap,  glossy,  ephemerial  substitute  in  brown  paper  and 
silk  out  of  which  to  manufacture  plug  hats,  a  half  dozen  of  which  are  sometimes 
used  up  by  a  modern  exquisite  in  a  single  season.  The  comfortable  and  dur 
able,  honest  old  beaver  hat  has  given  way  to  the  modern  shams  ;  and  the  price  of 
beaver  skins  have  fallen  to  nearly  nothing,  and  the  trappers  occupation  is  gone. 
I  have  often  heard  the  old  trapper  aiound  the  campfire  tell  how  they  had  caught 
from  five  to  ten  beavers  in  a  single  night,  the  skins  of  which  were  as  good  as 
gold  at  $5  dollars  each.  About  twenty-five  years  ago,  a  friend  of  mine  return 
ing  to  New  York,  took  with  him  some  beaver  skins  to  have  a  hat  made  ;  but  in 
that  great  cosmopolitan  city  not  a  man  could  be  found  who  could  make  a  beaver 
hat,  so  completely  had  silk  supplanted  the  beaver  that  the  construction  of  a 
beaver  hat  was  among  the  lost  arts.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  march  of  modern 
improvements  has  not  tended  to  deteriorate  the  brain  to  the  extent  that  it  has  its 
covering. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  address  I  promised  I  should  be  discursive,  and 
I  think  I  ha,ve  rambled  about  sufficiently  to  redeem  that  pledge  ;  the  subject 
has  grown  upon  my  hands  until  I  feel  that,  while  I  have  left  much  unsaid,  I 
have  already  detained  you  too  long. 

I  have  in  my  possession  a  copy  of  a  paper  found  among  the  manuscripts  left 
by  Dr.  McLaughlin.  It  was  kindly  furnished  and  presented  f>  me  by  his  de 
scendants.  I  had  intended  reading  it  to  you  as  a  part  of  my  address,  but  hav 
ing  already  trespassed  too  long  upon  your  patience  I  shall  hand  the  document 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  with  my  endorsement  of  the  truth  of  ail  its 
statements  that  came  within  my  own  knowledge.  I  believe  it  to  be  the  most 
valuable  contribution  to  our  archives  that  we  have  ever  received  from  any  quar 
ter  ;  and  I  desire  to  say}  what  I  believe  all  old  pioneers  will  agree  to,  that  the 
statements  of  this  paper  furnish  a  thorough  and  complete  vindication  of  Dr. 
McLaughlin's  acts  and  conduct,  and  that  the  integrity  of  his  narratives  cannot 
be  impeached  by  any  honest  testimony. 

Mr.  President  and  Pioneers,  this,  in  all  probability,  being  UK  last  time  I  shall 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

be  called  upon  to  address  3-011,  the  occasion  is  one  that  calls  up  some  emotions 
of  the  heart.  For  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  we  have  been  associated  to 
gether  as  neighbors  and  friends,  sometimes  in  prosperity  and  often  in  adversity. 
Some  of  us  made  the  long,  dreary  voyage  across  the  plains  and  Rocky  moun 
tains  together,  destined  to  what  was  then  an  unknown  land,  and  shared  in  dan 
gers,  toil  and  privations  unknown  to  our  descendants.  Together,  we  have  con 
tributed  our  share  to  the  building  up  of  a  great  and  prosperous  State,  and  it 
would  be  strange  if  men  thus  associated  had  not  formed  kindly  attachments, 
which  death  alone  can  sever. 

To-day  as  we  look  along  our  ranks  we  are  sadly  reminded  of  the  number  of 
good  fellows  who  have  fallen  out  and  left  their  places  vacant  around  our  camp 
fire.  They  have  listened  for  the  last  time  to  the  war  whoop  of  the  hostile  sav 
age,  and  will  never  again  respond  to  the  call  of  the  bugle.  They  will  never 
again  saddle  up  or  mount  guard  to  protect  the  encampment  of  helpless  women 
and  children  ;  their  mission  is  ended,  and  their  rusty  rifle,  with  powder  horns, 
shot  pouches  and  bullet  moulds  hang  unused  upon  the  -walls  as  sad  mementoes. 
Among  those  who  have  gone,  permit  me  to  refer  to  the  pioneer  who,  seven  years 
ago,  delivered  the  first  address  to  this  Society.  I  refer  to  Geo.  L.  Curry.  I 
made  his  acquaintance  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  at  Oregon  City  in  1846,  and 
our  friendly  relations  continued  to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  a  high  minded 
honorable,  truthful  gentleman,  and  he  left  the  impress  of  his  name  upon  the 
archives  of  our  State. 

I  cannot  close  this  address  with  a  more  fitting  peroration  than  by  reciting 
what  he  said  to  you  in  closing  his  address  at  our  first  re-union  on  the  Iith  day 
of  November,  1873.  ^n  speaking  to  and  of  the  pioneers,  he  said  :  " 

"  No  doubt  a  high  regard  will  be  cherished  for  them  when  they  shall  have 
passed  away,  to  live  again  in  the  grateful  stories  of  the  thrilling  incidents  of 
frontier  and  wilderness  life.  Few  deeds  will  be  found  within  the  period  of  that 
pioneer  rule  which  any  one  will  care  to  have  disclaimed,  or  which  will  cause 
the  least  reproach.  The  Oregon  pioneers  were  a  class  of  men  possessing  the 
superior  virtues  which  make  a  superior  manhood.  Alreacty  they  have  been  dis 
tinguished  by  the  highest  honors— in  the  pulpit,  on  the  bench,  at  the  bar,  as 
Governors,  as  Congressmen,  as  Senators.  They  did  their  work  unostentatiously, 
but  did  it  well,  in  leaving  a  broad  and  substantial  foundation,  at  least  for  the 
more  complete  and  perfect  work  of  those  who  were  to  come  after  them." 


OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  1848, 


BY    REV.    G.    H.    ATKINSON. 


Mr.  President^  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  / 

The  year  which  we  celebrate  marks  a  fruitful  period  for  the  Pacific  northwest, 
1848  was  the  turning  point  in  our  history.  Alternate  hopes  and  fears  had 
moved  the  people  up  to  this  date.  There  had  been  no  recognition  by  Con^ 
gress*  Laws  had  been  enacted  and  executed  by  the  pioneers.  Society  had 
begun  to  organize  in  a  few  centers,  and  public  sentiment  was  respected ;  but 
our  nation  had  not  recognized  this  small  band  of  American  citizens  on  her  ex- 
treme  frontier  along  the  Pacific  ocean  until  1848.  The  earlier  pioneers — the 
hunters  and  trappers,  the  missionaries  and  their  wives,  and  the  immigrant  fam 
ilies  of  the  settlers  had  found  the  path  and  opened  the  way  hither,  and  offered  a 
safe  and  welcome  home  to  all  new  comers.  Great  was  their  task  and  nobly 
they  completed  it. 

They  had  organized  the  provisional  government  in  1842-4,  on  the  American 
plan  of  equal  rights  and  equal  justice  to  every  citizen,  and  had  included  all  as 
citizens  who  were  so  held  under  State  and  national  laws.  They  had  ventured 
the  experiment  of  self-government  as  a  duty  of  self-protection,  and  not  in  disre 
spect  or  defiance  of  Congress  or  the  Constitution.  Having  marched  two  thous 
and  miles  westward  over  the  famed  "American  desert,"  and  over  three  moun 
tain  ranges,  and  still  standing  on  American  soil,  they  wished  no  divorce  from 
the  home  government,  but  rather,  a  stronger  union  with  it.  The  fires  of  patriot 
ism  burned  more,  not  less,  brightly  within  them  under  the  force  of  their  long 
and  painful  tramp  to  plant  and  defend  the  "  flag  of  our  nation"  on  this  Pacific 
frontier. 

SPECIAL   ENCOURAGEMENTS    RESPECTING   SETTLEMENTS. 

The  boundary  of  Oregon— 54  years  in  dispute— had  been  fixed  (June  15, 1846  ^ 
by  final  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  within  the  latitudes  42  deg.  and  49  deg. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  29 

north  and  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  mountains  on  the  east  and  the  Pacific  ocean  on 
the  west.  Adherents  of  the  British  crown,  viz  :  many  officers  and  employes  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  whose  policy  for  34  years  had  been  adverse  to  the 
settlement  of  Oregon  by  Americans,  had  begun  to  retire  slowly,  one  by  one,  and 
family  by  family,  from  the  American  domain — won  by  the  heroic  pioneer  immi 
grations — to  the  British  domain  across  our  northern  line.  We  were  in  1848  left 
sole  owners,  and  almost  sole  occupants  of  this  extreme  western  possession  of  the 
United  States. 

THE   COST. 

What  courage  and  energy,  hunger  and  thirst,  toil  and  patience,  it  cost  to  win 
this  Pacific  northwest  have  been  put  on  record  in  previous  addresses,  mostly  be 
fore  this  Society,  during  its  past  seven  annual  meetings.  But  the  deeper  and 
stronger  lines  of  this  record  are  still  upon  the  memories  and  hearts  of  the  living 
men,  women  and  children  who  made  that  dreaded  journey  over  the  plains  or 
over  the  sea.  We  know  the  names  of  many  of  the  men.  We  have  omitted 
names  of  the  pioneer  women  and  children.  We  have  perhaps  lost  beyond  re 
call  many  of  the  names  of  those  brave  women,  wives  and  mothers  and  sisters, 
who  had  the  most  to  suffer  and  the  most  to  lose  on  that  2,000  miles  tramp. 
They  had  the  least  to  win  by  it.  They  had  the  least  power  for  the  march  or 
for  defence  by  the  way.  They  were  the  most  exposed  and  the  most  helpless. 
A  broken  and  distressed  family  in  1844  is  an  example.  A  gentleman  who  came 
in  the  immigration  of  1844,  and  also  in  that  of  1848,  relates  that  the  Captain 
ordered  a  halt  at  the  Platte  river  to  get  a  supply  of  buffalo  meat.  Some  op 
posed  the  delay.  But  said  Mr.  Sager,  an  emigrant,  with  a  wife  and  family  of 
children,  "  I  must  stop  ;  I  have  no  meat."  His  wife,  pale  and  sad,  cared  for 
the  children.  He  hunted  the  buffalo  on  foot,  having  no  horse  ;  became  heated 
and  worn  out,  and  soon  was  taken  with  typhoid  fever,  died,  and  was  buried  on 
Green  river.  His  widow  went  on  awhile,  but  sank  under  the  burden  of  care 
and  of  traveling,  died  and  was  buried  on  the  Snake  river.  Others  took  the 
children  on  over  the  Blue  mountains  to  Dr.  Whitman's,  that  welcome  resting 
and  refreshing  place  for  the  immigrations  and  asylum  for  those  in  distress  and 
home  for  orphans.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman  took  all  those  children  into  their 
family  and  cared  for  them  as  parents  until  they  and  part  of  the  children  were 
killed  by  the  Indians  November  29,  1847.  "  Why,"  I  asked,  "did  Mr.  Sager 
start  with  such  small  supply  of  food  ?"  The  reply  was,  "  He,  like  some  others, 
seemed  to  have  no  idea  how  far  it  was  to  Oregon,  or  how  hard  the  way." 
What  improvidence  this,  to  expose  a  helpless  family  to  starve  on  the  plains. 
Yet,  were  the  truth  known,  many  would  have  been  found  with  little  money  and 
little  food.  Who  could  have  blamed  a  wife  for  refusing,  as  some  did,  to  start 


30  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

on  this  unknown  journey  ?  Who  would  fail  to  honor  those  who  had  the  courage 
and  patient  endurance  for  its  long  and  tiresome  march  ? 

ONE   BRAVE   WOMAN'S    EXAMPLE. 

There  were  women  on  this  yearly  exodus,  who  knew  no  fear,  and,  who 
quailed  not  when  attacked  by  savages.  The  McAllister  family  had  reached  the 
DeChutes  river.  The  husband  had  foarded  the  river  with  part  of  their  effects. 
While  absent,  three  Indians  attacked  Mrs.  McAllister  and  tried  to  steal  their 
remnint  of  food.  She  seized  an  ax,  knocked  down  their  leader  and  drove  them 
all  from  the  camp.  The  quiet  heroism  of  woman  never  shone  brighter  than 
that  of  the  first  tw  >  in  1836,  Mrs.  Whitman  and  Mrs.  Spaulding,  the  latter  a 
frail,  consumptive  lady  who  had  to  be  borne  in  a  wagon  1500  miles,  and  who 
were  the  first  white  women  that  ever  crossed  the  Rocky  mountains.  When  [. 
Meek  saw  them  at  the  rendezvous,  he  said,  '-Those  are  immigrants  whom  the 
H.  H.  Bay  Co.  cannot  send  out  of  Oregon."  Hardly  less  heroic  was  the  long 
horseback  ride  of  Mrs.  C.  Eells,  Mrs.  E.  Walker,  Mrs.  VV.  H.  Gray  and  Mrs. 
A.  B.  Smith,  in  1838,  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Columbia.  The  two  latter,  who 
survive  and  honor  us  with  their  presence,  know  what  women  had  then  to  endure, 
who  come  with  theirhusbands  to  establish  the  Christian  family  among  the  Indian 
tribes. 

How  true  hearted  were  those  hundreds  of  wives  and  mothers  who  left  the 
comforts  of  home  in  the  west  and  risked  all  things  to  share  the  perils  of  the 
way  with  their  husbands  in  the  emigrations  of  1843,  which  saved  Oregon.  How 
grandly  their  spirit  rose  above  trials  and  losses  and  sickness  and  death.  When 
men  were  stricken  how  bravely  they  drove  on  the  teams,  prepared  the  meals, 
and  cared  for  the  little*ones.  Hard  and  slow  was  the  trip  in  1844.  Food  failed. 
Strong  men  were  starving.  Cattle  were  dying.  The  danger  was  of  snow  in  the 
Blue  mountains.  A  winter  in  the  Indian  country  without  provisions  or  defense 
or  shelter.  Some  fathers  went  ahead  with  only  a  gun  in  hand  for  game,  and  a 
biscuit  or  two  in  pocket,  in  hope  of  finding  supplies  and  return  for  families. 
What  a  test  of  woman's  courage  was  this,  to  be  left  behind  with  the  children, 
the  broken  team  and  small  food  supply  !  But  they  did  not  shrink  from  the 
burden. 

The  immigration  of  1847  was  stricken  with  sickness.  Many  died  and  were 
buried  by  the  way.  Mothers  kissed  their  children  for  the  last  time  Jar  out  on 
the  plains,  and  among  the  mountains,  and  there  they  lie  in  unmarked  graves. 
Husbands  and  fathers  lost  their  lives  in  the  struggles  with  disease  and  the  hard 
ships  of  the  way,  and  committed  wives  and  children  to  stranger's  care.  Then 
many  a  woman  rose  up  to  do  the  work  of  man  and  bear  the  weight  of  the 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  31 

whole  family.  That  was  the  year  of  the  great  massacre  in  which  Dr.  Whitman 
and  Mrs.  Whitman,  and  many  others  fell,  sending  dismay  among  the  settlers. 
Women  then  stood  strong  and  nerved  men  to  make  defence  and  avenge  the 
crime  ! 

The  immigration  of  1848  found  an  easier  way  and  made  a  shorter  and  safer 
journey.  But  as  their  long  trains  of  wagons  rolled  over  the  Cascade  mountains 
the  tired  look  of  women  was  the  .most  noticeable  feature.  Men  can  bear  dust, 
and  heat  and  thirst,  but  how  hard  it  is  for  women  and  little  children  to  do  it, 
cramped  up  in  a  low  top  wagon  for  months,  or  traveling  on  in  the  dust  and 
grime  all  summer. 

Our  duty  to  the  pioneer  women  of  Oregon  is  at  least  to  enroll  the  full  name 
of  every  one  on  our  list,  and  to  begin  now.  Her  deeds  have  been  in  silence  ! 
Her  toil  has  never  ceased  !  Her  love  and  faith  has  never  failed  !  Man  ow/es  to 
her  his  strength.  She  fired  his  courage,  nursed  his  patience,  cheered  his  hopes. 
If  he  won  a  crown,  as  the  founder  of  new  States,  she  wove  the  golden  chaplet, 
which  of  right  wreathes  her  own  brow.  Give  respect,  confidence  and  esteem  to 
the  pioneer  women  of  Oregon  from  first  to  last.  Write  every  name  on  your  roll 
under  its  proper  year.  Hang  them  upon  your  walls,  beside  those  of  honored 
men  ! 

Between  them  write  the  name  of  every  son  and  daughter  who  came  with  them 
over  the  plains  in  dust  and  heat  and  thirst,  in  fear  of  storms  and  in  greater  fear 
of  the  Indian  foe.  Write  the  names  of  the  pioneer  born  children  of  Oregon, 
whose  first  ideals  of  home  were  the  log  house,  the  rough  bench,  the  mud  chim 
ney,  the  trails  in  the  woods,  the  huge  black  stumps,  the  rude  implements,  the 
tin  plates  and  tin  cups,  the  scant  clothing  and  the  few  worn  books.  Let  the 
full  records  be  kept  of  what  was  early  done  and  of  what  was  borne  to  found 
American  States  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

THE   HUNGER   AND   ITS   DEMANDS. 

It  was  a  common  saying  that  the  immigrants,  after  they  arrived,  could  not 
easily  satisfy  their  hunger.  They  craved  vegetables,  and  ate  not  only 
carrots  and  turnips  raw,  but  potatoes  also.  I  saw  a  young  girl  in  1848  pealing 
potatoes  to  boil,  and  eating  them  raw  as  we  do  apples.  She  had  just  come  over 
the  plains  and  could  not  wait  for  the  potatoes  to  boil.  Mountain  air  and  the 
long  tramp  with  meager  diet  had  toned  up  worn  out  stomachs  to  relish  and 
digest  coarse,  natural  food  and  do  the  cooking  all  within.  A  gentleman  who 
came  in  1844  and  returned  in  1847,  and  came  again  in  1848,  tells  this  story  of 
eating.  Their  company  had  reached  the  Blue  mountains  in  October,  1844. 


32  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

Many  were  hard  pushed  for  daily  food  and  had  to  live  on  less  than  half  rations. 
He  with  another  man  started  on,  trusting  to  their  guns  to  find  food.  In  twenty- 
four  hours  they  found  no  game  and  had  no  bread .  They  waded  through  the  snow 
on  the  mountains  all  day  and  late  into  the  night  without  food.  He  shot  twelve 
prairie  chickens  the  next  morning,  and  finding  an  Indian  camp  he  traded  an 
extra  woolen  shirt  for  a  peck  of  potatoes.  He  borrowed  a  kettle,  put  in  water, 
picked  and  dressed  the  twelve  chickens,  and  put  them  all  in  for  a  stew.  As  the 
savory  odor  rose,  one  man  drew  out  biscuits  and  a  slice  of  ham,  hidden  in  his 
pocket  for  a  last  resort,  and  put  it  in  the  stew.  In  a  few  minutes  the  other  did 
the  same,  saying,  "this  will  help  to  season  it."  The  three  sat  down  for  a  meal 
aud  did  not  rise  until  the  entire  contents  of  the  pot  were  eaten."  They  thus 
had  strength  to  go  on  to  Dr.  Whitman's.  In  those  early  days  women  did  a  great 
amount  of  cooking  with  few  utensils.  He  saw  a  Mrs.  Scott  cook  for  sixteen 
men,  having  only  one  frying  pan  in  which  to  make  and  bake  all  the  bread  and 
fry  all  the  meat,  and  one  tin  bucket  in  which  to  boil  or  bake  the  beans  and 
make  the  tea. 

MOTIVES   OF   THE  JOURNEY    TO   OREGON. 

Why  did  trains  of  emigrants  annually  leave  the  Missouri  border  for  this 
region?  The  fur  traders  and  their  employes  came  for  that  business  alone.  The 
missionaries  came  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Indians  in  obedience  to  the  .last 
command  of  the  risen  Saviour.  Young  men  came  for  unknown  adventure.  Men 
in  debt  came  with  hope  of  better  fc  rtunes.  Many  sick  and  worn  with  the  mala- 
rial|fevers  of  the  Mississippi  valleys,  came  for  health.  Larger  numbers,  who 
could  not  raise  funds  and  pay  for  land,  even  at  $i  25  per  acre,  after  the  crash 
°f  T^37>  and  the  wildcat  bank  schemes,  which  flooded  Michigan  and  other 
State  with  worthless  paper,  had  heard  of  Dr.  Linn's  bill  in  the  Senate,  propos 
ing  to  give  every  family  who  would  settle  in  Oregon,  a  mile  square  of  land;  one- 
half  to  the  wife  and  one-half  to  the  husband,  in  fee  simple  to  each.  This  was 
a  strong  motive  to  a  landless  and  penniless  family  on  the  Missouri  or  Iowa  'bor 
der.  Three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  free  was  cheaply  got  by  a  four  or  five 
months  journey,  so  young  men  thought.  It  was  sooner  earned  than  it  could  be 
on  the  farm  at  $8  or  $10  per  month,  as  wages  then  rated.  Some  were  tired  of 
slavery  and  wished  a  home  in  a  State  forever  free  from  it ;  others  hoped  for 
more  success  in  newer  fields  of  politics;  others  came  for  business  and  profit. 
Home  missions,  churches,  schools,  whatever  would  benefit  community — temper 
ance,  virtue  ;  the  industrial,  mental,  moral  and  religious  training  of  the  young, 
and  the  establishment  of  society  upon  sound  principles  by  means  of  institutions 
of  religion  and  learning — these  motive  drew  others  hither.  But  above  and 
beyond  them  all  a  mightier  force  stirred  these  people  to  cross  the  continent. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  33 

As  the  Pilgrims,  the  Puritans,  the  Huguenot,  English,  Scotch,  Irish,  French, 
Swiss,  German,  Dane,  Norwegian,  Swedes  and  Fins,  crossed  the  ocean  to  the 
New  World,  so  our  pioneer  population  have  an  inborn  passion  to  move  to  the 
new  western  regions.  "Westward  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way"  is  the 
poetry  of  sentiment  and  the  prose  of  action. 

THE   ALARM. 

The  immigration  of  1848,  were  met  by  Col.  J.  Meek,  messenger  to  Washing 
ton,  with  the  startling  news  of  the  massacre  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  family,  and 
the  war  begun  by  the  settlers  to  punish  the  Indians.  This  alarm  was  quieted 
by  the  cooler  reports  of  Squire  Ebberts,  Meek's  companion.  After  that  their 
journey  was  more  quickly  and  comfortably  made  than  that  of  previous  compa 
nies.  One  hundred  and  sixty  wagons,  with  an  estimated  number  of  800  per 
sons  rolled  into  Oregon  in  early  autumn.  The  immigration  of  1848  had  friends 
in  Oregon  providing  for  their  safe  journey.  The  soldiers  'from  this  valley  who 
had  enlisted  in  the  Cayuse  war  went  out  on  the  road  to  clear  the  way  of  danger 
from  Indians.  All  their  families  came  in  unharmed  and  found  quiet  homes  in 
the  country,  or  hurried  off  to  the  newly  found  gold  fields  of  California.  We 
may  call  1848  the  year  of  peace  and  its  pursuits.  New  farms  were  opened 
on  the  prairies  and  the  fields  of  grain  and  vegetables  in  early  summer  in  a  few 
chosen  spots,  on  both  sides  of  the  Willamette  for  100  miles  southward,  gave 
promise  of  an  abundant  harvest.  A  settler  of  1847  was  asked  for  a  night's 
lodging  on  a  July  evening  in  1848,  by  an  immigrant  of  that  year,  who  had  come 
by  sea  "the  Horn  around,"  not  "the  plains  across."  The  welcome  was  heartily 
given.  The  next  morning  after  the  frugal  meal  of  bread,  bacon  and  coffee, 
served  in  tinware,  the  host  said,  "Come  out  and  see  my  garden  truck.  I've 
got  aright  smart  chance  of  potatoes,  cabbage,  peas  and  wheat."  Truly  it  was 
so,  only  eight  months  in  Oregon — house  up,  crops  in  and  well  on  to  maturity, 
fields  fenced  and  all  the  signs  of  plenty.  That  farm  was  a  type  of  others,  and  a 
sign  of  what  any  man  or  family  could  do.  Thirty-two  years  have  passed  with 
out  failure  of  harvest  on  that  farm,  or  any  other  in  our  State,  or  under  these 
genial  and  healthful  skies. 

GOLD   MINES   OF    1848. 

The  Mexican  war  was  closed  ;  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  ;  California  was 
ceded  to  the  United  States  and  the  gold  mines  were  discovered  within  the  year 
1848.  Events  so  important  opened  a  new  era  for  our  coast  and  our  immigra 
tions.  Oregon  was  cast  into  the  shade  by  the  brilliant  prospects  of  California. 
But  deep  and  solid  foundations  were  laid  for  the  growth  of  this  State.  The 
mines  diverted  the  pioneers.  The  news  aroused  them  as  the  storm  raises  the 


34  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

waves  of  the  sea.  They  yoked  their  teams  and  started  over  the  hitherto  im 
passible  mountains.  Guides  failed  them,  yet  they  pushed  on,  cut  their  way 
through,  found  and  dug  the  gold  and  returned  to  invest  it.  New  houses  were 
built,  new  farms  opened,  new  mills  built  and  new  signs  of  prosperity  appeared. 
Evidence  of  permanence. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold  and  rush  to  the  mines,  an  officer  of  the  H.  B.  Co. 
remarked  to  me:  "This  gold  will  prove  a  curse.  This  country  will  become 
like  Peru  and  Chili.  Americans  will  go  down  like  the  Mexicans  and  Span 
iards."  My  only  reply  was,  that  "American  character  will  rise  above  all  such 
evils,  and  win  the  victory  overall  foes." 

The  provisional  government  had  won  respect,  Congress  had  ratified  its  chief 
provisions  in  the  organic  act  of  August  14,  1848,  by  which  a  territorial  govern 
ment  was  established  over  us.  That  very  day  that  the  news  of  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  was  brought  to  us  by  the  little  schooner  that  came  for  sup 
plies,  marks  the  formal  admission  of  Oregon  by  Congress  to  territorial  rights 
and  to  representation  in  Congress. 

No  higher  tribute  could  have  been  paid  to  the  fitness  of  Americans  for  the 
duties  of  self  government  than  the  act  of  Congress  of  August  14,  1848,  which 
ratified  all  the  esential  laws  and  acts  of  the  Oregon  provisional  government, 
which  had  been  made  and  executed  by  the  pioneer  settlers  for  more  than  four 
years.  It  was  the  judgment  of  the  whole  nation,  expressed  by  her  representa 
tives,  that  Americans  can  be  trusted  to  plant  the  standard  of  freedom  on  any 
spot,  and  welcome  under  its  flag  all  friends  of  human  lights.  The  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  in  1848,  at  Oregon  City,  was  a  hearty  pledge  of  fellowship  with 
all  citizens  of  this  great  republic  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

A  second  proof  of  the  dawning  era  of  permanent  growth  and  prosperity  was 
the  actual  grant  of  640  acres  of  land  to  every  family,  on  proof  of  four  years' 
residence  thereon,  and  conSrming  every  claim  so  taken  and  held  under  the  pro 
visional  government.  This  national  act  honored  the  forecast  of  Dr.  Linn,  who 
had  proposed  it  years  before,  and  confirmed  the  faith  of  ihe  pioneer  settlers.  It 
set  the  tide  of  immigration  more  strongly  toward  this  coast.  It  began  to  fill 
the  gold  regions  and  agricultural  and  lumber  regions,  with  a  thrifty,  business 
and  industrious  population.  The  great  Pacific  Steamship  Company  organized 
and  sent  around  Cape  Home  its  pioneer  coal  ships  and  steamers  in  1848.  The 
tnnsport  of  mails  passed  from  private  hands  to  the  government,  and  the  time 
was  reduced  from  18  months  to  2  months  for  answers  to  letters.  Goods  as  d 
passengers  were  hurried  along  from  New  Orleans  and  New  York  in  the  same 
very  short  dispatch  of  two  months. 

While  the  men  of  business  were  laying  out  and  executing  large  plans  for  the 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  35 

'acific  Coast,  Gen.  Lane,  the  newly  appointed  Governor  of  Oregon,  was  sent  in 
aste  in  1848,  over  the  southern  rouie,  via  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  with  a 
imall  military  escort.  Meanwhile  Col.  Loring,  with  a  regiment  of  U.  S.  sol- 
liers,  was  ordered  in  1848  to  Oregon,  and  was  preparing  for  the  trip.  The 
civil  officers  were  also  in  1848  appointed  by  President  Polk  and  ordered  hither 
to  aid  in  establishing  the  territorial  government  and  the  courts. 

Thus,  in  1848,  under  the  strong  hand  of  the  whole  nation,  the  machinery  of 
legislation  and  of  the  execution  of  law,  was  made  ready  to  be  set  up  among  us, 
and  Oregon  thus  rose  from  the  weakness  of  a  humble  colony  of  adventurers  to 
the  rank  and  power  of  a  co-ordinate  member  of  the  American  Union.  There 
after  no  hand  was  lifted  against  her;  no  voice  whispered  dispraise,  no  scornful 
look  frowned  upon  the  flag.  The  stars  and  stripes  were  then  lifted  up  here,  never 
more  to  be  lowered.  The  old  pioneers,  who  had  long  waited  and  hoped  for  this 
event,  now  breathed  freely.  They  were  no  longer  counted  exiles  on  a  doubtful 
domain,  but  rightful  fellow  heirs  and  owners  of  the  country.  A  third  sign  of 
permanence  was  the  government  aid  to  public  schools.  The  provision  for  pub 
lic  education  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  August  14,  1848,  which  granted  the  i6th 
and  36th  sections  in  every  township,  and  forever  dedicated  their  proceeds  as  an 
irreducible  fund,  the  interest  of  which  should  be  devoted  to  public  schools,  was 
a  grant  twice  as  large  as  that  dedicating  the  i6th  section  and  framed  in  the 
ordinance  of  1787,  together  with  "the  clause  prohibiting  slavery  in  the  north 
western  territory,"  by  Hon.  Nathan  Dane,  of  Massachusetts.  This  act,  Daniel 
Webster  said,  was  worthy  of  highest  honor,  as  it  would  have  imperishable  fame. 
That  grant  gave  to  the  territory  now  included  in  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho 
and  part  of  Montana,  about  16,888  square  miles  of  land  for  public  schools, 
which  are  equal  to  10,803,320  acres.  It  became  the  precedent  for  Congress  to 
make  like  proportionate  grants  to  every  territory  and  State  thereafter,  to  be 
formed  out  of  the  national  domain. 

It  opened  the  way  for  the  grant  of  28,823,040  acres  of  land,  as  a  permanent 
fund  for  public  education,  instead  of  half  that  amount,  in  the  nine  States,  'n- 
cluding  Oregon,  admitted  to  the  Union  since  1848.  It  opened  the  way  for  the 
grant  of  30,879,360  acres  for  public  education  in  the  eight  Territories — not  in 
cluding  Alaska  —yet  to  be  admitted,  instead  of  half  as  many  acres  as  per  the 
ordinance  of  1787.  This  magnificent  donation  of  about  60,000,000  acres  vested 
and  forever  inalienable  as  a  fund  for  the  education  of  the  youth  and  committed 
as  a  sacred  trust  to  eighteen  or  twenty  new  States,  now  existing  or  yet  to  be, 
was  a  guarantee  of  knowledge  to  all  future  generations.  It  was  a  noble  act  in 
1848  of  an  Oregon  pioneer,  Hon.  J.  Q.  Thornton,  sent  as  messenger  to  Wash, 
in^ton,  to  insert  this  double  gift  in  the  bill  to  organize  the  Territory.  He  pre* 


36  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

pared  the  bill  by  request  of  Senator  Benton  and  others  friendly  to  the  organiza 
tion.  It  put  the  great  seal  of  public  education  upon  our  State  and  other  States 
with  stronger  and  broader  impress.  In  the  year  1848  the  foundations  of  Tual 
atin  Academy  and  Pacific  University  were  laid  at  Forest  Grove.  Rev.  Harvey 
Clarke,  a  pioneer  missionary  of  1840,  having  donated  200  acres  of  his  claim  to 
the  object,  and  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mrs.  Tabitha  Brown,  an  aged  pioneer  widow 
lady  of  the  immigration  of  1846,  having  also  transferred  an  orphan  school, 
which  they  had  established  in  1847,  to  'ts  care.  The  founding  of  this  college 
was  the  plan  of  Rev.  Tucson  Baldwin,  D.  D.,  secretary  of  the  American  Col 
onization  Society  in  1847,  anc^  under  the  endorsement  of  that  society  it  has  se 
cured  aid  and  endorsements  since  1852.  Its  pupils  and  its  alumni  and  alumnae 
fill  useful,  honorable  positions  in  more  than  a  thousand  homes  as  citizens  ;  a,lso 
in  the  schools,  at  the  bar,  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  offices,  in  the  halls  of  legisla 
tion,  and  now  upon  the  bench  of  our  own  and  of  other  States.  Its  early  plant 
ing  caused  many  other  academies  and  colleges  to  begin,  and  some  to  grow  into 
strength.  A  fourth  point  of  permanence  was  Liberty  verses  Slavery,  established 
for  Oregon  in  1848.  Slavery  was  thrust  as  a  question  into  every  new  Territory. 
Slaves  were  brought  and  held  as  such  in  Oregon,  but  the  spirit  of  the  system 
was  exorcised  from  the  pioneers.  The  poise  turned  for  freedom  in  their  Pro 
visional  Government.  A  clause  prohibiting  slavery  was  inserted  as  the  ex 
pressed  will  of  the  Oregon  people  in  the  organic  act,  by  the  same  hand  that  in 
serted  the  clause  for  a  double  grant  for  public  schools.  The  contest  in  the 
United  States  Senate  in  August,  1848,  whether  or  not  slavery  should  be  pro 
hibited  in  Oregon,  was  earnest  and  sharp  for  many  days  between  such  leaders 
as  Messrs.  Benton,  S.  A.  Douglas,  Corwin,  J.  P.  Hale  and  Collamer  for  free 
dom,  and  Calhoun,  Butler,  Foote,  Davis,  Hunter  and  Mason  for  slavery.  The 
parties  were  nearly  even.  Several  days  before  the  adjournment  of  Congress 
every  possible  motion  of  delay  or  defeat  was  made.  An  all  night  session  was 
spent  in  prolonged  speeches.  The  phalanx  for  freedom  stood  firm  and  unbro 
ken,  and  at  the  last  hour  victory  perched  on  their  banner  and  Oregon  was  ded 
icated  to  freedom  forever.  It  was  in  accord  with  the  general  wishes  of  the 
pioneers.  Their  new  empire  on  the  Pacific  ;  their  toil  to  win  it  ;  their  test  of 
self-government,  and  their  hopes  all  bore  the  seal  of  liberty.  They  had  won 
the  region  from  England,  and  from  the  Indians.  They  had  won  it  for  man. 
They  offered  a  welcome  and  a  home  for  every  stranger  and  for  every 
helpless,  stricken  human  being.  Some  of  them  came  from  slave  States,  in 
bands  marked  with  color  lines,  but  to  travelers  on  the  wide  plains,  hungry  and 
thirsty,  the  colored  man  who  shared  the  trials  with  them  was  counted  a  man. 
His  right  was  gained  and  owned  ;  the  color  line  faded  out. 

The  colored  man  George  Bush,  who  owned  and  fitted  out  several  teams  in  a 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  37 

company,  in  1844,  commanded  a  respect  which  he  held  all  his  life,  near 
Olympia. 

Congress  could  hardly  annul  what  the  pioneers  had  done  on  this  point.  They 
could  not  reject  their  heroism,  blot  out  their  record,  or  mar  their  home  so  nobly 
earned.  The  pioneers  had  made  sure  by  excluding  bondage  what  Congress 
only  ratified  and  sealed  August  14,  1848.  Thenceforth  Oregon,  California,  the 
whole  region  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  was  under  pledge 
for  the  rights  of  man  regardless  of  his  color  or  race.  The  later  victory  for 
freedom,  when  California  was  admitted  as  a  free  State,  hinged  upon  the  victory 
of  1848  for  Oregon.  Some  adverse  laws  have  been  on  the  statute  book,  but 
they  have  been  dead.  They  were  never  born  alive.  The  negro  slave  brought 
here  was  a  freeman  on  passing  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  None  were 
under  the  lash  as  before.  This  genial,  temperate  air;  these  snow  peaks;  these 
wide  plains;  these  mighty  rivers;  these  hills;  these  forests  of  giant  trees;  this 
vast  ocean,  whose  waves  wash  the  shores  of  America  and  Asia  alike,  and  whose 
throbbing  billows  sound  their  deep  diapason  every  hour,  an  unceasing  harmony 
from  the  Northern  to  the  Southern  pole,  all  lift  one  mighty  voice  for  human 
freedom  and  human  rights  the  world  around. 

Pioneers  of  1848 — Ladies  and  Gentlemen — The  year  we  celebrate  is  memora 
ble  for  rest  and  peace,  of  assured  homes  in  Oregon,  memorable  for  the  close 
of  the  Mexican  war  and  the  purchase  and  annexation  of  California,  Nevada, 
Utah,  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  to  our  Union  ;  memorable  for  the  discovery  of 
gold;  memorable  for  the  organization  of  the  Pacific  MailS.  S.  Co.  and  the  plan 
of  trans-isthmian  commerce  and  immigration  to  this  coast;  memorable  for  the 
mining  fever  excited  by  the  gold  placers,  and  that  spread  over  America,  north 
and  south,  over  Europe  and  Asia  also;  memorable  for  the  act  of  Congress 
organizing  the  territory  of  Oregon,  providing  us  a  government,  military  potec- 
tion  and  means  of  civil  process  under  the  American  flag;  memorable  for  educa 
tional  and  religious  plans  for  this  coast  of  unlimited  growth;  memorable  for 
awakened  minds  and  aroused  energies  of  men  to  do  and  to  dare  great  things — • 
like  the  Cayuse  war,  in  which  a  few  companies  of  pioneer  soldiers  held  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  interior  quiet  after  the  massacre,  or  like  them  opening  the 
wagon  route  through  canyons,  dense  forests  and  over  mountain  precipices  to  the 
gold  mines  of  California;  and  memorable  for  the  prevailing  spirit  of  freedom. 

PIONEERS  OF  OREGON! 

Great  deeds  mark  honored  names.  The  pioneers  of  Oregon,  men  and  women, 
deserve  well  of  their  country.  They  have  done  much  to  save  this  western  em 
pire  of  the  great  republic.  It  is  right  to  recall  what  the  coast  traders,  men  of 


38  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

the  sea.  did  as  patriots,  what  the  missionaries  did  as  patriots,  what  the  first 
band  of  sealers  did  as  patriots.  It  is  right  to  keep  in  mind  that  winter  march 
in  1842-43  a'-ross  the  mountains  to  save  Oregon.  It  is  right  to  recall  the  men 
who  brought  herds  and  flocks,  plows  and  sickles,  and  tools  to  build  homes  here 
tint  were  mightier  than  forts  to  hold  the  country.  It  is  right  to  honor  the  man 
who  had  the  forecast  and  wisdom  to  form  a  provisional  government  and  the  men 
wh  )  framed  the  Oregon  bill  for  freedom  and  education. 

It  was  yours  to  find  the  path  across  the  continent  and  open  the  way  for  the 
new  empire  on  the  Pacific.  But  for  your  courage,  patience  and  faith,  these 
lands  might  have  been  yet  unknown,  and  these  towns  and  cities  yet  unbuilt  ; 
these  States  unformed  and  unrepresented.  Oregon  saved  to  the  United  States 
by  your  peaceful,  yet  victorious  march  of  two  thousand  miles,  became  the 
strongest  motive  for  the  purchase  of  California  and  other  contiguous  Territories 
in  1848.  It  was  the  key  to  the  future,  and  in  your  hand  it  was  turned  to  un 
lock  the  door  of  destiny  for  untold  millions  in  the  generations  yet  to  be  on  our 
Pacific  Coast. 

It  has  been  said  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  "  that  they  builded  better  than  they 
knew." 

Let  the  rights  of  man  be  held  dear  to  us  ;  let  knowledge  guide  onr  steps  ; 
let  truth  and  virtue  stamp  our  progress  ;  let  the  honor  of  God  be  our  beacon 
light,  and  then  will  appear  such  signs  of  human  welfare  all  around  that  future 
historians  will  record — 

"  Tl  e  Oregon  pioneers  builded  better  than  they  knew." 

Dr.  Atkinson's  address  was  the  last  on  the  programme,  and  concluded  the 
exercises  at  the  pavilion.  At  the  close  of  the  address  the  immense  audience 
was  dismissed  and  dispersed  to  meet  around  the  camp  fire  at  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening. 


CAMP  FIRE  AND  BALL. 


At  eight  o'clock  Tuesday  night,  camp  fires  were  lighted  in  the  lot  adjoining 
the  pavilion  on  the  north.  Around  them  gathered  the  pioneers  and  their  fam 
ilies,  who,  with  reminiscenses  of  their  early  life  in  Oregon,  made  a  love  feast  of 
the  occasion.  A  general  desire  for  speeches  was  manifested,  and  loud  calls 
were  made  for  General  E.  L.  Applegate,  who  mounted  a  chair  and  entertained 
the  crowd  for  half  an  hour  with  an  incomparable,  Applegatonian  address.  He 
likened  Oregon  at  its  first  settlement  to  the  Garden  of  Eden — Oregon,  where 
God  brought  forth  food  in  abundance  without  man's  aid.  By  a  chain  of  admir* 
able  argument,  he  proved  that  the  pioneers  who  came  here  in  1841-2-3-4,  and 
were  now  living,  had  lived  longer  than  Mathuselah.  His  semi-earnest,  semi- 
humorous  remarks  called  forth  loud  applause.  Rev.  J.  S.  Griffin  was  called 
for  and  gave  some  interesting  recollections  of  the  commerce  of  Oregon  in  1841. 

At  9:30  P.  M.,  the  band  in  the  pavilion  struck  up  the  Grand  March.  There 
were  few  dancers  on  the  floor  at  the  time,  but  the  galleries  were  crowded  with 
spectators.  As  the  ball  progressed,  dancers  arrived  in  large  numbers,  and  after 
the  theater  had  dismissed  its  audience,  the  floor  was  crowded.  Dancing  was 
kept  up  till  a  late  hour. 


THE  ATTACK  AT  THE  CASCADES  IN  1856, 


An  Account  by  an  Ex-Soldier  of  the  Defense  at  the  Middle  Block 

House. 


VANCOUVER  ARSENAL,  W.  T.,  January  7,  1881. 
To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  OREGON  IAN  ; 

The  thrilling  and  interesting  description  of  the  masacre  at  the  Cascades  on 
the  26th  of  March,  1856,  published  in  the  Oregonian  of  the  1st  inst.,  written  im 
mediately  after  that  memoriable  event  by  L.  W.  Coe,  who  took  a  part  in  it,  to 
Putnam  F.  Bradford,  Esq.,  who  was  at  that  time  away  on  a  visit  in  Massachus- 
setts — gives  me  a  feeling  of  extreme  gladness  that  Mr.  Bradford  gave  the  same 
for  publication  even  after  twenty-five  years  had  almost  elapsed  since  that  trying 
event.  I  also  took  part  in  that  defense  of  the  middle  block  house,  and  consider 
myself  qualified  to  judge  of  the  truthfulness  of  Mr.  Coe's  general  description  of 
all  that  he  was  cognizant  of.  I  fully  admit  his  narrative  to  be  true  and  consider 
the  same  a  valuable  contribution,  which  ought  to  be  added  to  the  history  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  Territory.  Now.  if  you  should  deem  what  further  I 
have  to  add  from  memory  to  more  fully  complete  the  s.'id  narrative,  1  would  be 
pleased  to  have  you  publish  the  same. 

But  ere  I  proceed  to  do  so  I  beg  of  my  readers  not  to  think  me  vain  or  boast 
ful  while  I  record  some  of  the  events  with  putting  myself  as  the  chief  actor  in 
their  performance.  Necessity  compelled  it  to  be  so.  For  instance  I  was  the 
fust  person  who  suspected  that  the  Indians  were  preparing  for  mischief.  I  dis 
covered  the  same  on  the  day  previous  to  the  attack.  While  carrying  a  message 
from  Mr.  Griswold,  who  lived  at  the  middle  Cascades,  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  who 
lived  on  a  farm  a  little  below  the  landing  at  the  lower  Cascades.  The  message  was 
given  me  verbally  and  also  in  writing,  the  substance  of  which  was  for  Mr.  Ham 
ilton  to  bring  up  immediately  a  yoke  of  oxen  which  Mr.  Griswold  had  pur 
chased  of  him,  and  also  to  hitch  them  to  one  of  a  lot  of  new  government  wagons 
that  were  at  the  landing,  and  bring  it  up  also.  The  fulfillment  of  the  order 
was  never  accomplished.  I  think  that  they  started  on  their  mission  to  do  so  the 


THE    ATTACK    AT    THE    CASCADES.  ;  4! 

next  morning,  but  after  starting,  learned  that  the  Indians  had  broken  out  on 
the  warpath.  So  he  abandoned  the  wagon  and  hastily  returned  to  warn  his 
neighbors  and  seek  safety  for  himself  and  family.  In  passing  each  way  by  the 
Indian  camp,  which  I  had  to  do  in  going  to  and  from  carrying  the  message,  my 
notice  was  particularly  attracted  at  seeing  the  majority  of  the  Indians  standing 
together  in  council  and  dressed  in  warlike  costumes,  while  some  few  were  play 
ing  at  some  game  outside.  Their  actions  fully  confirmed  my  belief  that  they 
were  planning  mischief.  The  movements  in  particular  of  three  of  them  going  in  a 
circle  through  the  timber  awakened  in  my  mind  a  very  strong  suspicion  that 
they  were  trying  to  catch  me  lo  kill  me.  So  I  hurried  back  to  the  block  house 
with  all  speed,  and  told  Sergeant  Kelly  and  my  other  comrades  my  suspicions. 
But  by  reason  of  our  belief  in  the  strength  of  our  position,  few  as  there  were  of 
u»;  we  did  not  dread  any  danger  from  Indians  or  even  think  any  more  about  it, 
for  during  the  whole  of  the  night  previous  to  the  attack,  six  out  of  the  nine  of  us 
there  and  an  old  German — H.  Kyle — were  drinking  whisky  toddy  and  telling 
their  army  stories,  the  old  German  taking  an  active  part  in  the  sport,  claiming 
to  be  one  of  Blucher's  Waterloo  veterans.  To  their  credit,  none  got  drunk,  al 
though  they  drank  a  half  a  gallon  of  whisky;  but  in  the  morning  they  all  felt  a 
little  bad  from  the  effects  of  their  drinking  and  loss  of  sleep.  But  the  Segeant 
sent  one  of  the  men,  Frederick  Bernaur,  to  the  Upper  Cascades  for  a  canteen 
full  of  whisky  to  give  them  all  their  bitters  to  cure  them  of  their  bad  feeling. 
Unfortunately  for  him,  the  Indians  had  commenced  their  attack  on  the  block 
house  before  he  returned,  preventing  him  from  getting  back  to  us.  They  shot 
him  through  both  legs.  He  managed,  however  to  get  to  the  bank  of  the  river, 
and  there  hid  from  their  sight.  He  fainted  several  times  from  the  loss  of  blood, 
but  the  whisky  he  had  in  his  canteen  supported  his  strength.  When  night 
came  on  he  left  his  hiding  place  and  got  in  safely  to  the  block  house,  where  he 
received  a  joyful  welcome,  for  we  all  thought  he  was  killed. 

When  the  attack  on  us  commenced,  nearly  all  the  men  of  the  detachment 
were  scattered  around  the  vicinity.  There  were  but  three  of  us  in  close  prox 
imity  to  the  block  house,  Sheridan,  the  cook  McMannus  and  myself.  We  all 
heard  the  shooting,  but  strange  to  amrm,  even  after  what  I  saw  the  day  pre 
vious,  I,  nor  the  other  two  even  had  the  least  suspicion  that  we  were  attacked 
by  Indians.  My  first  feeling  at  such  an  unusual  occurrance,  was  that  of  indig 
nation  at  such  foolish  conduct,  thinking  all  the  while  that  somebody  was  firing 
off  their  revolvers.  But  the  cook  quickly  found  out  trba-t  it  was  no  play,  by  see 
ing  the  door  of  the  cook  house  riddled  with  bullets.  He  immediately  gave  the 
alarm  by  crying  "  Indians  !"  McManus  and  myself  were  standing  close  to 
gether  near  the  block  house,  but  on  the  instant  of  the  alarm  we  cast  our  eyes 
towards  the  hills  and  timber  which  closely  surrounded  us  in  front,  and  we  then 


42  THE    ATTACK    AT    THE    CASCADES. 

beheld  to  our  horror  the  painted  and  half  naked  savages,  exultantly  firing  upon 
all  they  could  see.  McManus  who  stood  by  my  side  was  shot  in  the  groin. 
He  died  shortly  afterwards  in  the  army  hospital  at  Vancouver  from  its  effects. 
I  must  truthfully  confess  that  when  I  beheld  the  savages  engaged  in  their 
bloody  work,  and  my  comrade  by  my  side  fatally  shot,  I  felt  for  a  few  moments 
as  if  my  hair  was  lifting  off  my  head.  Then  my  thoughts  quickly  reverted  to 
the  great  peril  I  had  escaped  the  day  before.  My  wounded  comrade  and  my 
self  lost  no  tim'e  in  getting  inside  of  the  block  house.  I  then  quickly  got  on 
my  accoutrements  and  gun  and  immdiately  commenced  the  defence.  That 
terrible  feeling  which  I  realized  upon  first  seeing  the  Indians  now  entirely  left 
me,  and  I  at  once  felt  the  most  anxious  desire  to  revenge  those  they  killed  and 
harmed.  The  incessant  firing  and  the  racket  of  the  Indians  gave  unmistakable 
warning  of  deadly  danger  to  those  of  my  comrades  who  were  away  strolling 
around.  They  all  got  to  the  block  house  in  safety  excepting  Laurance  Roony, 
who  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  captured  upon  the  hiH  while  cutting  wood. 
The  two  or  three  unfortunate  families  who  were  living  close  by  the  block  house 
ran  to  it  with  all  their  might  for  the  safety  of  their  lives,  but  several  of  them 
were  severely  wounded  in  running  the  gauntlet.  We  had  altogether  with  us 
seven  wounded  and  three  killed.  Among  the  latter  was  Mr.  Griswold,  who 
might  have  escaped  his  death  but  for  his  over  confidence  in  the  friendliness  of 
the  Indians  towards  him,  and  his  standing  in  view  and  waving  to  the  Indians 
to  cease  firing,  thinking  do  doubt  they  were  the  Cascade  Indians,  whom  he  well 
knew,  not  suspecting  that  there  was  a  large  force  of  hostile  Yakimas  among 
them.  The  German  boy  Kyle,  mentioned  in  Mr.  Coe's  narrative,  was  killed 
while  riding  on  horseback  down  the  road  on  the  hill  in  front  of  us.  The  Indian 
that  shot  him  stood  by  the  side  of  a  tree  close  by  the  nad,  his  gun  almost 
reaching  to  the  poor  boy,  who  fell  instantly  upon  being  shot.  It  was  an  ag 
onizing  sight  to  me  to  behold  the  poor,  unconscious  boy  writhing  in  deadly 
agony  for  four  hours.  Sometimes  he  would  endeavor  to  sit  up,  but  each  at 
tempt  provoked  the  Indians  to  shoot  arrows  at  him. 

A   DESPERATE   RACE    FOR   LIFE. 

Tom  McDowell  and  Jehu  Switzler,  ^both  well  known  in  Vancouver)  and  an 
other  man,  to  me  before  unknown,  were  on  their  way  from  the  Upper  to  the 
Lower  Cascades,  but  before  they  had  proceeded  far  they  discovered  hostile  In 
dians.  Being  themselves  unarmed,  they  made  a  desperate  effort  to  reach  the 
block  house,  which  they  providentially  did  in  safety,  but  greatly  fatigued  and 
no  doubt  frightened.  They  proved  to  our  small  force  a  valuable  acquisition. 
The  three  gallantly  aided  us  during  the  defense  in  all  duties  assigned  to  them 
to  do.  After  they  had  got  in,  the  door  was  made  secure  by  a  bait,  and  then  a 


THE    ATTACK    AT    THE    CASCADES.  43 

Strong  chain  was  drawn  t'ghl  across  That  being  comp'et-  d  \ve  prepared  in 
terrible  earnest  for  the  uneven  and  deadly  conflict  by  giving  our  savage  ene 
mies  a  treat  of  cannister  shot,  fourteen  rounds  in  all  from  our  six  pounder  iron 
gun.  which  I  should  judge  made  them  feel  quite  insulted,  for  they  after  that 
precipitately  retired  farther  from  our  reach.  But  we  still  insisted  while  in 
reach  in  presenting  them  with  a  few  shells  for  a  change,  which  action  again,  I 
verily  believe,  failed  to  suit  their  taste,  for  they  still  remained  shy  and  cautious 
as  if  dreading  our  extended  courtesies  towards  them,  mistrusting,  no  doubt, 
that  they  were  not  sent  with  very  kindly  intention.  If  so,  their  conclusion  was 
right.  They,  however,  returned  behind  the  trees  to  pay  their  respects  to  us, 
which  made  us  to  reciprocate  their  compliment  with  all  gallantry  that  we  were 
able  to  extend  unto  them  in  return.  But  by  this  time  they  had  learnt  our  met 
tle  and  wisely  concluded  that  they  could  not  whip  us  ;  so  they  retired  back  ot 
the  hills  out  of  range  of  our  guns  to  torture  and  put  to  a  horrible  death  our  un 
fortunate  comrade,  whom  they  had  captured.  We  could  not  see  them  at  it,  but 
we  all  heard  his  piercing  screams.  After  they  had  accomplished  that  last  in 
human  and  diabolical  cruelty,  the  main  portion  left  and  went  to  the  lower  land 
ing.  The  outrages  which  they  did  there  were  fully  related  in  Mr.  Coe's  narra 
tive.  They,  however,  left  enough  behind  to  besiege  us  at  the  block  house. 
But  they  did  not  offer  to  fight  us  any  more.  So  ended  the  first  day's  transac 
tion  .  But  still  in  constant  vigilance  by  day  and  night  it  was  necessary  to  de 
pend,  the  safety  of  our  lives  until  we  could  get  assistance,  which  most  joyously 
came  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  after. 

THE  SECOND   DAY 

The  Indians  were  still  around  us,  but  did  not  trouble  us  any  more  than  that 
they  still  besieged  us  and  kept  us  from  getting  water,  which  all  of  us  greatly 
needed,  especially  the  wounded.  I,  howevet,  in  the  afternoon,  volunteered  to 
attempt  to  get  both  food  and  water,  the  Sergeant  consenting  to  my  doing  so. 
The  stranger  who  joined  our  force  with  McDowell  and  Switzler,  gallantly  vol 
unteered  to  go  with  me  in  search  of  whatever  we  could  find  to  preserve  life. 
Our  comrades  in  the  blockhouse  were  meanwhile  watching  with  guns  in  hand, 
ready  to  defend  us  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability  if  occasion  offered.  But  luck 
ily  we  were  not  molested.  I  went  through  a  window  into  Mr.  Griswold's  house, 
and  to  my  great  joy  I  found  upon  a  center  table  a  large  dish-pan  full  of  excel 
lent  doughnuts,  three  of  which  I  almost  instantly  swallowed,  supposing  that  if 
I  sent  them  all  in  to  that  large  and  hungry  crowd  I  might  never  see  any  of  them 
again.  I  then  handed  them  to  my  comrade  outside  to  take  them  to  the  block 
house,  which  he  did  to  the  great  delight  of  all.  I,  in  the  meanwhile  discovered 
in  the  pantry  a  large  and  fine  ham,  which,  with  the  doughnuts  sufficed  to  relieve 


44  THE   ATTACK   AT    THE    CASCADES. 

all  of  the  pangs  of  hunger.  But  we  failed  to  get  water.  I  do  not  now  recol 
lect  whether  any  one  got  a  small  quantity  in  the  cook  house  or  not.  But  I  re 
member  that  myself  and  my  army  comrade,  William  Houser,  took  an  axe  and 
broke  open  the  door  of  a  saloon  belonging  to  one  of  the  Palmer  brothers,  and 
there  we  procured  one  dozen  bottles  of  porter,  one  decanter  of  brandy,  the  same 
of  whisky  and  wine,  and  a  small  box  full  of  oyster  crackers.  We  got  no  water 
there,  but  the  articles  mentioned  satisfied  every  requirement  except  surgical  aid 
until  we  would  get  relief,  which  we  knew  was  close  at  hand  by  hearing  the  re 
port  of  gallant  Phil  Sheridan's  guns  firing  upon  the  enemy  at  the  lower  Cas 
cades.  After  that  signal  of  relief,  we  all  realized  that  our  danger  had  ceased. 
We  then  somewhat  relaxed  the  ceaseless  vigilance  we  had  all  the  time  kept,  for 
the  purpose  of  allowing  a  portion  of  our  guards  to  take  a  little  rest  and  sleep. 
The  next  morning  Bvt.  Lieutenant-Col.  Edward  J.  Steptoe,  9th  infantry,  com 
manding  Companies,  A,  E,  F  and  I,  same  regiment,  and  detachments  c  f  Com 
pany  E,  first  dragoons,  and  Company  L,  third  artillery,  in  all  two  hundred 
men,  came  very  unexpectedly  to  our  relief.  The  Colonel  and  some  of  the  offi 
cers  came  to  the  block  house  to  see  how  all  was  with  us.  The  Sergeant  told 
them  how  we  had  managed.  The  Colonel  then  complimented  all  for  their  ad 
mirable  conduct.  Now  that  relief  had  come,  the  citizens  who  had  taken  refuge 
with  us,  left  for  their  homes  and  other  destinations.  We  soldiers  also  went 
where  our  fancies  directed,  each  of  us  to  examine  if  we  could  find  traces  of  in 
jury  done  to  the  enemy.  We  failed  to  perceive  any  signs  of  Indians  being  hurt, 
but  myself  and  my  comrade  with  me,  Hiram  Smiley,  found,  horribly  mutilated, 
the  body  of  Lawrence  Rooney,  our  murdered  companion,  my  companion  first 
seeing  the  naked  body  under  the  wood  he  had  been  cutting.  They  had 
hung  him  with  a  willow  withe,  the  same  being  yet  around  his  neck.  They  had 
also  mashed  his  nose  flat  with  his  ax.  We  now  called  out  to  our  other  com 
rades  to  bring  up  a  blanket  to  carry  the  body  down  to  the  blockhouse,  where 
we  soon  made  a  rude  box  and  placed  the  remains  therein.  Lieut.  Sheridan 
then  come  up  to  us  with  his  command,  H  company,  4th  infantry,  (to  which 
company  we  of  the  detachment  belonged.)  He  also  had  the  cavalry  to  bring 
up  to  us  the  28  Indians  whom  he  had  captured.  Each  had  their  arms  securely 
tied  with  pieces  of  strong  cord.  After  accomplishing  that  duty  the  Lieutenant 
and  his  command  returned  to  P'ort  Vancouver,  taking  with  them  the  remains  of 
our  murdered  comrade  for  burial  at  the  military  cemetery.  Thus  ended  the 

fight  and  siege  of  the  middle  blockhouse. 

ROBERT  WILLIAMS. 


THE    ATTACK    AT    THE    CASCADES.  45 

POSTSCRIPT. — I  forgot  to  insert  in  my  letter  the  following 
JOINT  RESOLUTIONS 

Relative  to  granting  extra  pay  to  certain  soldiers  for  meritorious  service  at  the 
Cascades,  viz.: 

Resolved  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Washington,  That 
our  Delegate  be  and  he  is  hereby  instructed  to  exert  his  influence  to  procure  the 
passage  of  an  act  by  Congress  granting  to  Seargeant  Kelly  and  Privates  Houser, 
Roach,  Sheridan,  Berneaur,  Smiley  and  Williams,  Company  H,  4th  infantry, 
as  a  mark  of  commendation  for  their  efficient  aid  in  protecting  the  citizens  that 
escaped  the  massacre  at  the  Cascades,  W.  T.,  on  the  27th  of  March  last,  and 
their  gallant  conduct  in  defending  the  blockhouse  at  that  place  against  the  com 
bined  attack,  for  three  days,  of  several  hundred  Indians,  the  extra  pay  allowed 
during  the  Mexican  war  to  such  non  commissioned  officers  and  privates  as  re 
ceived  certificates  of  merit  for  distinguished  services. 

Passed  January  24,  1857.  R.  W. 


COPY  OF  A  DOCUMENT 

Found  among  the  Private  Papers  of  the  late 
Dr.  John  McLoughlin. 


The  original  paper,  of  which  this  is  a  copy,  is  written  in  Dr.  McLoughliii's  hand- 
W.Ming.— Harvey. 

In  182.1  I  came  to  this  country  to  superintend  the  management  of  the  Hud 
son  Bay  Company's  trade  on  the  coast,  and  we  came  to  the  determination  to 
abandon  Astoria,  and  go  to  Fort  Vancouver,  as  it  was  a  place  where  we  could 
cultivate  the  soil  and  raise  our  own  provisions. 

In  March,  1825,  we  moved  there  and  that  spring  planted  potatoes  and  sow  d 
two  bushels  of  peas,  the  only  grain  we  had,  and  all  we  had.  In  the  fall  I  re 
ceived  from  New  York  Factory  a  bushel  spring  wheat,  a  bushel  oats,  a  bushel 
barley,  a  bushel  Indian  corn  and  a  quart  of  timothy,  and  all  of  which  was 
sown  in  proper  time,  and  which  produced  well  except  the  Indian  corn,  for 
which  the  ground  was  too  poor  and  the  nights  rather  cool,  and  continued  ex 
tending  our  improvements.  • 

In  1828,  the  crop  was  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  dispense  with  the  importation 
of  fl^ur,  etc. 

In  1825,  from  what  I  had  seen  of  the  country,  I  formed  the  conclusion  from 
the  mildness  and  salubrity  of  the  climate,  that  this  was  the  finest  portion  of 
North  America  that  I  had  seen  for  the  residence  of  civilized  man,  and  as  the 
farmers  could  not  cultivate  the  ground  without  cattle,  and  as  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  had  only  twenty-seven  (27)  head,  big  and  small,  and  as  I  saw  at  the 
time  no  possibility  of  getting  cattle  by  sea,  and  that  was  too  expensive,  I  de 
termined  that  no  cattle  should  be  killed  at  Vancouver  except  one  bull  calf 
e-'ery  year  for  rennet  to  make  cheese,  till  we  had  an  ample  stock  to  meet  all 
our  demands,  and  to  assist  settlers,  a  resolution  to  which  I  strictly  adhered,  and 
the  first  animal  killed  for  beef  was  in  1838,  till  that  time  we  had  lived  on  fresh 
and  salt  venison  and  wild  fowl.  From  morality  and  policy  I  stopped  the  sale 
and  issue  of  spiritous  liquor  to  the  Indians,  but  to  du  this  effectually  I  had  to 
stop  the  sale  of  liqnor  to  all  whites.  In  1834,  when  Mr.  Wyeth,  of  Boston 


COPV    OF    A    DOCUMENT.  47 

came,  he  began  by  selling  liquor,  but  on  my  assuring  him  that  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  sold  no  liquor  to  whites  or  Indians,  he  immediately  adopted  the 
same  rule. 

One  night  in  August,  1828,  I  was  surprised 'by  the  Indians  making  a  great 
noise  at  the  gate  of  the  fort,  saying  they  had  brought  an  American.  The  gate 
was  opened,  the  man  came  in,  but  was  so  affected  he  could  not  speak.  After 
setting  down  some  minutes  to  recover  himself,  he  told  he  was,  he  thought,  the 
only  survivor  of  eighteen  (18)  men,  conducted  by  the  late  Jedediah  Smith.  All 
the  rest,  he  thought,  were  murdered.  The  party  left  San  Francisco  bound  to 
their  rendezvous  at  the  Salt  Lake.  They  ascended  the  Sacramento  valley,  but 
finding  no  opening  to  cross  the  mountains  to  go  east,  they  bent  their  course  to 
the  coast,  which  they  reached  at  the  mouth  of  Rogue  river,  then  came  along  the 
beach  to  the  Umpqua.  where  the  Indians  stole  their  ax,  and  as  it  was  the  only 
ax  they  had,  and  which  they  absolutely  required  to  make  rafts  to  cross  rivers, 
they  took  the  chief  prisoner  and  their  ax  was  returned.  Early  the  following 
morning.  Smith  started  in  a  canoe  with  two  (2)  men  and  an  Indian,  and  left 
orders,  as  usual,  to  allow  no  Indians  to  come  into  camp.  But  to  gratify  their 
passion  for  women,  the  men  neglected  to  follow  the  ordiT,  allowed  the  Indians 
to  come  into  ca<np,  and  at  an  Indian  yell  five  or  six  Indians  fell  upon  each 
white  man  At  the  time,  the  narrator,  Black,  was  out  of  the  crowd,  and  had 
just  finished  cleaning  and  loading  his  rifle;  three  (3)  Indians  jumped  on  him, 
but  he  shook  them  off,  and  seeing  all  his  comrades  struggling  on  the  ground 
and  the  Indians  stabbing  them,  he  fired  on  the  crowd  and  rushed  to  the  woods 
pursued  by  the  Indians,  but  fortunately  escaped;  swam  across  the  Umpqua  and 
northward  in  the  hopes  of  reaching  the  Columbia  where  he  knew  we  were. 
But  broken  down  by  hunger  and  misery,  as  he  had  no  food  but  a  few  wild  ber 
ries  which  he  found  on  the  beach,  he  determined  to  give  himself  up  to  the  Kil- 
limour,  a  tribe  on  the  coast  at  Cape  Lookout,  who  treated  him  with  great 
humanity,  relieved  his  wants  and  brought  him  to  the  Fort,  for  which,  in  case 
whites  might  again  fall  in  their  power,  and  to  induce  them  to  act  kindly  to 
them,  I  rewarded  them  most  liberally.  But  as  Smith  and  his  two  men  might 
have  escaped  and  if  we  made  no  Starch  for  them  at  break  of  day  the  next 
morning.  I  sent  Indian  runners  with  tobacco  to  the  Willamette  chiefs,  to  tell 
them  to  send  their  people  in  search  of  Smith  and  his  two  men,  and  if  they 
found  them  to  bring  them  to  the  Fort  and  I  would  pay  them,  and  telling  them 
if  any  Indians  hurt  these  men  we  would  punish  them,  and  immediately  equiped 
a  strong  party  of  forty  (40)  well  armed  men.  But  as  the  men  were  embarking 
to  our  great  joy  Smith  and  his  two  men  arrived. 

I  then  arranged  as  strong  a  party  as  I  could  make  to  recover  all  we  could  of 


48  COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT. 

Smith's  property.  I  divulged  my  plan  to  none,  but  gave  written  instructions  tc 
the  officer,  to  be  opened  early  when  he  got  to  the  Umpqua,  because  if  known 
before  they  got  there,  the  officers  would  talk  of  it  among  themselves,  the  men 
would  hear  it  and  from  them  it  would  go  to  their  Indian  wives,  wh)  were  spies 
on  us,  and  my  plan  would  be  defeated.  The  plan  was  that  the  officer  was,  as 
usual,  to  invite  the  Indians  to  bring  their  furs  to  trade,  just  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  Count  the  furs,  but  as  the  American  trappers  mark  all  their  skins, 
keep  these  all  separate,  give  them  to  Mr.  Smith  and  not  pay  the  Indians  for 
them,  telling  them  that  they  belonged  to  him  ;  that  they  got  them  by  murdering 
Smith's  people. 

They  denied  having  murdered  Smith's  people,  but  admitted  they  bought 
them  of  the  murderers.  The  officers  told  them  they  must  look  to  the  murder 
ers  for  the  payment,  which  they  did  ;  and  as  the  murderers  would  not  restore 
the  property  they  had  received,  a  war  was  kindled  among  them,  and  the  mur 
derers  were  punished  more  severely  than  we  could  have  done,  and  which  Mr. 
Smith  himself  admitted,  and  to  be  much  preferable  to  going  to  war  on  them,  as 
we  could  not  distinguish  the  innnocent  from  the  guilty,  who,  if  they  chose, 
might  fly  to  the  mountains,  where  we  could  not  find  them.  In  this  way  we  re 
covered  property  for  Mr.  Smith  to  the  amount  of  three  thousand  two  hundred 
dollars,  without  any  expense  to  him,  and  which  was  done  from  a  principle  of 
Christian  duty,  and  as  a  lesson  to  the  Indians  to  show  them  they  could  not 
wrong  the  whites  with  impunity. 

In  1828,  Etinne  Lucier,  a  Willamette  trapper,  asked  me  if  I  thought  this 
would  become  a  settled  country  ?  I  told  him  wherever  wheat  grew,  he  might 
depend  it  would  become  a  farming  country.  He  asked  me  what  assistance  I 
would  afford  him  to  settle  as  a  farmer  ?  I  told  him  I  would  loan  him  seed  to 
sow  and  wheat  to  feed  himself  and  family,  to  be  returned  from  the  produce  of 
his  farm,  and  sell  him  such  implements  as  were  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
store,  at  fifty  per  cent,  on  prime  cost.  But  a  few  days  after  he  came  back  and 
told  me  he  thought  there  was  too  remote  a  prospect  of  this  becoming  a  civilized 
country,  and  as  there  were  no  clergymen  in  the  country,  he  asked  me  a  passage 
for  his  family  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Co.'s  boats,  to  which  I  acceded.  He  started 
in  September  to  meet  the  boats  at  the  mountain  ;  the  express  came  in  too  late 
and  he  had  to  return,  and  went  to  hunt  for  the  winter. 

In  1829,  he  again  applied  to  begin  to  farm.  I  told  him  that  since  he  had 
spoken  to  me  I  heard  that  several  of  the  trappers  would  apply  for  assistance  to 
begin  to  farm,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  come  to  a  distinct  under 
standing  with  him  to  serve  as  a  rule  for  those  who  might  follow.  That  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  were  bound  under  heavy  penalties  to  discharge  none  of 


COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT.  49 

their  servants  in  the  Indian  country,  and  bound  to  return  them  to  the  place  where 
they  engaged  them.  That  this  was  done  to  prevent  vagabonds  being  let  loose 
among  the  Indians  and  incite  them  to  hostility  to  the  whites.  But  as  I  knew 
he  was  a  good,  honest  man,  and  none  but  such  need  apply,  and  as  if  he  went 
to  Canada  and  unfortunately  died  before  his  chil'dren  could  provide  for  them 
selves  they  would  become  objects  of  pity  and  a  burthen  to  others.  For  these 
reasons  I  would  assist  him  to  settle.  But  I  must  keep  him  and  all  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  servants  whom  I  allowed  to  settle,  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Com 
pany's  books  as  servants,  so  as  not  to  expose  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  me 
to  a  fine,  but  they  would  work  for  themselves,  and  no  service  would  be  exacted 
from  them. 

Many  of  the  Canadians  objected  to  go  to  the  Willamette,  because  it  was  to 
become  American  Territory,  which  I  told  them  it  would  as  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  in  1825  officially  informed  that  on  no  event  could  the  British  Govern 
ment  claim  extend  south  of  the  Columbia,  and  that  they  were  afraid  they  would 
not  have  the  same  advantages  as  American  citizens.  I  told  them  from  the  fer 
tility  of  the  soil,  the  extent  of  prairie  and  the  easy  access  from  the  sea  that  the 
Willamette  (they  must  admit)  was  the  best  and  only  place  adapted  to  form  a 
settlement  which  would  have  a  beneficial  effect  on  the  whole  country  north  of 
San  Francisco,  where  we  could  assist  and  protect  them  from  the  Indians  in  case 
of  difficulty,  and  as  to  advantages  I  did  not  know  what  they  would  have,  but 
this  I  knew,  that  the  American  Government  and  people  knew  only  two  classes 
of  persons,  rogues  and  honest  men,  that  they  punished  the  first  and  protected 
the  last,  and  it  depended  only  upon  themselves  to  what  class  they  would 
belong. 

Others  wanted  to  go  and  live  with  the  relatives  of  their  wives,  but  as  their 
children  would  be  brought  up  with  the  sympathies  and  feelings  of  Indians,  and 
as  the  half-breeds  are  in  general  leaders  among  Indians,  and  they  would  be  a 
thorn  in  the  side  of  the  whites,  I  insisted  they  should  go  to  the  Willamette, 
where  their  children  could  be  brought  up  as  whites  and  Christians,  and  brought 
to  cultivate  the  ground  and  imbued  with  the  feelings  and  sympathies  of  whites, 
and  where  they  and  their  mothers  would  serve  as  hostages  for  the  good  behavior 
of  their  relatives  in  the  interior.  As  Indians  judge  of  whites  by  themselves,  and 
I  think  if  they  injure  whites  on  their  lands,  the  whites  would  revenge  it  by  mur 
dering  their  Indian  relative  among  them,  and  as  the  settlement  increased  by  the 
addition  of  Indian  women  and  half-breeds,  the  turbulence  of  the  Indian  tribes 
would  diminish,  and  certaily  the  Cayuse  war  would  not  have  been  quelled  so 
easily  as  it  was  if  other  half-breeds  had  not  joined  the  Americans;  and  I  have 
great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  say  what  must  be  admitted  by  all  who  know  them, 


50  COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT. 

that  the  Canadian  trappers  and  half-breeds  who  have  settled  as  farmers,  are  as 
peaceable,  orderly,  neighborly  and  industrious  a  set  of  men  as  any  in  the  settle 
ment  ;  and  that  so  far  the  Canadian  settlement  has  produced  and  supplied  three- 
fourths  of  the  grain  that  has  been  exported. 

In  1832,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Wythe,  of  Cambridge,  near  Boston,  came  across  land 
with  a  party  of  men,  but  as  the  vessel  he  expected  to  meet  here  with  supplies 
was  wrecked  on  the  way,  he  returned  to  the  East  with  three  (3)  men.  The  re- 
mainder  joined  the  Willamette  settlement  and  got  supplies  and  were  assisted  by 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  servants,  and  to  be  paid  the  same  price  for  their 
wheat — that  is,  three  shillings  sterling  per  bushel,  and  purchase  their  supplies 
at  fifty  per  cent,  on  prime  cost. 

In  1834,  Mr.  Wyeth  returned  with  a  fresh  party,  and  met  the  vessel  with  sup 
plies  here,  and  started  with  a  large  outfit  for  Fort  Hall,  which  he  had  built  on 
his  way,  and  in  1836,  he  abandoned  the  business  and  returned  to  the  States,  and 
those  of  his  men  that  remained  in  the  country  joined  the  settlements  and  were 
assisted  as  the  others  on  the  same  terms  as  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  serv 
ants,  and  in  justice  to  Mr.  Wyeth,  I  have  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  state  that 
as  a  rival  in  trade,  I  always  found  him  open,  manly,  frank  and  fair,  and  in 
short,  in  all  his  contracts,  a  perfect  gentleman  and  an  honest  man,  doing  all  he 
could  to  support  morality  and  encouraging  industry  in  the  settlement. 

In  1834,  Messrs.  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee,  and  Messrs.  Walker  and  P.  L.  Ed 
wards  came  with  Mr.  Wyeth  to  establish  a  mission  in  the  Flat-head  country.  I 
observed  to  them  that  it  was  too  dangerous  for  them  to  establish  a  mission  ;  that 
to  do  good  to  the  Indians,  they  must  establish  themselves  where  they  could  col 
lect  them  around  them  ;  teach  them  first  to  cultivate  the  ground  and  live  more 
comfortably  than  they  do  by  hunting,  and  as  they  do  this,  teach  them  religion; 
that  the  Willamette  afforded  them  a  fine  field,  and  that  they  ought  to  go  there, 
and  they  would  get  the  same  assistance  as  the  settlers.  They  followed  my  ad 
vice  and  went  to  the  Willamette,  and  it  is  but  justice  to  these  pioneers  to  say 
that  no  men,  in  my  opinion,  could  exert  themselves  more  zealously  than  they  did 
till  1840,  when  they  received  a  large  reinforcement  of  forty  (40)  or  more  per 
sons,  then  the  new-comer  began  to^  neglect  their  duties,  discord  sprung  up 
among  them  and  the  mission  broke  up. 

I  made  it  a  rule  that  none  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  servants  should 
be  allowed  to  join  the  settlements  unless  he  had  fifty  pounds  sterling  before  him, 
as  he  required  that  sum  to  supply  him  with  clothing  and  implements.  He  that 
begins  business  on  credit  is  seldom  so  careful  and  industrious  as  he  who  does 
business  on  his  own  means.  By  this  I  effected  two  objects,  I  made  the  men 


COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT.  5 1 

more  saving  and  industrious,  and  attached  them  to  their  farms.  If  I  had  net 
done  so,  they  would  have  abandoned  on  the  least  difficulty.  But  having  their 
means  invested  on  their  improvements  they  saw  if  they  abandonded  the  loss 
would  be  theirs,  they  therefore  persisted  and  succeeded.  When  the  settlement 
was  formed,  though  the  American  trappers  had  no  means,  they  were  assisted  on 
credit,  and  all  in  three  years  paid  up  from  the  produce  of  their  farms. 

Every  settler  had  as  much  wheat  on  loan  as  he  wanted  to  begin  with,  and  I 
lent  them  each  two  cows,  as  in  1825  we  had  only  twenty-seven  head,  big  and 
small,  old  and  young. 

If  I  sold  they  would  of  course  be  entitled  to  the  increase,  and  I  would  not 
have  the  means  to  assist  the  new  settlers,  and  the  settlement  would  be  retarded, 
as  those  purchasers  who  offered  me  two  hundred  dollars  for  a  cow  would  put 
such  a  price  on  the  increase  as  would  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  poor  settlers  to 
buy.  This  would  prevent  industrious  men  settling.  For  these  reasons  I  would 
not  sell  but  loaned  as  I  say,  two  cows  to  each  settler,  and  in  case  the  increase 
of  settlers  might  be  greater  than  we  could  afford  to  supply  with  cattle,  I  re 
served  the  right  to  take  any  cattle  I  required  (above  his  two  cows)  from  any 
settler  to  assist  new  settlers. 

To  the  Methodist  Mission,  as  it  was  a  public  institution,  I  lent  seven  oxen, 
one  bull  and  eight  cows  with  their  calves. 

In  the  beginning,  several  settlers  lost  cattle  poisoned  by  eating  water  hemlock. 
It  has  been  said  by  the  late  Mr.  Thurston,  Delegate  from  Oregon,  on  the  floor 
of  Congress,  that  settlers  paid  for  dead  cattle.  This  is  a  wanton  falsehood,  as 
it  is  well  known  to  all  old  settlers  that  no  settler  paid  a  cent  for  dead  cattle. 
It  was  a  loss  to  the  Company. 

In  1836  we  found  means  of  forming  a  company  to  go  to  California  for  cattle. 
I  took  half  the  stock  for  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  so  that  by  purchasing  a 
larger  number  (as  the  expense  of  driving  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  was  the 
same)  as  it  would  make  the  cattle  cheaper.  Those  of  the  settlers  that  had 
means  put  it  in  the  stock,  those  that  had  none,  engaged  as  drivers  at  one  dollar 
per  day,  to  be  paid  in  cattle  at  their  actual  cost.  Mr.  Slocum,  who  came  here 
in  a  chartered  vessel,  gave  them  a  passage  gratis  from  this  place  to  San  Fran 
cisco.  Mr.  Ewing  Young  was  selected  to  conduct  the  party.  Mr.  P.  L.  Ed 
wards,  who  came  with  Messrs.  Lee,  of  the  Methodist  Mission,  but  now  a  law 
yer  in  California,  was  appointed  Treasurer.  They  brought,  I  think,  about 
seven  hundred  head  of  cattle,  which  cost  eight  dollars  per  head  rendered.  In 
the  Willamette,  the  settlers  kept  the  tame  and  broken  in  oxen  they  had  belong 
ing  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  gave  their  California  wild  cattle  in  the 


52  COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT. 

place,  so  that  they  found  themselves  stocked  with  tame  catlle  which  cost  them 
only  eight  dollars  per  head,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  to  favor  the  settlers, 
took  calves  in  place  of  grown  up  cattle,  because  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
wanted  them  for  beef.  These  calves  would  grow  up  before  they  were  required. 

In  1840,  as  I  already  stated,  the  Methodist  Mission  received  a  large  reinforce 
ment.  I  had  selected  for  a  claim,  Oregon  City,  in  1829,  made  improvements 
on  it  and  had  a  large  quantity  of  timber  squared.  The  Superintendent  applied 
to  me  for  a  loan  of  some  of  it  to  build  a  mission  house.  I  lent  them  the  timber 
and  had  a  place  pointed  out  to  them  upon  which  to  build.  In  1840  the  Meth- 
dist  Mission  formed  a  milling  association  and  jumped  part  of  my  claim  and  be 
gan  to  build  a  saw  and  grist  mill.  They  assumed  the  right  to  judge  of  my 
rights,  and  said  that  I  could  not  hold  it  as  part  of  my  claim,  though  the  stream 
that  separates  the  islet  from  the  main  land  is  not  more  than  forty  feet  wide  in 

summer.  This  island  is  what  is  called  "Abernethy  Island,"  and  is  about 

acres  in  extent.  I  1842,  Mr.  Waller,  the  resident  missionary  in  the  house,  to 
build  which  I  lent  timber,  which  they  never  returned,  and  gave  the  ground  upon 
which  to  build,  set  up  a  claim  to  Oregon  City  in  opposition  to  me,  but  after 
some  difficulty.  I  paid  them  $500  and  he  gave  it  up.  I  prefered  to  do  this  and 
have  done  with  it  rather  than  hereafter  trouble  government  with  it. 

In  1842,  the  first  party  of  regular  immigrants — about  fifty — came  from  the 
States.  They  got  all  the  assistance  they  required,  but  in  1843,  most  of  them, 
not  liking  the  country,  went  with  their  leader — Mr.  Hastings — to  California. 

In  1843,  about  800  immigrants  arrived  from  the  States.  I  saw  by  the  looks 
of  the  Indians  that  they  were  excited,  and  I  watched  them.  As  the  first  strag 
glers  were  arriving  at  Vancouver  in  canoes,  I  was  standing  on  the  bank,  nearer 
the  water  there  was  a  group  of  ten  or  twelve  Indians.  One  of  them  bawled  out 
to  his  companions,  "It  is  good  for  us  to  kill  these  Bostons."  Struck  with  the 
excitement  I  had  seen  in  the  countenances  of  the  Indians  since  they  had  heard 
the  report  of  the  immigration  coming,  I  felt  certain  they  were  inclined  to  mischief, 
and  that  he  spoke  thus  loud  as  a  feeler  to  sound  me,  and  take  their  measures 
accordingly.  I  immediately  rushed  on  them  with  my  cane,  calling  out  at  the 
same  time,  "Who  is  the  dog  that  says  it  is  a  good  thing  to  kill  the  Bostons." 
The  fellow,  trembling,  excused  himself,  "I  spoke  without  meaning  harm,  but 
The  Dalles  Indians  say  so."  "Well,"  said  I,  "The  Dalles  Indians  are  dogs 
for  saying  so,  and  you  also,"  and  left  him,  as,  if  I  had  remained  longer  it  would 
have  had  a  bad  effect.  I  had  done  enough  to  convince  them  I  would  not  allow 
them  to  do  wrong  to  the  immigrants  with  impunity.  From  this  Indian  saying, 
in  the  way  he  did,  that  the  Dalles  Indians  said  it  was  good  to  kill  the  Bostons, 
I  felt  it  my  duty  to  do  all  I  could  to  avert  so  horrid  a  deed. 


COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT.  53 

Mr.  P.  L.  Edwards,  whom  I  mentioned  came  in  1834,  with  Messrs.  Lee,  and 
left  in  1838,  sent  me  a  letter  by  Gen.  McCarver,  stating  he  had  given  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  me  to  P.  H.  Burnett,  Esq.  I  immediately  formed  my  plan 
and  kept  my  knowledge  of  the  horrid  design  of  the  Indians'  secret,  as  I  felt 
certain  that  if  the  Americans  knew  it,  these  men  acting  independent  of  each 
other,  would  be  at  once  for  fighting,  which  would  lead  to  their  total  destruc 
tion,  and  I  sent  two  (2)  boats  with  provisions  to  meet  them  ;  sent  provisions  to 
Mr.  Burnett,  and  a  large  quantity  of  provisions  for  sale  to  those  who  would  pur 
chase,  and  to  be  given  to  those  who  had  not  the  means,  being  confident  that 
fright  I  had  given  (as  I  already  stated),  the  Indians  who  said  it  was  a  good 
thing  to  kill  the  Bostons  was  known  at  the  Dalles  before  our  boats  were  there, 
and  that  with  the  presence  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  people,  and  the  assist 
ance  they  afforded  the  immigrants,  would  deter  the  Indians  from  doing  them 
any  wrong,  and  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say  I  entirely  succeeded.  At  first  I 
thought  these  Indians  were  excited  by  some  of  the  Irroquois  Indians  in  the  Hud 
son  Bay  Company's  service,  and  tried  to  find  if  so,  but  found  nothing  to  en 
lighten  me  on  the  subject. 

About  a  month  after  Dr.  Whitman,  from  his  mission  Wall  Walla  to 
Vancouver,  as  the  Dalles  was  on  his  way,  and  as  he  had  seen  the  principal 
men  there,  it  occurred  to  me  that  he  might  have  heard  of  it,  and  told  him 
what  I  heard  the  Indian  say,  and  how  I  had  alarmed  him,  what  I  had  done  to 
deter  them  and  my  suspicion  that  all  this  sprung  from  some  of  our  rascally  Ir 
roquois,  and  that  I  was  anxious  to  find  that  rascal  out  to  punish  him  as  an  ex 
ample  to  deter  others.  "Oh,"  says  the  Doctor,  I  know  all  about  it."  "You 
do,  Doctor,"  said  I.  "Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "and  I  have  known  it  for  two 
years."  "You  have  known  it  for  two  years  and  you  told  me  nothing!  Pray 
tell  me  his  name."  The  Doctor,  seeing  I  was  on  the  wrong  scent,  said,  "His 
name  is  Thomas  Hill."  After  thinking  for  some  time,  I  replied  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  had  no  man  of  that  name  in  their  service.  "Oh,"  says  the  Doc 
tor,  "Tom  Hill  the  Shawnee."  This  Indian,  it  is  said,  had  been  educated  at 
Dartmouth  College  in  the  States,  had  told  the  Indians  that  a  few  Americans  had 
came  to  settle  on  their  lands  ;  that  the  Shawnees  allowed  them,  but  when  the 
Americans  were  strong  enough  they  drove  the  Shawnees  off  and  now  the  Shaw 
nees  have  no  lands,  and  had  urged  the  Indians  to  allow  no  Americans  to  settle  on 
their  lands,  which  advice  the  Indians  about  Walla  Walla  say  the  Cayuses  are 
following  to  this  day,  and  the  Indians  were  inclined  to  follow  by  killing  the 
immigrants  who  first  came,  and  which  I  believe  they  would  have  done  but  for 
the  decided  and  cautious  manner  that  I  acted.  And  the  reason  the  Indian 
made  use  of  the  expression  he  did,  was  because  I  punished  the  murderers  of  the 


54  COPY    OF   A    DOCUMENT. 

Smith  party,  and  before  acting  they  wanted  to  know  how  I  would  treat  them, 
and  most  certainly  if  I  had  not  been  most  anxious  for  the  safety  of  the  immi 
grants  and  to  discharge  to  them  the  duties  of  a  Christian,  my  ear  would  not 
have  caught  so  quickly  the  words,  "it  is  a  good  thing  to  kill  these  Bostons," 
and  acted  as  I  did.  In  fact,  if  the  immigrants  had  all  been  my  brothers  and  sis 
ters,  I  could  not  have  done  more  for  them.  I  fed  the  hungry,  caused  the  sick 
to  be  attended  to  and  nursed,  furnished  them  every  assistance  so  long  as  they 
required  it,  and  which  some  have  not  paid  to  this  day,  though  abundantly  able, 
and  for  which,  if  they  do  not  pay.  I  am  answerable  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
It  may  be  said,  and  has  been  said,  that  I  was  too  liberal  in  making  these  ad 
vances.  It  is  not  so,  but  it  was  done  judiciously  and  prudently. 

When  the  immigration  of  1842  came,  we  had  enough  of  breadstuff's  in  the 
country  for  one  year,  but  as  the  immigrants  reported  that  next  season  there 
would  be  a  greater  immigration,  it  was  evident  if  there  was  not  a  proportionate 
increase  of  seed  sown  in  1843  ar*d  1844,  there  would  be  a  famine  in  the  country 
in  1845,  which  would  lead  to  trouble,  as  those  that  had  families,  to  save  them 
from  starvation,  would  be  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  vioflence  to  get  food  for 
them.  To  avert  this  I  freely  supplied  the  immigrants  of  1843  and  1844  with 
the  necessary  articles  to  open  farms,  and  by  these  means  avoided  the  evils.  In 
short  I  afforded  every  assistance  to  the  immigrants  so  long  as  they  required  it7 
and  by  management  I  kept  peace  in  the  c  mntry,  and  in  some  cases  had  to  put 
up  with  a  great  deal;  for  instance,  when  the  milling  company  jumped  part  of 
my  claim,  the  island  upon  which  they  built  a  mill,  and  which  subsequently 
Abernethy  purchased,  and  when  Williamson  jumped  part  of  Fort  Vancouver,  as 
maybe  seen  by  my  correspondence  with  the  provisional  government  on  the  subject, 
and  which  occurred  in  the  presence  of  several  American  citizens,  who  I  am 
happy  to  say  strongly  expressed  their  disapprobation  of  Williamson's  conduct, 
and  which  I  am  induced  to  believe  made  him  desist,  and  it  will  be  seen,  to  their 

credit,  that  Messrs , , ,  the 

Executive  Committee,  acted  in  a  straightforward,  manly  and  correct  manner,  and 
it  was  by  such  conduct  on  the  part  of  respectable  American  citizens,  that  peace 
and  order  were  maintained  in  the  country.  It  is  true,  several  thought  I  was  too 
forbearing  ;  but  when  I  saw  how  much  the  good  on  both  sides  would  suffer  if  I 
acted  differently,  and  that  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
might  be  caused  by  it,  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  act  as  I  did,  and  by  which  I 
think  I  may  have  prevented  a  war  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
And  how  have  I  been  treated  by  both  ? 

By  British  demagogues  I  have  been  represented  as  a  traitor.  For  what  ? 
Because  I  acted  as  a  Christian;  saved  American  citizens,  men,  women  and  chil 
dren  from  the  Indian  tomahawk  and  enabled  them  tc  make  farms  to  support 
their  families. 


COPY    OF    A    DOCUMENT.  55 

American  demagogues  have  been  base  enough  to  assert  that  I  had  caused 
American  citizens  to  be  massacred  by  hundreds  by  the  savages.  I,  who  saved 
all  1  could.  I  have  been  represented  by  the  delegate  from  Oregon,  the  late  S. 
R.  Thurston,  as  doing  all  I  could  to  prevent  the  settling,  while  it  was  well 
known  to  every  American  settler  who  is  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  Ter 
ritory,  if  this  is  not  a  downright  falsehood,  and  most,  certainly  will  say,  that  he 
most  firmly  believes  that  I  did  all  I  could  to  promote  its  settlement,  and  that  I 
could  not  have  done  more  for  the  settlers  if  they  had  been  my  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  after  being  the  first  person  to  take  a  claim  in  the  country  and  assisting  the 
immigrants  as  I  have,  my  claim  is  reserved,  after  having  expended  all  the 
means  I  had  to  improve  it,  while  every  other  settler  in  (he  country  gets  his. 
But  as  I  felt  convinced  that  any  disturbance  between  us  here  might  lead  to  a 
war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  States,  I  felt  it  my  bounden  duty  as  a 
Christian,  to  act  as  I  did,  and  which  I  think  averted  the  evil,  and  which  was  so 
displeasing  to  some  English  demagogues  that  they  represented  me  to  the  British 
government  as  a  person  so  partial  to  American  interests  as  selling  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  goods  in  my  charge  cheaper  to  American  than  I  did  to  British 
subjects.  On  the  other  hand,  though,  if  the  American  immigrants  had  been  my 
brothers  and  sisters,  I  could  not  have  done  more  for  them  ;  yet,  after  acting  as 
I  have,  spending  my  means  and  doing  my  utmost  to  settle,  the  country,  my 
claim  is  reserved,  while  every  other  settler  in  the  country  gets  his  ;  and  how 
much  this  has  injured  me,  is  daily  injuring  me,  it  is  needless  to  say,  and  cer 
tainly  it  is  a  treatment  I  do  not  deserve  and  which  I  did  not  expect. 

To  be  brief,  I  founded  this  settlement  and  prevented  a  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  for  doing  this  peaceably  and  quietly,  I 
was  treated  by  the  British  in  such  a  manner  that  from  self  respect  I  resigned 
my  situation  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  service,  by  which  I  sacrificed 
$12,000  per  annum,  and  the  "Oregon  Land  Bill"  shows  the  treatment  I  received 
from  the  Americans. 

NOTES  BY  MRS.  HARVEY. 

NOTE  I.  Etienne  Lucier  first  settled  on  the  east  side  Willamette  river,  oppo 
site  the  present  City  of  Portland,  remaining  there  several  years,  afterwards  re 
moving  higher  up  the  river,  near  Champoeg.  Lucier  was  the  first  settler. 

NOTE  2.  Those  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  who  were  willing  to  take 
farms,  all  of  them  being  French  Canadians,  chose  a  prairie  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  above  the  Willamette  Falls,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of  "French 
Prairie,"  the  name  by  which  it  is  known  at  the  present  time. 

NOTE  3.     About  three  or  four  acres. 


SKETCH  OF  E-WIKG  YOUNG. 


TILLAMOOK,  Tillamook  Co.,  Ogn.,  Jan.  lo,  iSS'l, 
.  M.   Crawford^  Dayton^   Oregon  .' 

SlR  : — Your  letter  of  the  igth  ult.,  was  received  by  me  to-day  at  my  res 
idence  on  the  Nestucca  river  of  this  county. 

Your  request  that  I  furnish  you  with  what  I  know  of  the  life,  or  history  and 
incidents  of  Ewing  Young  deceased.  This  I  will  do  most  gladly,  as  I  candidly 
believe  that  it  was  through  that  thorough  going  man  that  Oregon  was  brought 
so  speedily  into  notice.  But  without  making  any  commentations  on  the  sub 
ject,  I  will  proceed  to  say  that  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Young  about 
the  1st  of  November,  1834,  a  few  days  after  his  arrival  in  the  Willamette  val 
ley  from  California.  He  brought  with  him  from  California  a  herd  of  Spanish 
mares  and  horses  ;  he  erected  a  dwelling  on  the  Willamette  river  opposite  to 
Champoeg,  being  the  first  house  built  on  the  west  side  of  that  river  by  a  white 
man.  At  this  time  an  unpleasant  incident  occurred  to  Mr.  Young.  It  was  this: 
At  the  time  of  his  leaving  California  a  large  number  of  persons  also  came,  and 
among  them  were  some  reckless  persons,  who,  after  the  company  had  left  the 
Spanish  settlements,  returned  to  some  stock  ranches  and  drove  off  a  number  of 
horses. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Young  left  the  Spanish  settlement  for  Oregon,  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company's  schooner  "  Cadborro/'  was  at  Monterey,  California,  and  sailed 
in  a  few  days  for  the  Columbia,  and  by  whom  the  Governor  General  of  Califor 
nia  wrote  Dr.  McLaughlin,  then  acting  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com 
pany  for  the  District  of  the  Columbia,  stating  that  Ewing  Young  and  company 
had  stolen  a  band  of  horses  from  ranches  in  California.  This  letter  reached  the 
Doctor  about  the  time  Mr.  Young  arrived  in  the  Willamette.  Mr.  Young  being 
in  want  of  some  supplies,  and  having  a  few  beaver  skins,  sent  them  to  Fort 
Vancouver  to  exchange  for  his  supplies.  But  Dr.  McLaughlin  having  been  ad 
vertised  by  no  less  authority  than  the  Governor  General  of  California  that 
Young  was  at  the  head  of  a  banditti,  refused  to  purchase  the  beaver,  but  sent 
Mr.  Young  the  articles  which  he  had  wished  to  purchase,  besides  sending  him 
several  articles  of  refreshments  for  his  table.  But  when  the  articles  came  he. 


EWING   YOUNG.  57 

Young,  indignantly  refused  to  receive  the  goods  or  refreshments,  but  procured 
an  Indian  canoe  and  some  Indian  help  and  went  in  person  to  Vancouver, 
where  harsh  words  took  place  between  the  Doctor  and  Mr.  Young.  After  mod 
eration  and  reason  returned,  the  Doctor  satisfied  Mr.  Young  that  he  could  not, 
being  at  the  head  of  a  company  trading  directly  to  California  and  elsewhere, 
have  acted  otherwise  than  to  have  given  credence  and  respect  to  the  charge 
against  him  and  his  company  by  the  Gov.  of  California.  And  as  the  schooner 
"  Cadborro"  returned  the  ensuing  year  to  California,  Dr.  McLaughlin  wrote  to 
the  Governor  of  California,  as  also  did  Mr.  Young.  And  the  ensuing  fall  of 
that  year  the  Governor  wrote  to  Dr.  McLaughlin  and  Mr.  Young  withdrawing 
the  charges  against  Young,  and  regretting  the  occurrence.  [In  order  to  show 
how  Mr.  Young  became  the  object  of  concern  and  interest  of  the  Government, 
I  will  have  to  introduce  another  character,  that  is,  Hall  I.  Kelly,  an  author  and 
publisher  of  a  pamphlet  about  Oregon,  etc.  Mr.  Kelly  was  in  California  at 
the  time  Young  started  for  Oregon  and  came  in  the  company,  and  being  a  man 
of  considerable  literary  talent  and  notoriety,  he  was  also  pointed  out  in  the 
Governor  General's  letter  to  Dr.  McLaughlin,  and  also  received  the  Doctor's 
refusal  of  fellowship,  but  the  Doctor  prepared  for  him  and  had  well  supplied 
with  all  the  comforts  the  Fort  could  supply,  a  dwelling,  appointed  him 
a  waiter  and  laundress,  and  when  in  the  ensuing  spring  the  company's 
vessel  sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  gave  him  a  free  passage. 
On  Mr.  Kelly's  arrival  at  Boston,  he  published  an  account  of  his 
travels,  and  dwelt  with  a  good  deal  of  severity  upon  the  officers 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  how  he  and  Young  had  been  treated, 
etc.  This  pamphlet  was  sent  to  our  Consul  at  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
who  was  instructed  to  make  the  necessary  inquiry  about  the  condition  of  Young 
and  other  American  citizens  on  the  Columbia.  About  this  time  Lieut.  W.  A. 
Slocum,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  arrived  a't  Oahu,  (in  Sandwich  Islands)  and  Mr. 
Jones,  the  U.  S.  Consul,  chartered  a  little  brig  and  got  Lieut.  Slocum  to  come 
and  see,  etc.  (This  was  in  the  winter  of  1836.)  ] 

Mr.  Young  continued  to  live  on  his  place  opposite  Champoeg,  doing  but  little 
except  to  look  after  his  Spanish  horses,  doing  his  trading  with  the  American 
company,  for  which  I  was  then  acting  agent  (1835).  But  as  Young  was  a  man 
of  strong  natural  mind  and  great  determination,  and  withal  industrious  and 
enterprising,  he  resolved  to  go  at  something  to  make  a  better  and  more  inde 
pendent  living,  and  resolved  to  erect  a  distillery,  but  the  want  of  kettles  and 
other  apparatus  prevented. 

In  the  spring  of  1836,  Mr.  Wyeth;  one  of  the  partners  of  the  American  Com 
pany,  had  resolved  to  break  up  business  in  the  country,  and  it  was  then  that 


5 8  EWING    YOUNG. 

Young  purchased  one  of  the  chaldrons  we  used  for  pickling  salmon,  of  Capt. 
Wyeth,  and  went  formally  to  work  in  erecting  a  distillery.  By  this  time  a 
thorough  reconciliation  had  taken  place  between  Young  and  Dr.  McLaughlin, 
and  the  latter  told  Mr.  Y.  that  if  he  persisted  in  his  distillering  it  would  prove 
a  ruin  to  the  farming  settlement,  and  assured  him  if  he  wished  to  enter  into  any 
kind  of  enterprise  that  would  be  useful  and  beneficial  to  the  Young  settlement, 
that  he  would  advance  any  required  aid.  Upon  this  appeal  and  offer  he  aban 
doned  the  distillery  and  then  was  planing  for  a  saw  and  grist  mill.  About  this 
time  (winter  of  1836-37)  Lieut.  Slocum  arrived,  and  calling  at  Vancouver, 
where  he  made  his  quarters.  In  a  few  days  he  called  upon  Young,  and  every 
thing  being  explained  satisfactorily,  Young  and  Slocum  put  in  motion  the  intro 
duction  of  Spanish  cattle  into  Oregon,  and  within  a  few  days  a  company  was 
formed,  Slocum  supplying  the  money  and  giving  a  free  passage  to  the  persons 
engaged,  in  his  chartered  brig,  to  California.  In  this  company,  Young  acted 
as  the  purchasing  agent  and  manager. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  cattle  into  Oregon,  Young  went  to  work  at  his 
saw  mill  and  erected  it  on  the  Chehalem  creek,  near  its  confluence  with  the 
Willamette  river.  This  he  kept  at  work  until  the  winter  of  1840-41,  when  it 
was  flooded  off.  A  short  time  after  this  Mr.  Young  sickened,  and  in  February, 
1841,  died. 

Mr.  Young  was  a  native  of  Knox  county,  Tennessee,  learned  the  cabinet 
maker's  trade  in  Knoxville,  Tennessee.  He  was  a  very  candid  and  scrupulously 
honest  man  ;  was  thoroughgoing,  brave  and  daring. 

He  was  buried  a  short  distance  west  of  his  residence,  or  where  he  died,  in 
Chehalem  Valley,  in  Yamhill  county,  under  some  oak  trees.  Sidney  Smith 
subsequently  occupied  the  house.  There  was  once  a  pailing  put  around  the 
grave.  At  this  time  I  know  nothing  of  it. 

This  constitutes  all  that  your  society,  perhaps,  may  deem  necessary.  All 
that  I  have  thus  brifly  stated  took  place  under  my  own  observation  and  knowl 
edge  and  what  I  learned  from  Mr.  Young  himself. 

If  anything  else  comes  up  before  your  society  which  I  can  aid  in  furthering, 
from  any  knowledge  I  h  .ve  of  it,  I  will  cheerfully  do  so. 

With  high  respect,  most  respectfully  yours, 

COURTNEY  M.  WALKER. 


G.  A.  CONE,  SR. 


A  Brief  Sketch  of  an  Oregon  Pioneer's  Life, 


BY   WILLARD  H.    REE3, 


BUTTEVILLE,  Oregon,  April  il,  1881, 
To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  OREGON  UN  : 

G.  A.  Cone,  Sr.,  who  died  at  this  place,  April  7,  I $8.1,  was  a  native  of  Wind 
sor  county,  Vermont;  born  May  23,  1798,  had  therefore  reached  the  advanced 
age  of  82  years,  10  months  and  15  days.  The  son  of  a  cooper,  he  learned  that 
trade,  working  with  his  father  until  the  close  of  the  late  war  with  England. 
Fired  with  the  spirit  of  western  adventure  through  glowing  accounts  of  the 
country  beyond  the  Alleghany  mountains,  given  by  returning  volunteers,  young 
Cone,  in  1815,  on  attaining  his  lyth  year,  very  unceremoniously  bid  adieu  to  his 
Green  Mountain  home,  to  work  his  way  on  foot  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  th'e 
then  renowned  Eden  of  the  far  distant  west,  reaching  Cincinnati  early  in  1816, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  one  year.  From  thence  to  the  village  of  St. 
Omer,  where  in  1818,  at  the  age  of  20  years,  he  married  Mary  Garrison,  who, 
for  52  years,  was  his  true  and  loving  helpmate,  she  having  departed  this  life 
May  10,  1870.  In  1821,  he  settled  on  a  farm  near  Lawrenceburg,  Dearborn 
county,  Indiana,  but  being  of  rather  a  restless  disposition,  he  improved  some 
half-dozen  new  farms  in  different  sections  of  the  State.  In  early  life  he  joined 
the  Methodist  Church,  but  during  the  anti-Masonic  excitement  incident  to  the 
Morgan  affair,  he  changed  his  membership  to  the  Moravian  or  United  Brethren 
s?ct,  having  been  a  preacher  of  the  faith  in  both  denominations.  In  middle 
life,  however,  he  discarded  the  doctrine  of  future  endless  punishment.  He  said 
to  the  writer  a  few  months  since,  as  he  had  on  many  former  occasions  i  "I  sin 
cerely  hope  my  true  sentiments  with  regard  to  this  life  and  the  hereafter  will 
not  be  misrepresented.  I  have  found,  as  a  class,  the  best  and  most  useful 
people  in  this  world  to  be  those  who  by  their  labor  are  producers,  and  who 
know  most  of,  and  follow  nearest  to  the  infallible  laws  governing  the  universe  ; 


60  G.    A.    CONE,    SR. 

and  there  is  no  way  by  which  we  can  escape  the  penalty  of  their  violation. 
With  regard  to  the  future  life  in  some,  to  rne  unknown  world,  I  certainly  have 
no  satisfactory  knowledge  whatever,  I  am  fully  content  in  leaving  this  to  me 
unsolved  and  unknowable  question  to  the  future  where  it  belongs,  while  in  truth 
and  sincerity  I  am  a  thousand  fold  more  happy  in  my  present  state  of  mind, 
than  I  was  when  earnestly  believing  that  the  greater  number  of  my  fellow  be 
ings  were  in  effect  doomed  to  future  torment  lor  time  without  end.  After  hav 
ing  lived  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  Indiana,  Mr.  Cone  crossed  the 
eastern  branch  of  the  great  father  of  waters,  settling  in  Henry  County,  Iowa 
Territory,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years.  In  the  spring  of  1851,  leaving  his 
family  at  Keokuk  with  his  elder  son,  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Oregon  where 
three  sons  had  preceded  him  a  few  years  before.  Mr.  Cone  settled  near  Butte- 
ville  where  he  improved  and  for  ten  years  cultivated  his  last  new  farm. 

In  1862  he  moved  to  the  village  of  Butteville  where  he  soon  after  opened  a 
store,  serving  for  many  years  as  postmaster  and  justice  of  the  peace.  An  old 
line  Whig  of  the  great  northwest,  earnestly  devoted  to  the  principles  of  per 
sonal,  political  and  religious  liberty,  he  naturally  gravitated  to  the  Republican 
party.  He  has  often  remarked  to  the  writer  that  Mr.  Clay  to  whom  he  had 
often  listened  in  early  life  had  a  lasting  influence  upon  his  subsequent  political 
course.  He  was  beyond  measure  the  most  captivating  orator  that  I  ever  heard. 
A  man  of  commanding  presence,  he  seemed  to  speak  from  the  serene  hights  of 
conscious  power,  grand  in  eloquence  and  of  dauntless  courage.  He  captivated 
and  led  at  will  the  great  heart  and  mind  of  an  audience  as  none  but  Harry  of 
the  West  could  do.  Mr.  Cone  lived  under  the  administration  of  all  the  Presi 
dents  of  the  United  States,  save  that  of  Washington's,  sixty  years  having  inter 
vened  between  the  dates  of  casting  his  first  and  last  ballot  for  President.  Hi  s 
first  vote  was  given  for  James  Monroe  in  1820,  his  last  for  Ge.n.  Garfield  in  1880. 

Mr.  Cone  was  a  plain,  unpretending,  industrious  pioneer,  who,  for  his 
many  sterling  qualities,  was  much  respected  by  his  neighbors,  and  his  once  fa 
miliar  form  will  be  greatly  missed  in  this  community.  The  highways  and  by 
ways  which  the  old  pioneers  have  so  long  traveled  together  seem  to  grow  dim 
mer  and  darker,  as  one  by  one  these  honored  friends  are  taken  from  the  ranks 
of  the  old  vanguard  whose  life's  labor  has  given  to  civilization  the  late  wilder 
ness  of  this  now  mighty  west. 

At  3  o'clock  on  the  8th  inst.,  the  mortal  remains  of  G.  A.  Cone,  Sr.,  were 
followed  to  the  Butteville  cemetery  by  a  long  procession  of  old  neighbors  and 
friends,  where,  after  an  appropriate  address  by  Judge  Grim,  the  remains  were 
consigned  to  the  grave. 


THE  LATE  GEO.  LAROQUE. 


BY   WILLARD   H.    REES. 


BUTTEVILLE,  February  27,  1877. 
To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  OREGONIAN  : 

Mr.  George  Laroque,  late  of  Oregon  City,  who  died  at  Oakland,  California, 
on  the  23d  inst.,  was  born  near  Montreal,  Canada,  in  1820.  Came  to  the 
United  States  in  1836.  Went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  the  spring  of  1839, 
where  in  the  following  fall  he  entered  the  service  of  the  American  Fur  Com 
pany,  starting  at  once  for  Fort  Pierre  on  the  Missouri  river.  Some  time  after, 
was  sent  to  Fort  Laramie.  Being  an  expert  in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  he  was  pro 
moted  to  the  position  of  hunter;  whose  duty  was  to  supply  the  Fort  with  meat. 
This  position  commanded  a  considerable  advance  in  his  wages.  Mountain  men, 
like  those  in  the  more  civilized  pursuits  of  life,  were  paid  in  proportion  to  the 
value  of  the  services  which  they  were  capable  of  performing.  George  Laroque 
was  an  energetic,  resolute  mountaineer,  and  for  his  discreetness  and  well  known 
courage,  was  frequently  employed  by  the  company  as  expressman  in  making 
long,  hazardous  journeys.  On  one  of  those  occasions  he  started  from  Fort  Lara 
mie  with  the  annual  express  for  St.  Louis,  by  way  of  Fort  Pierre,  at  which  point 
there  was  some  slight  hope  of  reaching  in  time' to  meet  the  company's  steamboat 
returning  from  the  Yellowstone  with  a  cargo  of  peltries.  If  successful  would 
leave  his  mule  and  take  passage  for  his  destination.  '  The  distance,  320  miles, 
he  dashed  off  in  48  consecutive  hours,  barely  reaching  the  post  in  time  to  accom 
plish  his  object. 

Laroque  continued  this  life  on  the  plains  until  1847,  when,  after  having  ex 
perienced  eight  years  of  wild,  exciting  life  on  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  he  turned  his  face  toward  the  setting  sun,  crossed  the  country,  and 
in  the  fall  rejoined  his  old  comrade,  F.  X.  Matthieu,  in  the  valley  of  the  Wil 
lamette. 


62  GEORGE    LAROgUE. 

During  the  first  gold  excitement  which  swept  through  this  valley  like  a 
prairie  fire,  in  the  fall  of  1848,  Mr.  Laroque  took  passage  on  the  old  brig  Henry, 
for  the  new  "Golden  Gate."  After  several  months  spent  in  prospecting,  with 
the  usual  success  of  the  inexperienced  miner  of  the  early  days  in  California,  he 
went  to  Feather  river,  where  he  soon  after  had  the  good  fortune  to  strike  a  rich 
pocket,  from  which,  in  a  few  days  he  scooped  out  some  $12,000,  returning  to 
Oregon  in  1849. 

In  the  spring  of  1851  he  became  a  member  of  the  mercantile  firm  of  F.  X. 
Matthieu  &  Co.,  at  Bntteville,  with  \vhich  he  was  associated  for  several  years. 
He  finally  embarked  in  the  wheat  trade  and  milling  business  at  Oregon  City, 
in  which  he  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Notwithstanding  Mr.  La 
roque  had  received  little  or  no  early  advantages  from  the  schools,  he  was  a  very 
correct  and  successful  business  man,  having  accumulated  a  very  considerable 
fortune.  He  leaves  a  wife,  daughter  and  three  sons  to  mourn  their  loss. 

His  name  is  enrolled  on  the  register  of  the  Pioneer  Association,  whose  old 
members  are  fast  giving  wa)  to  later  generations. 


TREASURER'S  REPORT. 


OREGON  CITY,  June  14,  1880. 

To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer    Association  : 
I  submit  for  your  consideration  my  Sixth  Annual  Report  for  the  year  past  : 

1879.  RECEIPTS. 

June  15,  To  balance  on  hand  as  per  report $     I  29 

To  cash  received  from  ball 77  oo 

"               "       License  Photographer 2  oo 

"               "       License  and  rent  per  Waite 19200 

"               "       Dues,  &c.,  per  Brown 10050 

June  26,      "               "       C.  Hopkins,  (man) I  oo 

"  "  Jason  Peters,  (per  Crawford) l  oo 

1880. 

May  6,       •'  «  J.'M.  Moore,  (dues). I  oo 

17,       "  "  Wm.  Gromes,  (man) I  oo 

$376  79 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Paid  Warrant  No.   I,  C.  W.  Hoyden   $  8  oo 

"          "         "     2,  E.  M.  Waite 22047 

"          "         "3,  Mr.  Titus  5  oo 

"          "         "     4,  J.  W.  Minto  6  oo 

<(          '•         "     5,  W7right  &  Bristow 525 

"     6,  W.  T.  Clark 250 

«'          "         "     7,  W.  N.  Brown 500 

"          "         "     8,  A.  Rhodes 250 

"         "     9,  R.  A.  Baker 300 

"         "  10,  D.  Newsome  8  oo 

,     "          "         "  II,  A.  W.  Smith 300 


64  TREASURER'S  REPORT. 

Paid  Warrant  No.  12,  W.  Wallace 20  oo 

"          "         "   13,  G.  H.  Himes 15  oo 

"          "         "  14,  A.  G.  Walling   12  oo 

"  15,  A.  H.  Woodruff. 3300 

"          «'         '«   16,  F.  Conway 4  oo 

«          »         "   17,   H.  W.  Pallies 550 

«'          "         "  18,  Van  Wagner 450 

June  14,  Cash  to  balance 15  o7 

-$376  79 

To  cash  on  hand $  15  07 

Less  expenses  to  Salem 5  oo 


$  10  07 
Respectfully  submitted, 

J  M.  BACON,   Treasurer, 


TRANSACTIONS 


NINTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION 


OF   THE 


Jr 


1881. 


A99UAL  ADDRESS  DSUYRRRD  BY  109.  W.  C.  100809, 


TOGETHER   WITH 


THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS  BY  HON.  MEDORUM  CRAWFORD, 
AND  OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTEREST. 


SALEM,  OKEGON: 

E.  M.  WAITE,  STEAM  PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 

1882. 


MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


In  pursuance  of  a  call  by  the  President,  Medorum  Crawford,  the  Directors 
of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  met  at  Portland  on  December  14,  1881,  in 
the  office  of  John  Catlin,  Esq. 

The  following  named  persons  were  present: 

Hon.  Me  Jorum  Crawford,  President. 

T.  L.  Davidson,  Secretary. 

J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer. 

Jos.  Watt  and  John  Catlin,  Directors. 

Minutes  of  meeting  held  at  McMinnville,  June  15,  1881,  read  and  approved. 

On  motion,  John  Catlin,  Esq.,  was  authorized  to  draw  up  papers  for  the  pur 
pose  of  incorporating  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association. 

Col.  James  K.  Kelly  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  Annual  Address;  Revt  Wm. 
Roberts,  Alternate. 

Hon.  M.  F.  Deady  was  selected  to  deliver  the  Occasional  Address  for  the 
year  1849. 

The  following  committee  was  chosen  to  arrange  a  programme,  provide  music, 
solicit  subscriptions,  and  arrange  for  a  grand  ball  to  be  held  at  the  Fair 
Grounds,  Salem,  June  15,  1882:  E.  M.  Waite,  J.  G,  Wright,  and  J.  W. 
Minto,  committee. 

Al.  Zeiber  was  chosen  Grand  Marshal;  Rev.  E.  R.  Geary,  Chaplain;  Esquire 
Ebert,  Grand  Standard  Bearer,  assisted  by  Jeptha  Garrison  and  W.  J.  Herren. 

The  Fair  Grounds  at  Salem  was  the  place  chosen  for  the  next  reunion  of  the 
Oregon  Pioneer  Association. 

MEDORUM  CRAWFORD, 

President. 
T.  L.  DAVIDSON,  Secretary. 


NINTH  AMUAL  RE-UNION. 


MCMINNVILLE,  YAMHILL  Co., 

OREGON,  June  15,  1881.  J 

The  Ninth  Annual  Reunion  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  [was  held  at 
McMinnville,  and  continued  one  day.  A  large  number  of  members  renewed 
their  subscriptions,  and  a  number  joined  the  Association.  Many  friends  were 
present  and  participated  in  the  exercises  of  the  day  and  the  festive  ball  at 
night.  The  Re-union  was  a  success. 

The  Society  was  called  to  order  at  10:30  o'clock  by  the  President,  Hon. 
Medorum  Crawford,  who  made  the  following  remarks,' 

Pioneers  of  Oregon,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

For  the  third  time,  as  your  presiding  officer,  I  greet  you  on  this  the  Ninth 
Annual  Reunion  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association. 

During  the  past  year  our  country  has  been  prosperous  beyond  the  most  san- 
gnine  expectations.  Peace  and  plenty  abound  throughout  our  land,  and  pub 
lic  improvements  unparalleled  in  any  State  are  rapidly  opening  up  and  develop 
ing  all  our  borders. 

Time,  while  thus  rapidly  facilitating  and  perfecting  our  means  of  enjoyment, 
is  also  sadly  decimating  the  ranks  of  those  Pioneers  who  laid  the  foundation  of 
our  present  prosperity. 

The  recent  death  of  Gen.  Joel  Palmer  takes  from  us  a  noble  man,  widely 
known  and  highly  respected.  His  eminent  services  in  the  early  settlement  of 
our  country  deserves,  and  will  receive  more  than  a  passing  notice.  More  com 
petent  men  will  relate  his  noble  deeds,  and  abler  pens  will  chronicle  the  im 
portant  events  of  his  life  in  connection  with  the  early  history  of  Oregon.  An 
honest  man;  a  useful  citizen;  a  kind  friend;  a  good  neighbour — he  is  gone — he 
will  meet  with  us  no  more. 

Others  also,  have  passed  away,  who  should  and  will  be  noticed  in  the  records 


NINTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION  5 

of  our  Society.  A  few  years  more,  and  the  records  and  these  photographs  will 
be  all  the  Society  will  have  to  remind  its  members  of  the  men  and  women  who 
opened  the  way  and  reclaimed  this  land  as  a  priceless  heritage  to  those  who 
come  after  us. 

The  meeting  of  our  Society  in  Yamhill  county,  which  has  within  its  borders 
more  of  the  earliest  pioneers  than  any  county  in  the  State,  is  eminently  proper, 
and  the  cordial  welcome  manifested  in  these  arrangements  for  our  accommoda 
tion  prove  that  the  citizens  of  this  beautiful  village  are  mindful  of  the  respect 
due  to  the  pioneers  of  Oregon. 

As  a  citizen  of  Yamhill  county,  and  on  behalf  of  the  good  people  of  McMinn- 
ville  I  give  you  welcome. 


PROGRAMME  OF  THE  DAY. 

Procession  was  formed  near  the  Railroad  Depot  under  the  direction  of  Grand 
Marshal  A.  Zeiber,  at  n  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  marched  by  route  designated  by 
the  Committee  to  the  stand,  in  the  following  order: 

Marshal  and  Aids. 
National  Flag. 

Band. 

Grand  Standard  Bearers, 
Esquire  Ebert,  assisted  by  Ben.  Cornelius  and  Wm.  Garrison. 

Chaplain  and  Orator. 

President  and  Officers  of  the  Society. 

Members  of  the  Association  who  came  to  the  Territory  previous  to  1841. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  acted  as  Standard  bearers: 

1840—  Amos  Cook,  Yamhill  Co.  \  1847— R.  V.  Short,  Clackamas  Co. 

1841 — W.  T.  Jones,  Yamhill  Co.  1848 — Horace  Lyman,  Washington  Co. 


1842— T.  J.  Shadden,  Yamhill  Co. 
1843— N.  K.  Sitton,  Yamhill  Co. 
1844 — John  Minto,  Marion  Co. 
1845— Stephen  Staats,  Polk  Co. 
1846— David  Guthrie,  Polk  Co. 


1849 — A.  P.  Ankeny,   Multnomah  Co. 
1850 — Werner  Breyman,  Marion  Co. 
1851  -T.  W.  Davenport,  Marion  Co. 
1852— E.  C.  Hadaway,  Yamhill  Co. 
1853— E.  W.  Phillips,  Yamhill  Co. 


NINTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

SERVICES  AT  THE  STAND, 

I. — Prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.  Neil  Johnson. 

2. — Opening  Address  by  the  President. 

3. — Music  by  the  Band. 

4. — Annual  Address,  by  Hon.  W.  C.  Johnson. 

5. — Music. 

6. — Recess  one  hour. 

7. — Occasional  Address  by  M.  Crawford,  on  Emigration  of  184: 


The  Camp  Fires  were  lighted  at  8  o'clock  P.  M.,  near  the  stand,  at  which 
place  the  Pioneers  were  present. 

The  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  then  elected  by  acclamation: 

Hon.  Medorum  Crawford,  President. 

Henry  Warren,  Esq.,  Vice  President. 

T.  L.  Davidson,  Secretary. 

J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer. 

W.  H.  Reese,  Cor.  Secretary. 

John  Catlin,  F.  X.  Mathieu  and  Jos.  Watt,  Directors. 

The  year   1855   was  included  by  the  Association,  and  all  persons   born  or 
coming  into  Oregon  or  Washington  Territory  are  made  eligible  to  membership. 

The  Board  of  Directors  was  authorized  to  incorporate  the  Oregon  Pioneer 
Association. 

The  Treasurer's  report  was  examined  and  approved. 

The  following  bills  of  expense  for  the  year  1881  were  presented  to  the  Board, 
examined  and  ordered  paid: 

J.  M.  Bacon,  two  receipt  books,  5oc  each $     I  oo 

J.  M.  Bacon,  mending  banners 50 

J.  M.  Bacon,  expenses  as  Treasurer 5  oo 


$     6  50 

T.  L.  Davidson,  three  days  employed  as  acting  Secretary $     7  50 

T.  L.  Davidson,  moving  Pioneer  banners  to  McMinnville 250 

$  10  oo 


NINTH     ANNUAL    RE-UNION.  7 

F.  J.  Babcock,  boxing  and  packing  frames  and  mending  banners   $     4  25 

E.  M.  Waite,  printing  200  reports $     2  75 

E.  M.  Waite,  printing  200  ball  tickets I  oo 

E.  M.  Waite,  printing  1000  transactions 123  oo 


$126  75 

Medorum  Crawford,  bill $  8  50 

F.  X.  Matthieu,  expenses  as  Director 10  oo 

Jos.  Watt,  expenses  as  Director 10  oo 

Henry  Warren,  expenses  as  Director 10  oo 

Medorum  Crawford,  expenses  as  President 10  oo 


$  48  50 

Total  expenses  year  ending  June  15,  1881 $196  oo 

INCOME. 

Balance  in  Treasurer's  hands   $  75  40 

T.  L.  Davidson,  as  acting  Secretary,  received  June  15,  1881,  for  dues, 

membership  fees,  and  sale  of  books $149  50 

Which  sum  was  turned  over  to  Treasurer,  making  total  income  of  Asso 
ciation,  in  hands^of  Treasurer $224  90 

Paid  out  by  Treasurer 196  oo 

Leaving  balance  in  hands  of  Treasurer $  28  90 

The  Secretary  was  authorized  by  the  Board  to   purchase  any  necessary  sta 
tionery  for  use  in  his  office. 

MEDORUM  CRAWFORD, 

President. 
T.  L.  DAVIDSON,  Secretary. 


NINTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 


TREASURER'S  REPORT. 


OREGON  CITY,  June  14,  1881. 
To  the  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

I  again  submit  for  your  consideration  the  condition  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
Association,  for  the  year  ending  June,  1881: 

1880.  RECEIPTS. 

June  15,  To  balance  on  hand  as  per  report $  15  07 

To  amount  received  from  ball 150  oo 

"  collected  by  Bacon 72  50 

"  "  Zeiber  31  oo 

"  "  Brown,  1879 600 

"  "  Brown,  1880 6  oo 

June  17,        "  received  from  J.  H.  B.,  from  Salem.. 10  oo 

$290  57 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Paid  Warrant  No.  I,  E.  M.  Waite $100  oo 

"         "     2,  G.  H.  Himes n  75 

"            '«         '•     3,  Niles 400 

"         "4,  Morse 18  50 

"         ''5,  Oregonian 2  25 

«'             "         "     6,  J.  H.  Brown 300 

"             "         "      7,  Berger 3  oo 

"         "     8,  Waite,  telegraph I  50 

"         "     9,  J.  H.  Brown,  stationery 21  45 

"             "         "    10,  J.  H.  Brown,  postage   410 

"             "         "    n,  Hotel,   Pettigrove 2000 

"             "         "    12,  Postage  account,  J.  H.  B 300 

"             "         "    13,  Waite,  old  account 20  12 

"    14,  J.  T.  Williams 250 

Amount  to  balance 75  40 

$290  57 

1881. 

June  15,  To  balance  on  hand  (which  was  stolen  at  the  time  of 

the  robbery,  but  I  have  replaced  it) $  75  40 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  M.  BACON,    Treasurer. 


OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


BY    HON.    MEDORUM    CRAWFORD. 


Pioneers  of  Oregon,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

From  year  to  year  at  our  annual  reunions  you  have  been  entertained  with 
history  and  incidents  of  successive  emigrations  from  1843  to  1848.  No  one  has 
volunteered  to  tell  you  of  the  little  party  who  crossed  the  Rocky  mountains  in 
1842,  and  fearing  that  the  future  historian,  looking  through  the  records  of  this 
society  for  information  concerning  the  earliest  emigrants,  will  conclude  that  the 
few  allusions  made  to  our  party  were  too  unimportant  to  find  a  place  in  history, 
I  have,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  few  comrades  left  of  that  year's  emigration, 
undertaken  to  furnish  for  your  entertainment  and  for  the  records  of  our  Society 
an  address  on  that  subject. 

Conscious  of  my  inability  to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  I  undertake  it  with  re 
luctance,  hoping  that  duty  will  never  again  demand  of  me  a  service  which 
I  am  so  incompetent  to  perform. 

Your  occasional  addresses  descriptive  of  the  different  emigrations  from  year 
to  year  have  been  delivered  by  able  men  who,  in  the  full  maturity  of  their  man 
hood  at  the  time  of  which  they  spoke  could  readily  call  to  mind  incidents  in  which 
they  were  principal  actors,  and  history  which  they  helped  to  make;  while  I  must 
speak  of  what  transpired  thirty-nine  years  ago,  when  I  was  little  more  than  a 
boy  in  years,  and  less  than  the  average  boy  in  experience.  A  good  memory  and 
vivid  imagination  would  aid  "hie  much,  as  it  has  others  on  similar  occasions,  but 
unfortunately  I  have  neither,  and  therefore  can  only  present  to  you  to-day  a  few 
simple  facts  and  incidents  without  embellishment,  unvarnished,  unadorned.' 

In  the  spring  of  1842,  Dr.  Elijah  White,  an  old  acquaintance  of  our  family, 
who  had  spent  three  years  in  Oregon,  connected  with  the  Methodist  Mission, 
visited  my  father's  house  in  the  village  of  Havana,  in  the  State  of  New  York,, 
and  told  us  of  Oregon,  its  rich  soil,  mild  climate  and  beautiful  scenery. 


10  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

He  had  just  been  appointed  "Sub- Agent  of  Indian  Affairs  West  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,"  and  was,  I  believe,  the  first  Indian  agent  ever  appointed  by  our 
Government  for  the  Pacific  Coast. 

He  being  about  to  start  overland  to  Oregon,  I  at  once  decided  to  accompany 
him,  and  on  the  i;th  day  of  March,  with  Dr.  White,  Nathaniel  Crocker,  Alex 
ander  McKay  and  John  McKay,  left  my  home  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  never 
previously  having  been  out  of  my  native  State.  The  McKays  were  natives  of 
Oregon,  brothers  of  Dr.  William  McKay,  known  by  many  of  you.  The  three 
brothers  had  been  sent  east  by  their  father,  Thomas  McKay,  to  be  educated, 
and  William  was  then  attending  the  medical  college  at  Geneva,  New  Yoik. 

Traveling  by  stages  and  steamboats  via  Seneca  Lake,  Lake  Erie,  the  Ohio, 
Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers  it  took  us  thirty  days,  not  including  stoppages, 
to  reach  Independence,  Missouri,  the  then  extreme  frontier  town  and  starting 
point  for  Rocky  Mountain  and  Santa  Fe  trading,  trapping  and  hunting  expedi 
tions. 

Stopping  several  days  in  St.  Louis,  we  made  the  acquaintance  of  William 
Sublett,  who  for  many  years  had  been  engaged  in  trapping  and  trading  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  from  whom  we  gained  much  valuable  information  concerning 
the  country  over  which  were  to  travel,  the  Indian  tribes  and  the  proper  outfit  for 
our  journey. 

On  the  first  of  May  we  arrived  at  Independence,  where  we  found  several  men 
waiting  and  some  families  camped  in  the  vicinity,  and  day  by  day  the  number 
increased  until  the  i6th,  when  the  company,  numbering  one  hundred  and  five 
in  all,  fifty-one  of  whom  were  men  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  started  with  six 
teen  wagons  and  a  number  of  cattle,  on,  to  us,  an  unknown  and  almost  track 
less  prairie. 

For  myself,  having  nothing  to  lose,  and  knowing  nothing  of  the  responsibilities 
of  family  or  dependents,  I  had  but  little  thought  but  for  the  adventures  and  ad 
vantages  offered  by  a  new  countryjbut  after  experiencing  and  realizing  the  dan 
gers  and  privations  to  which  we  were  subjected,  I  have  often  wondered  how 
those  having  wives  and  children  dependent  upon  their  care  and  protection  could 
venture  on  so  blind  and  hazardous  a  journey. 

Not  one  of  our  party  had  ever  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  only  Dr. 
Whi'te  and  the  two  McKays  had  ever  seen  Oregon. 

A  man  of  our  party  named  Coats  had  some  years  before  been  as  far  as  Green 
river  on  a  hunting  and  trapping  expedition.  Him  we  selected  as  a  guide,  and 
as  we  had  no  track  to  follow  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  ride  in  advance  and 
constantly  in  sight  of  the  foremost  wagon. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  II 

On  the  fifth  day  we  buried  a  child  of  Judge  Lancaster's,  and  nine  days  later 
the  failing  health  of  Mrs.  Lancaster  compelled  the  judge  to  abandon  the  trip, 
and  he  was  accompanied  back  to  the  Kansas  river  by  Dr.  White  and  two  or 
three  others,  who  overtook  the  company  some  three  days  after.  Some  five  or 
six  years  later  Judge  Lancaster  came  to  Oregon,  and  now  lives  in  Washington 
Territory. 

Some  week  or  ten  days  after  starting  we  were  overtaken  by  an  invalid  gentle 
man  named  Bishop,  accompanied  by  Stephen  Meek,  brother  of  the  late  Col.  Jo. 
Meek.  Mr.  Bishop  was  far  gone  with  consumption,  so  weak  and  emaciated  as 
to  be  hardly  aj)le  to  sit  upon  his  horse;  yet  he  so  revived  by  mountain  air  and 
travel  that  he  reached  Fort  Vancouver,  from  which  he  embarked  for  the  Sand 
wich  Islands,  and  there  died. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  convey  to  you  any  definite  idea  of  the  diffi 
culties  and  dissensions  we  experienced.  No  party  had  ever  before  traveled  over 
that  wild  Indian  country  without  the  guidance  and  protection  of  some  experi 
enced  traders  or  hunters,  and  every  subsequent  emigration  has  had  the  benefit 
of  guides  and  guide  books  describing  the  route  and  country  to  be  passed  over, 
while  we  traveled  blindly  on,  not  knowing  when  we  started  in  the  morning 
where  we  would  find  grass  and  water  for  the  next  camp  or  at  what  moment  we 
might  encounter  a  band  of  hostile  Indians. 

The  first  excitement  we  had  in  camp  was  about  the  dogs.  It  was  found  that 
most  of  the  men  and  some  of  the  women  were  possessed  of  a  canine,  and  each 
individual  considered  their  personal  safety  and  future  welfare  dependent  on  the 
protection  these  animals  would  give  them  on  their  journey.  Each  owner  was 
re-idy  to  qualify  that  it  was  not  his  or  her  dog  that  commenced  the  quarrel  or 
raised  the  row  during  the  night.  While  it  was  apparent  to  all  that  dogs  in  the 
plural  were  a  nuisance,  still  each  person  maintained  that  one  good  dog  in  the 
camp  would  be  useful,  and  his  was  the  one.  After  much  talking  and  wrangling 
it  was  conceded  that  they  were  all  good  dogs,  but  like  all  other  luxuries  must 
be  dispensed  with  on  this  occasion  for  the  general  welfare,  and  scmewhere  about 
thirty  of  these  animals  were  shot,  after  which  quiet  reigned  for  a  time. 

Other  grievances,  however,  soon  presented  themselves.  All  sorts  of  imprac 
ticable  bargains,  promises  and  agreements  had  been  made  before  starting,  which, 
the  parties  were  unable  and  often  unwilling  to  perform,  and  overloaded  teams 
and  inadequate  provision  for  the  trip,  aggravated  by  the  fearful  storms  incident 
to  that  country  in  the  early  spring,  making  every  one  cold  and  miserable, 
seemed  to  render  all  harmony  and  kindly  feeling  impossible. 

We  were  about  three  weeks  reaching  the  South  Platte.  river,  where  we  found 


12  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

the  buffalo  in  great  abundance.  Day  after  day  we  drove  along,  as  it  were  in 
their  very  midst,  and  were  often  in  danger  of  being  run  over  by  them,  as  they 
went  thundering  across  our  way,  making  the  earth  tremble  as  they  ran.  The 
excitement  of  killing  these  animals  and  the  abundance  of  provisions  thus  pro 
cured,  together  with  the  improvement  in  the  weather,  to  some  extent  quieted  dis 
sensions,  diverf'ng  our  minds  for  the  time  from  the  fatigues  and  hardships  of 
the  journey. 

Fording  the  South  Platte  where  it  was  about  half  a  mile  wide  without  serious 
difficulty  and  crossing  over  some  eight  or  ten  miles  to  the  North  Platte  we  pur 
sued  our  way  over  the  route  familiar  to  all  emigrants  passing  Chi«mey  rock  and 
'Ash  Hollow  and  reaching  Fort  Laramie  about  the  last  of  June. 

Fort  Laramie,  so-called,  at  that  time  consisted  of  two  trading  posts,  situated 
about  one  mile  apart — one  on  Laramie  Fork,  belonging  to  the  American  Fur 
Company,  who  kept  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  men  employed,  hunting  and 
trading  with  the  Indians.  The  other  post,  on  Platte  river,  belonged  to  Sybile 
&  Richard,  and  employed  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  in  like  manner.  The  trade 
was  mainly  for  buffalo  robes,  and  carried  on  during  the  fall  and  early  winter 
only.  When  the  trading  season  closed  in  February,  barges  were  built  of  cot- 
tonwood  lumber,  sawed  with  whip  saws,  on  which  the  buffalo  robes  were  trans 
ported  down  the  Platte  and  Missouri  rivers,  on  the  spring  floods,  to  St.  Louis. 
Each  spring  some  five  or  six  of  these  barges  were  loaded  with  buffalo  robes 
and  a  f«w  beaver  skins,  purchased  from  white  trappers  who  occasionally  came 
in  to  trade  for  supplies.  The  goods  to  supply  these  posts  were  purchased  in 
St.  Louis,  transported  by  steamers  to  the  mouth  of  Kansas  river,  and  from 
there  hauled  in  wagons  and  carts  to  the  posts. 

Thus  the  spring  and  summer  was  occupied  in  transporting  goods  and  robes 
to  and  from  the  posts,  leaving  only  men  enough  in  charge  to  guard  the  property 
during  the  summer. 

Here  we  remained  two  days  to  rest  and  recruit  our  failing  animals,  which 
were  becoming  tired  arid  footsore,  and  to  rest  our  own  weary  bodies,  in  more 
security  than  we  had  felt  since  leaving  Independence. 

Here  we  were  joined  by  my  friend  F.  X.  Mathieu  and  three  others,  and  I 
doubt  if  any  individuals  ever  started  to  Oregon  on  shorter  notice  or  with  less 
baggage.  It  was  a  marvelous  thing  to  my  inexperienced  mind  to  see  men 
coolly  mount  their  ponies,  and  with  no  provision  or  outfit  other  than  a  buffalo 
robe,  a  gun  and  a  tin  cup  each,  start  off  on  a  journey  to  an  unknown  country, 
hundreds  of  miles  distant,  requiring  long  months  of  travel.  From  Mr.  Mathieu 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  13 

I  obtained  the  above  information  concerning  the  trading  posts,  he  having  been 
some  time  in  the  employ  of  Sybile  &  Richard,  as  clerk. 

By  this  time  the  folly  and  recklessness  of  trying  to  travel  without  an  experi 
enced  guide  were  so  apparent  that  Dr.  White  entered  into  negotiations  with  Mr. 
Fitzpatrick,  who  happened  to  be  at  Laramie.  After  considerable  hesitation  he 
consented  to  accompany  us  as  far  as  Fort  Hall  for  $500.  This  gave  us  more 
confidence  than  we  had  hitherto  felt,  and  we  started  out  with  renewed  energy 
and  hope. 

No  wagons  had  ever  traveled  beyond  Laramie,  and  although  Mr.  Fitzpatrick 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  trails  and  bridle  paths,  it  was  often  difficult  to 
find  suitable  passes  and  fords  for  our  teams 

About  the  middle  of  July  we  reached  the  Sweetwater,  where  our  first  serious 
accident  occurred.  A  young  man  named  Bailey,  walking  into  camp  after  a 
long  and  weary  day's  travel,  passed  behind  a  wagon  just  as  the  owner  of  the 
wagon  drew  a  blanket  from  the  front  and  caused  a  rifle  which  was  lying  in  the 
wagon  to  discharge.  The  ball  passing  out  through  the  hind  gate,  struck  Bailey 
in  a  vital  part,  causing  his  death  in  a  few  minutes.  He  was  wrapped  in  his 
buffalo  robe  and  buried  near  Independence  rock,  no  indication  of  his  grave 
being  left  visible,  lest  the  Indians  should  discover  and  disturb  his  remains. 
Poor  Bailey!  none  knew  his  history,  and  so  far  as  I  know,  neither  kith  nor  kin 
was- ever  informed  of  the  circumstances  of  his  melancholy  end. 

While  our  company  were  camped  near  the  Devil's  Gate,  on  Sweetwater,  we 
were  surprised  by  some  two  hundred  Sioux  Indians  bringing  in  as  prisoners, 
each  mounted  behind  a  painted  warrior.  Messrs.  Hastings  and  Lovejoy,  whom 
they  had  captured  on  Independence  Rock,  where  they  were  engaged  in  in 
scribing  their  names,  as  many  others  had  done  before  them.  These  gentlemen, 
with  their  horses  and  equipments,  were  at  once  given  up,  and  the  Indians,  after 
receiving  some  trifling  presents,  left  us  unmolested  to  pursue  our  journey. 

While  on  the  Sweetwater  we  spent  several  days  hunting  buffalo  and  drying 
meat,  as  we  were  told  by  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  that  we  would  soon  be  out  of  their 
range.  The  meat  being  cut  in  thin  slices  was  dried  in  the  sun,  sometimes  by 
being  hung  outside  of  the  wagon  covers  when  traveling.  On  our  way  up  the 
Sweetwater  we  saw  several  small  bands  of  Indians  passing  in  different  directions, 
and  on  one  occasion  we  came  upon  a  village  estimated  by  Fitzpatrick  to  contain 
from  four  to  five  thousand  inhabitants.  From  them  we  obtained  ponies  and 
buffalo  robes  on  very  favorable  terms,  the  Indians  showing  no  disposition  to 
molest  or  annoy  us. 

About  the  ist  of  August  we  came  to   Green  river,  where  the  lateness  of  the 


14  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

season,  the  condition  of  our  animals  and  the  scarcity  of  provisions  admonished 
us  of  the  necessity  of  abandoning  every  article  we  could  possibly  get  along 
without.  This  brought  on  serious  discussion.  The  idea  of  throwing  away  the 
old  chairs,  feather  beds,  earthen  dishes  and  heavy  cooking  utensils  excited  the 
wives,  while  the  men  hesitated  long  before  they  could  consent  to  part  with  their 
wagons,  harness,  ox  yokes,  and  chains,  with  little  hope  of  being  able  to  replace 
them  at  their  destination.  However,  the  necessity  was  so  urgent  and  the  dan 
ger  so  great  that  after  long  and  painful  meditation  about  one-half  the  wagons 
were  dismantled  and  portions  of  them  used  to  make  pack  saddles. 

My  old  friend  Shadden  here,  had  as  fine  a  six-mule  team  and  wagon  as  ever 
was  driven  out  of  Missouri,  and  by  care  and  skill  had  kept  everything  about  it 
in  perfect  order;but  whenhe  felt  that  the  lives  of  his  family  depended  on  hasten 
ing  forward  he  sacrificed  his  all,  as  it  were,  as  readily  as  his  faithful  wife  did 
hsr  only  chair,  which  was  so  comfortable  by  the  camp  fire  at  evening. 

Horses,  rriules  and  oxen  were  packed  with  such  clothing,  utensils  and  provi 
sions  as  were  indispensable  for  our  daily  wants,  and  with  heavy  hearts  many 
articles  of  comfort  and  convenience,  which  had  been  carefully  carried  and  cared 
for  on  the  long  journey,  were  left  behind. 

About  the  middle  of  August  we  arrived  at  Fort  Hall,  then  an  important  trad 
ing  post  belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Co. 

From  Capt.  Grant,  his  officers  and  employes,  we  received  such  favors  and 
assistance  as  can  only  be  appreciated  by  worn  out  and  destitute  emigrants. 

Here  the  remaining  wagons  were  left  and  our  company,  no  longer  attempting 
to  keep  up  an  organization,  divided  into  small  parties  each  traveling  as  fast  as 
their  circumstances  would  permit,  following  the  well-beaten  trail  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Co.  to  Fort  Walla  Walla  now  Wallulla. 

The  small  party  to  which  I  was  attached  was  one  month  traveling  from  Fort 
Hall  to  Dr.  Whitman's,  where  we  were  most  hospitably  received  and  supplied 
with  flour  and  vegetables  in  abundance,  a  very  acceptable  change  after  subsisting 
almost  entirely  on  buffalo  meat  from  Laramie  to  Fort  Hall,  and  on  salmon  from 
Fort  Hall  to  Whitman's.  In  fact  there  had  not  been  in  my  mess  a  mouthful  of 
bread  since  leaving  Laramie. 

When  we  arrived  at  Dr.  Whitman's  he  was  preparing  to  cross  the  Rocky 
Mountains  on  his  way  to  Washington,  and  induced  Gen.  Lovejoy  to  accompany 
him.  Both  returned  with  the  immigration  the  following  year. 

From  Walla  Dr.  White  and  some  others  took  passage  down  the  Columbia 
river  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Go's,  boats.  Others  pursued  the  journey  by  land  to 
The  Dalles,  and  there  embarked  in  boats  or  canoes,  and'  still  others  and  the 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  15 

larger  portion  of  the  emigrants  crossed  the  Cascade  mountains  on  the  old 
Indian  trail. 

From  Fort  Hall  to  the  Willamette  no  precaution  was  taken  against,  or  the 
slightest  apprehension  felt  of  Indian  hostility,  nor  were  we  in  any  instance  mo 
lested  by  them;  on  the  contrary,  they  furnished  us  with  salmon  and  game  and 
rendered  us  valuable  assistance  for  very  trifling  rewards. 

From  Walla  Walla  to  the  Willamette  falls  occupied  about  twenty  days,  and, 
all  things  considered,  was  the  hardest  part  of  the  entire  journey — what  with 
the  drifting  sands,  rocky  cliffs,  and  rapid  streams  along  the  Columbia  river,  and 
the  gorges,  torrents,  and  thickets  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  it  seems  incredible 
how,  with  our  worn  out  and  emaciated  animals,  we  ever  reached  our  destina 
tion. 

On  the  5th  day  of  October  our  little  party,  tired,  ragged  and  hungry,  arrived 
at  the  falls,  now  Oregon  City,  where  we  found  the  first  habitations  west  of  the 
Cascade  mountains.  Here  several  members  of  the  Methodist  Mission  were 
located,  and  a  saw  mill  was  being  erected  on  the  island. 

Our  gratification  on  arriving  safely  after  so  long  and  perilous  a  journey,  was 
shared  by  these  hospitable  people,  each  of  whom  seemed  anxious  to  give  us 
hearty  welcome  and  render  us  every  assistance  in  their  power. 

From  the  falls  to  Vancouver  was  a  trackless  wilderness,  communication  being 
only  by  the  river  in  small  boats  and  canoes.  Toward  Salem  no  sign  of  civiliza 
tion  existed  until  we  reached  the  French  prairie,  where  a  few  farms  near  the 
river  were  cultivated  by  former  employes  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

West  of  the  falls  some  fifteen  miles  was  Tualatin  plains,  where  a  few  settlers, 
mostly  from  Red  river,  had  located. 

Within  the  present  limits  of  Yamhill  county,  the  only  settlers  I  can  remem 
ber  were  Sidney  Smith,  Amos  Cook,  Francis  Fletcher,  James  O'Neil,  Joseph 

McLaughlin, Williams,  Louis  LaBoute  and  George  Gay.     There  may  have 

b?en  one  or  two  more,  but  I  think  not.  South  of  George  Gay's  on  the  west  end  of 
Salem  on  the  east  side  of  the  Willamette  river,  there  were  no  settlements  in  the 
territory. 

There  were  in  the  valley  some  twelve  or  fifteen  Methodist  Missionaries,  most 
of  them  having  families,  under  the  general  superintendence  of  Rev.  Jason  Lee. 
Some  of  them  were  living  at  the  falls,  some  at  Salem,  and  some  at  the  Mission 
farm  ten  miles  below  Salem,  opposite  the  place  now  known  as  Wheatland.  At 
these  places,  especially  the  falls  and  Salem,  many  improvements  were  being 
made,  and  employment  was  given  at  fair  wages  to  all  who  desired  work.  Pay- 


l6  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

ment  was  made  in  lumber  and  flour  trom  their  mills  at  Salem,  cattle  and  horses 
from  their  herds,  and  orders  on  the  mission  stores  at  the  falls,  kept  by  Hon. 
George  Abernethy.  There  was  no  money  in  the  country,  in  fact  I  do  not  re_ 
member  seeing  a  piece  of  money  of  any  description  for  more  than  a  year  after 
my  arrival.  A  man's  financial  condition  was  based  upon  his  cattle,  horses,  and 
credit  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Co.'s.  or  Abernethy 's  books.  With  these  he  could 
procure  everything  that  was  purchasable  in  the  country. 

All  kinds  of  tools  and  implements  were  scarce  and  generally  of  the  most 
primitive  character. 

There  were  no  wagons  in  the  country.  Cares  of  the  rudest  manufacture  were 
in  general  use,  which  among  the  French  were  frequently  ironed  with  raw-hide. 
Ground  was  plowed  with  wooden  mould -boards,  grain  was  thrashed  in  rail  pens 
by  the  tramping  of  horses  and  cleaned  by  winnowing  in  the  wind,  and  trans 
ported  in  canoes  and  bateaux  to  Fort  Vancouver  to  market.  Most  of  our 
clothing  came  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  was  all  of  one  size  and  said  to  have 
been  made  to  fit  Dr.  McLaughlin,  who  was  a  very  large  man. 

Boots  and  shoes  were  more  difficult  to  be  obtained  than  any  other  article  of 
clothing;  as  for  myself  I  had  no  covering  for  my  feet  for  two  years,  either  sum 
mer  or  winter,  but  buckskin  moccasins,  still  I  never  enjoyed  batter  health  in  my 
lifev 

While  I  agree  with  the  generally  accepted  opinion  that  the  primary  object 
for  which  the  missionaries  were  sent  to  this  land  was  an  entire  failure,  still  I 
think  just- credit  is  not  generally  accorded  them  for  the  influence  their  presence 
and  establishment  here  had  in  hastening  and  facilitating  the  settlement  of  this 
country. 

It  was  as  a  missionary  that  Dr.  White  acquired  his  knowledge  of  Oregon, 
which  induced  him  to  apply  for,  and  enabled  him  to  obtain  a  kind  of  roving 
commission  as  Sub-Agent  of  Indians  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  a  few 
hundred  dollars  to  enable  him  to  make  a  trip  across  the  continent.  His  ap 
pointment  having  been  made  public  on  the  western  frontier,  he  gained  accession 
to  our  company,  while  his  presence  gave  us  confidence,  secured  to  us  considera 
tion  from  the  traders  and  above  all  enabled  us  to  have  a  guide  and  interpreter 
from  Fort  Laramie  to  Fort  Hall,  without  whom  we  could  not  have  accomplished 
the  journey.  'Ihe  departure  of  our  company  for  Oregon  was  extensively  pub 
lished  and  commented  on  throughout  the  western  States,  and  our  safe  arrival 
here  was  reported  by  Dr.  Whitman,  who  returned  that  fall  and  winter,  hence 
the  next  emigration  had  the  knowledge  that  one  company  had  safely  preceded 
them.  They  also  had  the  experience  and  advice  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  Gen. 
Lovejoy  to  guide  and  counsel  them  on  their  journey. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  17 

Thus  I  would  give  credit  indirectly  to  the  Methodist  Mission  for  the  success 
ful  journey  of  the  first  emigration  in  1842,  and  directly  to  Dr.  Whitman  for  the 
safe  arrival  of  the  large  and  influential  emigration  of  1843,  which  practically 
settled  the  question  of  occupation  by  American  citizens  of  this  then  disputed 
territory. 

I  would  much  like  to  speak  of  my  comrades  and  traveling  companions  per 
sonally  and  of  incidents  with  which  they  were  individually  connected,  but  I 
forbear,  lest  some  inappropriate  word  shall  inadvertently  fall  from  my  lips  or 
some  appropriate  word  shall  be  left  unsaid  tending  to  detract  from  the  credit 
due  alike  to  all  who  endured  the  hardships  and  shared  the  perils  of  our  journey 
and  thus  demonstrated  the  possibility  of  families  crossing  the  Rocky  mountains 
without  other  protection  than  their  own  strong  arms  and  sturdy  wills. 

I  would  also  like  to  speak  of  individual  acts  of  kindness  and  hospitality  ex 
tended  by  Dr.  McLaughlin,  the  missionaries,  and  the  settlers  generally,  but  it 
would  be  little  more  than  a  repetition  of  what  has  already  been  well  said  by 
those  who  have  addressed  you  on  former  occasions. 

Early  in  February  an  event  happened  which  cast  a  gloom  over  the  settlement. 
Dr.  White  and  Nathaniel  Crocker  of  our  emigration,  W.  W.  Raymond  of  the 
Methodist  Mission,  Cornelius  Rodgers,  a  teacher,  with  his  wife  and  her  young 
sister,  daughters  of  Rev.  David  Leslie,  were  on  their  way  to  the  falls  in  a  large 
Chinook  canoe,  manned  by  four  Indians.  Arriving  at  the  rapids  above  the  falls 
where  the  breakwater  and  basin  is  now  located,  they  attached  a  line  to  the 
canoe  as  was  the  custom,  and  Mr.  Raymond  and  two  Indians  walked  along  the 
rocks  to  hold  it  while  approaching  a  landing  place  just  above  the  falls  where 
the  saw  mill  now  stands  across  the  channel. 

As  the  canoe  came  alongside  a  log,  Dr.  White  stepped  out,  and  instantly  a 
strong  current  caught  the  stern  and  snatching  the  line  from  those  on  the  bank, 
carried  the  canoe  like  a  flash  over  the  falls  only  a  few  rods  distant. 

The  canoe  was  dashed  into  a  thousand  fragments,  and,  with  its  living  freight, 
swallowed  up  in  the  whirlpool  below. 

This  was  indeed  a  fearful  blow  to  our  little  colony.  As  the  sad  tidings  were 
carried  and  related  through  the  settlement,  all  business  was  suspended  and  gen 
eral  grief  and  sadness  pervaded  every  cabin. 

The  missionaries  mourned  the  irreparable  loss  of  Mr.  Rodgers  and  family, 
the  emigrants  especially  deplored  the  sad  fate  of  poor  Crocker,  whose  genial 
countenance  and  encouraging  words  had  done  so  much  to  lighten  the  burdens  of 
our  toilsome  journey. 

A  number  of  our  company,  probably  one-third,  dissatisfied   with  the  winter 


I  8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

and  not  willing  to  wait  and  see  what  the  summer  would  bring  forth — acting  on 
their  migratory  instincts — determined  early  in  the  spring  of  1843  to  go  to  Cali 
fornia.  It  was  said  of  some  of  those  that  they  never  remained  in  one  place 
longer  than  to  obtain  the  means  to  travel;  and  of  one  family  in  particular,  that 
they  had  practically  lived  in  the  wagon  for  more  than  twenty  years,  only  re- 
miining  in  one  locality  long  enough  to  make  a  crop,  which  they  had^done  in 
every  State  and  Territory  in  the  Mississippi  valley. 

Accordingly,  under  the  lead  of  L.  W.  Hastings,  they  set  out  as  soon  as  the 
weather  would  permit,  and,  after  encountering  some  difficulty  with  the  Indians, 
they  reached  Sacramento  Valley.  Among  this  party  was  Hon.  Nathan  Coombs, 
then  a  mere  boy,  who  afterwardi  became  a  large  land  owner  and  stock  raiser  in 
Napa  valley,  and  founder  of 'the  city  of  that  name.  Uncle  Tommy  Shadden, 
who  is  here  to-day,  was  also  of  that  party. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  those  of  our  party  who  remained  in  the  country  generally 
located  claims  in  different  sections  of  the  Willamette  valley,  and  laid  the  foun 
dations  for  homes  they  had  traveled  so  far  to  obtain.  These  claims  were  by 
common  consent  recognized  and  respected  without  other  protection  than  publi 
opinion  until  the  provisional  government  was  established,  which  provided  that 
non  residents  could  hold  claims  by  having  them  recorded  and  paying  five  dollars 
annually  into  the  territorial  treasury. 

The  emigration  of  1843  so  ^ar  eclipsed  our  little  company  in  numbers  and 
prominence,  that  they  are  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  "first  emigration,"  and 
this  feeble  effort  is  undertaken  solely  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  from  oblivion 
the  little  band  of  adventurers  who  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1842,  whose 
names  I  will  now  call. 

The  following  named  men  over  eighteen  years  of  age  composed  the  emigration 
of  1842: 


C.  T.  Arendell,  - 

John  Dearnn, 

S.  W.  Moss, 

James  Brown, 

John  Dobbinbess, 

J.  L.  Morrison, 

William  Brown, 

Samuel  Davis, 

Stephen  Meek, 

Gabriel  Brown, 

J.  R.  Robb, 

Alex.  McKay, 

Barn  urn,   -. 

Owen  Sumner, 

John  McKay, 

Hugh  Burns, 

T.  J.  Shadden, 

Walter  Pomeroy, 

G.  W.  Bellamy, 

AndreV  Smith, 

D  wight  Pomeroy, 

Bennett. 

A.  D.  Smith, 

J.  W.  Perry, 

Bennett,  Jr., 

Foster, 

Dutch  Paul, 

Bailey  (killed), 

John  Force, 

Adam  Storn, 

Nathaniel  Crocker, 

James  Force, 

Aaron  Towner, 

OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  19 

Nathan  Coombs,  Girtman,  Joel  Turnham, 

Patrick  Clark,  Gibbs,  Elijah  White, 

Alexander  Copeland,  L.  W.  Hastings,  David  Weston, 

A.  N.  CoatevS,  J.  M.  Hudspeath,  Darling  Smith, 

M.  Crawford,  John  Hofstetter,  A.  L.  Lovejoy, 

Allen  Davy,  Hardin  Jones.  Rubin  Lewis. 

As  before  related,  F.  X.  Matthieu  and  three  Frenchmen  whose  names  I  do 
not  remember,  joined  us  at  Laramie. 

Ten  families  remained  in  the  company  after  the  return  of  Judge  Lancaster. 

Of  the  men  named  I  know  o^  but  ten  now  living  in  this  State  and  adjoining 
Territories,  and  but  three  are  in  our  procession  to-day. 

When  the  time  shall  come  that  no  pioneer  of  1842  shall  be  left  to  carry  our 
banner  in  your  procession,  I  trust  your  Society  will  provide  that  our  sons  born 
in  Oregon  may  t£ke  our  places  and  that  our  banner  may  be  seen  in  your  ranks 
as  long  as  this  Association  may  exist. 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY    HON.    W.    C.   JOHNSON. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

I  desire  to  say  in  behalf  of  the  officers  of  our  Association  that  the}'  had  every 
reason  to  suppose  arrangements  were  made  a  year  since  for  better  entertainment 
than  will  be  afforded  you  during  the  time  occupied  by  the  annual  address. 
Rev.  J.  S.  Griffin,  who  came  to  Oregon  in  his  youthful  manhood  and  has  been 
an  active  participant  in  the  transactions  which  make  up  the  history  of  our  past, 
was  selected  for  the  work  of  this  hour  and  accepted  the  appointment.  Some  six 
weeks  since  he  notified  me  that  he  had  been  chosen  by  the  State  Temperance 
Alliance  as  a  delegate  to  the  National  Alliance,  which  meets  somewhere  east  of 
the  Mississippi  river  this  month,  and  that  he  probably  should  feel  it  his  duty  to 
accept  the  appointment  and  leave  the  pioneer  address  to  his  alternate.  I  wrote 
Mr.  Griffin  urging  him  to  remain  with  us,  and  go  east  afterwards.  I  heard 
nothing  about  him  until  about  three  weeks  since  I  saw  the  announcement  in  the 
newspapers  that  our  aged  friend  and  brother  had  actually  gone.  Capt.  Gilman's 
excursion  and  cheap  fares  were  attractions  not  to  be  resisted,  and  Griffin  is  not 
here.  I  am  sorry  for  you  and  the  officers  of  our  organization,  but  still  if  you 
can  endure  the  consequences,  I  will  have  to. 

I  desire  to  say  for  myself  that  I  have  read  the  constitution  of  this  Association, 
and  know  that  its  primary  object  is  to  collect  and  preserve  historical  facts  relat 
ing  to  Oregon  and  its  early  settlers.  And  you  naturally  expect  the  annual  ad 
dress  to  be  devoted  to  the  treatment  of  some  person,  period  or  topic  historically. 

But  three  weeks  time,  almost  entirely  taken  up  with  the  cares  of  business,  is 

«.> 
too  short  a  period  for  the  preparation  of  matter  for  such  an  address.     If  I  had 

an  entire  year,  by  no  means  too  short  a  space,  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  present 
some  matter  worthy  of  preservation.  But  in  the  short  time  which  has  fallen  to 
me  you  would  not  expect  me  to  do  better  than  to  try  and  interest  you  for  the 
moment,  and  leave  for  other  times  and  abler  hands  the  other  class  of  work. 

In  the  able  and  exceedingly  entertaining  "Occasional  Address"  delivered  by 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

ex-Senator  J.  W.  Nesmith,  at  the  annual  reunion  of  1875,  a  doubt  is  expressed 
as  to  whether  any  rational  motive  governed  the  early  settlers  of  the  northwest 
in  making  their  way  across  the  supposed  deserts  and  mountain  barriers  and 
through  tribes  of  treacherous  Indians  that  made  the  journey  so  tedious  and  dan 
gerous.  He  said:  "It  may  be  asked,  Why  did  such  men  peril  everything— 
burning  their  ships  behind  them,  exposing  their  helpless  families  to  the  possi 
bilities  of  massacre  and  starvation,  braving  death — and  for  what  purpose?  I 
am  not  quite  certain  that  any  rational  answer  to  that  question  will  ever  be 
given.  At  the  time  we  came  there  was  comparatively  little  known  of  the  pos 
sessions  to  which  we  had  disputed  title  on  this  coast.  Lewis  and  Claik  had 
only  beheld  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  river.  The  missionary  reports  were 
confined  principally  to  exaggerated  accounts  of  Indian  conversions,  while  other 
writings  upon  the  subject  of  Oregon  were  a  mixture  of  fiction  and  perverted  fact 
that  contained  no  definite  information  of  the  country  and  its  resources." 

I  was  but  a  boy  when  I  came  to  Oregon  in  1845,  and  deserve  no  credit  or 
blame  for  the  journey  made.  I  came  because  my  father  brought  me.  But 
even  then  at  the  age  of  12  I  had  read  much,  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  journal  and 
with  the  greatest  relish  had  perused  the  account  given  by  Hasting  and  Lovejoy, 
two  young  lawyers,  who  had  made  their  way  to  the  Pacific  in  1842-3,  and  pub 
lished  a  small  pamphlet  for  circulation  in  the  east.  I  well  remember  the  thrill 
ing  emotions  with  which  I  read  Mr.  Lovejoy's  account  of  his  capture  by  the 
Indians  at  "Independence  Roek,"  and  how  I  determined  if  we  ever  reached  that 
point  to  climb  that  rock  and  see  if  Lovejoy  had  indeed  inscribed  his  name  so 
high  on  that  imperishable  monument  as  represented.  I  have  very  vivid  recol 
lections  of  how  I  climbed  that  rock,  having  clandestinely  left  the  train  for  that 
purpose,  without  the  knowledge  of  my  parents;  and  how  it  was  as  I  stood  there 
gazing  at  the  names  of  Lovejoy  and  many  others,  unconscious  of  any  danger, 
my  back  came  suddenly  and  violently  in  collision  with  a  good  sized  sarvisberry 
bush,  wielded  by  an  irate  father,  who  had  been  sent  by  an  anxious  mother  to 
see  whether  her  eldest  son  had  not  been  captured  by  the  same  treacherous  and 
mercenary  savages  who  had  prevented  Mr.  Lovejoy  from  putting  the  final  "y" 
on  the  inscription  of  his  name.  That  bush  came  in  frequent  service  in  increas 
ing  the  speed  with  which  that  wayward  youth  returned  to  the  care  of  his  mother 
with  the  moving  train  of  wagons. 

Though  such  a  youth  and  many  others  like  him  who  came  west  under  control 
of  the  law  of  obedience  to  parents,  or  even  such  aimless,  reckless  and  homeless 
young  men  as  Mr.  Nesmith  describes  hiinself  to  have  been,  may  have  been 
lacking  in  rational  motive  for  the  journey,  it  has  not  seemed  to  me  necessary  to 
look  upon  the  great  body  of  the  pioneer  train  as  possessed  of  so  little  character 
and  purpose. 


22  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  a  wise  and  patriotic  chief  magistrate  of  the  United 
States.  In  connection  with  his  negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  Ter 
ritory  from  France,  which  was  consummated  as  early  as  1803,  he  planned  and 
accomplished  the  exploring  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  The  journal  of 
these  explorers  was  published  and  widely  read.  And  so  great  was  the  interest 
in  what  they  had  done  that  they  were  considered  worthy  of  great  honor.  Lewis 
was  made  Governor  of  the  Missouri  territory,  and  Clark  was  placed  in  command 
of  its  militia.  The  interest  awakened  in  Oregon  by  these  men  never  died  out 
along  the  western  border.  St.  Louis  became  the  headquarters  of  the  brave  and 
daring  Rocky  mountain  trappers,  hunters  and  traders,  who  gradually  extended 
their  operations  we^t  of  the  summit.  As  one  after  another  of  these  returned, 
the  accounts  they  gave  and  the  yarns  they  spun,  as  they  loafed  in  winter  around 
the  "Old  Green  Tree  Tavern"  in  St.  Louis  gradually  found  their  way  into  the 
papers,  and  were  taken  up  and  repeated  from  mouth  to  mouth  among  settlers 
up  and  down  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company 
had  for  many  years  been  carrying  on  its  business  in  the  Oregon  country,  and 
though  its  policy  was  not  to  encourage  the  settlement  of  the  country  by  Ameri 
cans,  or  at  all  by  an  agricultural  or  commercial  people,  much  information  about 
the  condition,  value  and  resources  of  the  land  found  its  way  into  common  chan 
nels  of  communication  with  the  public  from  returned  employes  and  independent 
trappers  who  sold  to  that  company  the  results  of  their  annual  toil.  From  1817 
to  1832,  Hall  J.  Kelley  published  pamphlets  and  memorialized  Congress  on  the 
subject  of  Oregon  settlement,  and  his  society  had  thirty-seven  agents  scattered 
over  the  Union.  Nothaniel  Wyeth  was  here  from  1832  to  1836.  Robert  Moore, 
Rev.  Clark  and  others  came  in  1839  and  1840  and  added  to  the  numbers  who 
were  sending  news  east  of  the  resources  of  the  Pacific  slope.  Rev.  Jason  Lee, 
an  honorable  and  truthful  man  had  reached  the  Willamette  valley  in  1834-5, 
and  while  his  views  of  the  effect  of  the  gospel  upon  tlie  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
Indians  of  the  country  may  have  been  colored  by  his  hopeful  enthusiasm,  and 
such  as  subsequent  events  and  experience  did  not  justify,  his  statements  about 
the  excellence  and  productive  value  of  the  country,  the  desirableness  of  the 
climate  and  the  propriety  of  the  country's  occupation  by  whites  were  widely 
disseminated  through  both  religious  and  secular  journals,  and  were  believed  by 
a  very  large  class  of  people.  Other  men,  both  lay  and  clerical,  had  been  in 
the  country  in  connection  with  the  Methodist  missions  before  1840,  and  were  in 
occasional  communication  with  friends  east.  Joseph  L  Meek  and  his  associates 
settled  in  the  Tualatin  plains  as  farmers  and  stock  growers  in  1840.  Dr. 
Marcus  Whitman  and  his  associates  of  the  Presbyterian  missions  were  calling 
the  attention  of  the  American  people  to  the  importance  of  settling  the  country, 
and  the  doctor  made  his  celebrated  journey  to  the  national  capital  to  brace  up 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  23 

Mr.  Webster  in  1841-2  in  his  negotiations  with  the  British  minister,  and  to  stir 
up  the  American  people  to  settle  the  country  and  save  it  from  the  grasp  of  the 
British  lion.  Benton  and  Lime,  senators  from  the  State  of  Missouri,  whose 
home  was  where  Lewis  and  Clark  had  flourished,  and  where  they  were  con 
stantly  familiarized  with  the  stories  of  the  returned  trappers,  were  actively  urg 
ing  Congress  to  make  promises  of  land  to  all  who  would  break  over  the  barriers 
of  mountain,  stream  and  desert  and  make  their  home  in  the  far  away  disputed 
section.  The  fact  that  the  country  was  in  dispute  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  awakened  wide  attention  and  interest.  I  know  that  things 
were  so  well  understood  about  the  prospective  growth  of  the  population  of  Ore 
gon  territory,  that  early  in  1844,  if  not  before  that  time,  the  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society,  of  New  York,  was  engaged  in  correspondence  with  Rev. 
Ezra  Fisher  and  Rev.  Hezekiah  Johnson  about  coming  to  the  Willamette  Valley 
to  preach  to  the  -white  people,  and  arrangements  being  completed  that  society 
sent  those  two  men  and  their  families  across  the  plains  with  the  emigration  of 
1845. 

The  spirit  of  adventure  and  discovery  which  seems  to  be  implanted  by  the 
Creator  in  certain  persons  in  all  ages,  which  enables  us  to  account  for  the 
crossing  of  the  Alleghany  mountains  by  Daniel  Boone  and  other  pioneers  who 
first  occupied  the  "bloody  ground"  of  the  then  west,  was  doubtless  in  a  large 
degree  developed  in  the  men  and  women  who  came  to  Oregon  in  the  "forties." 
But  I  am  convinced  from  the  facts  and  circumstances  already  briefly  alluded  to, 
as  well  as  others  that  might  be  spoken  of,  that  a  majority  of  the  leading  men 
were  moved  by  business  sagacity,  by  desire  for  health  improvement  by  desire 
for  pleasure  in  travel  and  above  all  by  a  lofty  and  patriotic  purpose  to  place  the 
country  actually  and  practically  in  American  hands  during  the  pending  nego 
tiations. 

The  speech  that  young  Peter  H.  Burnett  made  ot  Independence,  the  rendez 
vous  of  the  emigration  of  1843,  as  quoted  by  Mr.  Nesmith  in  his  address  before 
alluded  to,  gave  a  fair  resume  of  what  inspired  the  restless  throng  about  him. 
He  wanted  more  room,  better  and  broader  acres,  better"  health,  better  returns 
for  labor,  and  a  land  a  little  nearer  heaven  than  Missouri  then  was  in  which  to 
die.  But  he  also  pictured  how  with  their  trusty  rifles  they  would  drive  out  the 
British  usurpers  who  claimed  the  soil,  and  defend  the  country  from  the  avarice 
and  pretensions  of  :he  British  lion,  and  how  posterity  would  honor  them  for 
placing  the  fairest  portion  of  the  land  under  the  dominion  of  the  stars  and 
stripes.  And  so  that  company,  animated  by  much  of  the  same  spirit  that  pos 
sessed  their  fathers  in  the  war  of  the  revolution  and  the  subsequent  contest  of 
1812,  shouldered  their  trusty  rifles  and  took  up  their  line  of  march  to  find  the 


24  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

ancient  foe,  to  save  the  soil  for  Uncle  Sam,  and  to  make  for  themselves  and 
their  posterity  a  home  in  a  land  of  comfort,  peace  and  plenty.  There  were  few 
of  them  who  could  purchase  80  acres  of  land  then  to  be  entered  at  the  govern 
ment  price,  and  fewer  still  who  would  not  rather  earn  a  mile  square  of  better 
soil  by  a  healthful  and  entertaining  journey  of  seven  months  duration.  There 
were  among  them  lawyers,  doctors,  preachers,  mechanics,  artisans,  pedagogues, 
traders  and  speculators;  the  matronly  wife  and  mother,  the  coy  maiden,  and 
the  spruce  and  dapper  beau.  When  the  trains  of  1845  reached  the  Willamette 
with  their  important  freight,  including  a  much  greater  number  of  marriageable 
young  ladies  than  had  ever  before  reached  so  far  west,  I  remember  seeing  at 
least  one  young  man,  whose  name  appears  in  the  roll  of  1843,  resurrect  from 
some  place  in  his  log  cabin  the  swallow-tailed  coat,  broad  cloth  suit,  and 
patent-leather  boots,  which  had  graced  his  person  at  the  Presidential  receptions 
in  Washington  city,  before  he  left,  by  way  of  Independence,  for  the  far-off  Ore 
gon,  which  suit  he  used  as  a  Sunday  rig  in  exchange  for  the  buckskin  outfit 
with  which  he  followed  the  plow  on  week  days.  The  printer  and  printing 
press  found  their  way  hither  at  a  very  early  day — 1845.  In  fact  at  no  time 
after  1843  were  the  ingredients  of  a  well  organized  civilized  community  lacking 
among  the  American  settlements  west  of  the  Cascade  mountains. 

The  argument  and  conclusion  from  all  this  is  strong  and  firm  that  the  early 
settlers  of  this  part  of  our  common  country  were  men  of  average  intelligence  and 
information;  that  they  were  satisfied  they  were  coming  to' no  mean  land;  that 
they  had  faith  in  the  will  of  the  general  government  to  reward  them  with  land 
for  their  sacrifices  in  getting  here;  and  that  they  were  brave  enough  and  patri 
otic  enough  to  insist  upon  the  right  of  Americans  to  hold  the  country,  and  aid 
by  the  force  of  their  immediate  presence  in  having  the  long  pending  dispute 
between  the  two  governments  settled,  as  it  finally  was,  35  years  ago  this  day, 
in  favor  of  the  United  States.  There  were- doubtless  among  the  early  settlers  a 
few  men  who  had  left  the  abodes  of  civilization  in  the  east  to  escape  just  pun 
ishment  for  crime,  and  rare  cases  of  those  who  had  become  embittered  by  do 
mestic  trouble,  and  left  their  wives  and  children  to  come  to  this  land  where  it 
indeed  rains,  but  where  the  showers  do  not  consist  of  broom  handles,  fire  shovels 
and  frying  pans  in  the  hands  of  recalcitrant  spouses,  as  we  read  was  the  case  a 
few  years  since  in  the  State  of  Indiana  and  surrounding  sections.  And  even  some 
such  men,  under  the  benign  influences  of  this  milder  climate,  became  a  second 
time  married,  and  were  and  are  orderly,  useful  citizens  and  prosperous  and  suc 
cessful  in  the  acquisition  of  property  and  the  comforts  of  a  civilized  life.  And 
it  is  only  upon  tha  death  of  such  settler  that  the  existence  of  the  first  wife  be 
comes  known,  when  she  comes  forward  to  claim  the  "wife's  half"  of  the  dona- 


\  ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  25 

tion  claim,  and  our  courts  are  now  wrestling  with  the  question  as  to  whether 
Congress  provided  for  the  wife  who  was  left  in  the  east  or  the  Oregon  wife  who 
lived  on  the  land  and  is  named  in  the  papers.  Two  or  three  such  cases  have 
come  under  my  observation  in  my  professional  life.  And  the  aimless,  adven 
turous  class  who  came  because  they  could,  who  took  a  leap  in  the  dark  and 
landed  in  the  Willamette  valley,  who  were  soldiers  of  fortune  without  any 
clearly  defined  purpose  or  motive,  found  unexpected  processes  of  development 
and  growth  in  the  new  settlements,  and  opportunities  for  useful  living  such  as 
they  had  little  dreamed  of  in  the  period  of  adolescense. 

Gen.  J.  W.  Nesmith  is  perhaps  the  most  notable  instance  of  that  character. 
Some  of  his  friends  have  demurred  at  the  picture  he  has  drawn  of  himself  in 
his  account  of  the  company  which  came  across  the  plains  in  1843.  One  part  of 
them  insist  that  he  had  viewed  the  field  in  Iowa  and  Missouri  and  having  found 
there  was  at  least  one  young  man  in  those  regions  of  greater  capacity  and  force 
of  intellect  than  himself,  and  like  Caesar,  preferring  to  be  "king  pollywog  in  a 
puddle  rather  than  second  whale  in  the  ocean,"  he  struck  out  for  Oregon,  to 
become  monarch  of  all  he  could  survey,  and  more  too;  to  forever  subdue  and 
Conklingize  the  region  he  knew  would  be  the1  empire  of  the  Pacific.  Others,  in 
searching  for  a  motive  for  his  coming,  suggest  that  having  heard  of  the  great 
success  which  had  crowned  the  efforts  of  the  Methodist  and  Catholic  mission 
aries  in  converting  the  Indians,  and  believing  there  was  little  to  hope  for  in  his 
case  from  the  labors  of  the  Iowa  and  Missouri  divines,  he  concluded  to  cross  the 
mountains  and  place  his  hardened  heart  under  the  droppings  of  the  santuary  in 
the  Webfoot  land.  The  poor  success  which  attended  the  efforts  of  the  mission 
aries,  weary  with  their  labors  among  the  Indians,  when  they  sought  to  soften 
the  hard  heart  of  the  newly  arrived  immigrant  is  supposed  to  account  in  some 
degree  for  the  vigorous  thrusts  made  at  the  memory  of  these  missionaries  in  the 
annual  address  of  1880.  Whether  either  of  these  theories  is  correct  I  cannot 
decide. 

But  I  do  know,  taking  Gen.  Nesmith's  own  theory  to  be  the  correct  one,  that 
his  naturally  vigorous  mind  and  body  were  soon  called  into  requisition  by  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  since  then  as  judge,  as  soldier  and  commander,  as  lawyer, 
as  member  of  the  provisional  legislature,  as  a  successful  farmer  and  stock 
grower,  as  member  of  the  U»  S.  House  of  Representatives,  as  United  States 
Senator,  as  citizen,  neighbor,,  friend,  he  has  rendered  service,  the  value  of  which 
cannot  be  measured  by  any  human  mode  of  computation,  and  the  effects  of 
which  will  be  seen  in  the  ever-increasing  prosperity,  glory  and  renown  of  this 
State  in  particular,  and  of  the  United  States  in  general. 

No  man  would  undertake  and  prosecute  to  a  successful  outcome  such  a  journey 
3 


26  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

as  the  emigrants  of  the  "forties"  did,  unless  he  had  energy,  courage,  persever 
ance  and  intelligence.  In  addition  to  these  qualities,  which  may  be  grouped 
under  the  head  of  natural  sense  an  1  vigor,  most  of  the  pioneers  were  possessed 
of  a  good  moral  character,  and  many  of  them  were  persons  of  religious  fervor 
and  devotion,  who  did  not  leave  their  religion  east  of  the  mounts  nor  forget  that 
profession  and  practice  should  be  consistent  with  each  other.  Crime  was  almost 
unknown.  A  little  square  log  jail,  which  was  built  on  the  rocks  in  Oregon 
City  between  Fifth  and  Sixth  streets,  with  the  money  obtained  from  the  Young 
estate,  large  enough  to  hold  three  or  four  persons,  was  the  only  prison  for  several 
years,  and  it  was  almost  always  empty.  I  know  as  late  as  1847  about  its  sole 
occupant  was  a  man  named  G-oodhue,  who  was  subject  to  occasional  spells  of 
insanity,  and  was  confined  there  for  temporary  protection  to  himself  and  his 
neighbors.  The  jail  was  finally  burned  and  Goodhue  got  well. 

The  possession  of  these  qualities  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  these  people  at 
once  began  laying  the  foundations  of  society  with  a  view  to  the  future.  Schools 
were  established,  debating  clubs,  lyceums  and  singing  schools  were  formed, 
houses  of  worship  were  erected,  farms  were  opened,  homes  built,  mills  put  in 
operation,  and  commercial  enterprises  planned  and  inaugurated. 

That  these  qualities  were  possessed  in  a  high  degree  is  also  demonstrated  by 
the  fact  that  these  same  pioneers,  who  in  the  early  organization  of  the  provis 
ional  government,  became  the  leaders  of  the  people  in  the  various  departments 
of  government  and  business,  maintained  their  position  and  control  in  a  very  large 
measure  after  the  great  influx  of  .people  consequent  upon  the  ^rold  discoveries 
and  even  the  building  of  the  overland  railroad.  In  the  Legislature,  on  the 
bench,  at  the  bar,  in  the  pulpit,  in  associations,  grand  lodges,  conventions,  con 
ferences  and  convocations,  in  the  constitutional  convention  and  in  congress,  the 
pioneer  element  has  been  strong  and  vigorous  and  at  times  almost  controlling. 
Nearly  all  our  Supreme  Judges  have  been  pioneer  members  of  the  bar.  Pioneer 
merchants  and  traders  still  hold  sway  in  Portland  and  other  cities  and  towns. 
And  in  the  State  Agricultural  society  how  shall  we  get  along  when  Bybee,  Wait, 
Minto,  Wilkins,  Rinearson,  Barlow,  Clark,  and  a  host  of  pioneer  farmers  and 
stock  growers  shall  have  passed  into  the  shadows  which  separate  the  next  world 
from  this  ? 

This  brings  me  to  another  point  in  the  thought  of  the  hour;  that  such  a  grand, 
patriotic,  intelligent  and  forcible  race  of  progenitors  would  leave  their  mark 
upon  the  second  generation;  the  children  brought  across  the  plains  and  those 
begotten  in  the  land.  Do  these  maintain  the  rank  attained  by  their  fathers  and 
mothers  in  the  various  walks  of  life,  and  make  improvement  accordieg  to  the 
better  opportunities  afforded  them,  or  do  they  find  themselves  pushed  one  side, 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

or  walked  over  by  the  young  and  vigorous  life  with  which  our  State  is  being  so 
rapidly  filled  and  peopled  from  the  older  States  and  Europe? 

While  you  stop  to  think  of  the  answer  to  this  question,  names  long  familiar 
in  the  pioneer  catalogue  begin  to  repeat  themselves  in  your  presence,  and  you 
only  have  to  look  around  you  to  realize  that  the  daughters  and  sons  of  the  pion 
eers  have  already  deserved  and  secured  a  prominent  recognition  and  place  in 
the  society  and  business  and  political  organizations  of  these  later  years.  In  the 
scripture  account  of  the  pioneers  who  went  out  from  the  garden  of  Eden,  and 
the  worthies  who  afterward  in  the  cradle  of  eastern  civilization,  obeyed  the 
divine  command  to  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  many  things  are  related 
of  an  ordinary  nature,  but  the  crowning  glory  of  the  career  of  each  is  embodied 
in  the  statement  of  the  fact  that  "he  begot  sons  and  daughters."  The  same 
may  be  truthfully  related  of  the  worthies  who  came  in  the  "forties"  to  this 
western  shore.  While  in  this  free  land  we  have  no  blooded  aristocracy,  and 
only  glory  in  the  true  distinction  which  grows  out  of  cultivated  and  sanctified 
intelligence  and  usefulness — the  highest  manhood  and  womanhood  being  that 
which  connects  the  greatest  knowledge  and  purest  moral  character  with  the 
most  earnest  endeavor  to  benefit  and  elevate  mankind — still  it  is  no  mean  in 
heritance  to  a  young  man  or  young  woman  in  New  England  to  be  able  to  trace 
his  lineage  to  the  "Mayflower"  company  who  planted  on  the  bleak  shores  of 
?\ew  England  the  ideas  and  principles  of  government  that  shall  dominate  this 
continent.  So  I  believe  one,  two  and  three  hundred  years  from  now,  in  this 
beautiful  and  glorious  land  of  ours  there  will  be  thousands  to  have  their  ambi 
tion  stimulated  and  their  pride  in  true  and  patriotic  and  virtuous  manhood  and 
womanhood  enhanced  by  the  tradition  that  their  ancestors  came  in  the  earliest 
days,  in  prairie  schooners,  on  horseback  and  on  foot  to  people  and  save  this  land 
for  America  and  liberty;  to  plant  here  the  highest  civilization  of  churches,  col 
leges,-  the  common  school  and  government  of  the  people,  by  their  own  freely 
chosen  men  and  machinery. 

Will  you  bear  with  me  a  few  minutes  while  I  mention  a  few  pioneer  names 
that  have  lived  or  are  now  living  in  the  second  and  third  generations,  already  ex 
hibiting  iorce  ot  character  and  culture  that  keep  them  in  the  front  rank  in  the 
onward  progress  of  the  State  ? 

First  in  our  regard  and  reverence  in  the  various  departments  of  the  State  we 
usually  place  the  judiciary. 

The  name  of  Waldo  so  familiar  to  us  all,  now  honors  and  is  honored  by  a  seat 
on  the  Supreme  Bench.  John  B.  Waldo,  son  of  Daniel  Waldo,  in  a  career  at  the 
bar  of  about  ten  years,  attracted  general  attention  by  his  quiet  diligence,  up- 


28  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Tightness,  devotion  to  his  clients'  interests,  and  his  ability  to  understand  and 
clearly  state  legal  principles.  Almost  his  whole  life  has  been  spent  in  Oregon. 
His  education  was  in  the  common  school  and  the  Willamette  University  at 
Salem.  At  the  general  election  of  1880,  by  the  voice  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  State  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  I 
have  little  doubt  that  John  received  more  than  one  pioneer  vote  because  he  was 
"the  son  of  his  father."  His  course  upon  the  bench  of  the  exalted  tribunal 
where  he  sits,  decidedly  indicates  that  the  people  have  made  no  mistake,  and 
it  is  their  good  fortune  that  he  drew  the  long  term  of  six  years.  Of  his  associ 
ate,  Judge  Watson,  I  cannot  speak  from  personal  knowlege.  I  know  that  he  is 
a  son  of  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  Umpqua  valley,  who  was  with  me  in 
the  State  Senate  in  1866  and  greatly  impressed  me  with  his  good  sense  and  gen 
uine  nobility  of  character.  'His  son  has  justified  public  confidence  as  a  safe 
counselor,  a  good  lawyer  and  honest  man,  in'several  capacities,  and  in  1880  he 
was  placed  upon  the  Supreme  bench.  I  am  sorry  Chief  Justice  Lord  was  born 
before  he  came  to  Oregon.  I  would  be  glad  to  claim  so  genial  a  gentleman,  so 
gallant  a  soldier,  so  fine  a  lawyer,  and  so  good  a  writer  of  judicial  English,  as 
one  of  our  number.  But  then  we  pioneers  cannot  have  everything.  Hon.  James 
F.  Watson,  of  the  Second  Judicial  District,  is  a  brother  of  the  Supreme  Court 
Judge,  was  State  Senator,  one  of  the  Supreme  Court  Judges,  before  we  had  a 
separate  Supreme  Court,  and  is  now  very  popular  and  successful.  Hon.  Raleigh 
Stott,  of  the  Fourth  Judicial  District,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  Stott,  a  pioneer  of 
"Washington  county.  Judge  Stott  took  the  full  collegiate  course  and  graduated 
at  Forest  Grove,  Pacific  University,  read  and  practiced  law  some  ten  years  and 
was  elected  District  Judge  in  1880.  He  is  justifying  the  confidence  of  the  peo 
ple  in  that  most  important  district,  and  giving  good  satisfaction  to  the  bar.  His 
plain,  honest,  unostentatious  way  of  administering  justice  suits  the  pioneers. 
Hon.  C.  B.  Bellinger,  who  was  Judge  of  the  Fourth  District  from  1879  to  July, 
1880,  is  a  son  of  a  pioneer  settler  in  Marion  county,  near  Jefferson.  I  believe  his 
venerable  mother  still  lives  to  be  proud  of  him.  He  has  occupied  various 
public  positions,  as  member  of  the  Legislature,  as  reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee,  with  credit  to  himself, 
and  to  the  satisfaction,  in  a  good  degree,  of  those  who  charged  him  with  his  re 
sponsible  duties.  He  gave  eminent  satisfaction  as  a  judge,  and  many  citizens, 
opposed  to  his  political  views,  voted  to  have  him  retained  in  political  position. 
Judge  Bellinger  was  reared  and  educated  in  Oregon  from  boyhood. 

Hon.  M.  C.  George,  our  Congressman  elect,  is  from  a  pioneer  family  in  Linn 
county.  As  State  Senator  and  lawyer  he  won  the  respect  of  the  people.  He 
is  of  commanding  presence,  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  of  excellent  moral  char- 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  29 

acter.  With  care  on  his  part  he  may  have  a  brilliant  future.  And  while  notic 
ing  Congressmen,  I  may  speak  of  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Brents,  lately  elected  for  a 
second  term  as  Delegate  from  Washington  Territory.  Mr.  Brents  "got  his 
start"  in  the  brush  end  of  Clackamas  county,  in  what  is  called  the  "hardscrab- 
ble"  neighborhood,  near  by  the  "Needy"  postoffice.  His  father  in  early  days 
was  County  Commissioner  of  Clackamas  county.  Young  Brents  learned  some 
thing  in  district  school,  was  for  a  short  time  in 'college  at  McMinnville,  Yamhill 
county,  read  law,  practiced  in  San  Francisco  several  years,  and  then  settled  in 
Walla  Walla,  where  he  acquired  a  good  practice,  and  is  highly  esteemed.  He 
is  exceedingly  industrious,  bookish  in  his  tastes,  and  one  of  God's  noblemen — 
an  honest  man.  As  I  came  up  yesterday  an  old  pioneer  friend  from  Walla 
Walla  intimated  that  for  an  average  member  of  Congress,  Brents  is  a  little  too 
honest.  If  he  lives,  I  expect  to  see  him  Senator  from  the  soon  to  be  State  of 
Washington. 

Hon.  John  R.  McBride,  who  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1862,  is  a  Yamhill 
boy.  He  made  a  good  judge  afterward  in  Idaho,  and  is  reported  to  have  a  very 
fine  law  practice  in  Utah  territory,  where  he  now  lives.  I  understand  he  is  not 
a  Mormon. 

Hon.  Lafayette  Lane,  son  of  the  gallant  old  general,  who  was  first  Governor 
under  the  territorial  organization,  is  an  eloquent  man,  and  made  a  good  record 
during  his  two  years  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress.  He  is  one  of  the  leading 
lawyers  of  Douglas  county,  and  esteemed  for  his  social  qualities. 

Hon.  Richard  Williams,  son  of  Elijah  Williams,  served  his  constituents  well 
for  a  term  in  Congress.  His  services  as  a  lawyer  are  widely  sought. 

So  far,  we  have  had  but  one  Governor  from  the  second  generation  of  pioneers. 
Geo.  L.  Woods  was  in  the  executive  chair  from  1862  to  1870.  He  is  from  a 
family  which  settled  in  Yamhill  at  a  very  early  day.  Woods  is  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  of  living  speakers,  if  eloquence  consist  in  power  to  move  and  carry 
away  an  audience  at  will.  His  services  are  in  constant  demand  as  a  speaker 
in  political  campaigns  both  east  and  west.  He  is  living  at  San  Jose,  California, 
and  interesting  himself  in  building  a  railroad  from  Reno,  Nevada,  to  connect 
with  the  Oregon  system  at  some  point  to  the  southward  of  this. 

An  uniform  system  of  public  instruction  for  the  children  in  public  schools  was 
early  adopted  by  the  Oregon  pioneers.  Their  children  still  foster  and  protect 
it.  Among  our  present  State  officers  the  young  pioneers  are  represented  by 
Rev.  L.  J.  Powell,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  He  is  a  son  of  David 
Powell,  of  Powell's  valley,  Multnomah  county.  He  was  a  student  for  a  time  in 
Willamette  University  at  Salem,  studied  theology  at  some  point  in  West  Vir- 


30  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

ginia,  taught  several  years  in  the  University  at  Salem  and  the  Collegiate  Insti 
tute  at  Albany,  and  was  chosen  to  fill  the  important  office  he  now  holds  in 
1878.  He  is  rendering  valuable  service  of  which  the  pioneers  need  not  be 
ashamed. 

In  the  legislative  branch  of  the  public  service  I  may  mention  a  few. 

The  first  that  occurs  to  my  memory  is  Hiaram  Straight,  Jr.,  son  of  Hiram 
Straight,  Sr.,  of  Clackamas  county,  whose  name  appears  in  the  early  records  as 
a  member  of  the  provisional  and  territorial  legislatures.  Hiram,  Jr.,  is  a  plain 
farmer  down  on  the  north  side  of  Clackamas.  but  he  is  a  great  reader  and  inves 
tigator,  and  can  make  you  a  speech  on  any  subject,  from  a  spread  eagle  4th  of 
July  oration  to  a  dissertation  on  pre-historic  man,  or  how  to  cure  the  "bots"  in 
horses,  on  twenty-four  hours'  notice.  He  is  a  kind  neighbor,  a  warm-hearted, 
honest  man,  and  so  well  esteemed  among  the  people  that  he  was  elected  on  a 
Democratic  ticket  in  a  county  largely  Republican,  and  made  a  valuable  member 
of  the  Legislature  1876. 

William  Waldo  is  at  present  State  Senator  from  Marion  county.  He  is  a  man 
of  excellent  judgment. 

George  W.  Holman,  son  of  one  of  the  missionary  company  which  came  from 
New  York  in  1840,  was  a  member  of  th-  House  of  Representatives  one  term, 
practiced  law  some,  then  was  an  oil  manufacturer,  and  is  now  in  the  drug  busi 
ness  in  Portland. 

Tilmon  Ford  is  now  in  the  House  from  Marion  county.  He  made  a  good 
record  for  active  service. 

Hon.  T.  A.  Davis,  of  Portland,  son  of  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  that  city, 
served  with  distinction  in  the  State  Senate.  He  is  a  leading  business  man,  and 
highly  esteemed. 

Hon.  John  Henry  Smith,  of  a  pioneer  family,  is  now  State  Senator  from  Linn 
county.  He  makes  his  mark  wherever  he  goes,  and  is  a  forcible  public  orator. 

Hon.  John  T.  Apperson,  son  of  a  widow  lady  who  became  the  second  wife  of 
Robert  Moore,  a  pioneer  of  1840,  has  served  with  success  two  terms  as  State 
Senator  from  Clackamas.  Mr.  Apperson  is  a  fine  farmer,  was  sheriff  two  terms, 
steamboat  captain  several  years  on  the  upper  and  lower  Willamette  and  has 
been  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows. 

This  list  might  be  greatly  extended,  if  I  had  been  allowed  time  to  look  over 
the  list  of  members  of  the  Legislature  for  the  past  twenty  years.  But  I  have 
only  spoken  of  such  as  came  to  my  memory  as  I  write.  Even  now  I  think  of 
Fenton  and  Galloway,  two  bright  and  pleasant  young  men  from  Yamhill,  of 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  31 

Hon.  F.  J.  Taylor,  equally  bright  and  good,  from  the  sounding  sea  at  Astoria, 
and  of  my  old  chum,  playmate,  and  fellow-traveler  across  the  plains,  E.  T.  T. 
Fisher,  now  a  steady  farmer  in  old  Linn,  formerly  a  member  of  the  House  from 
Clackamas.  But  I  must  pass  to  other  callings. 

Among  the  educators  who  have  attained  distinction  I  may  name  you  a  few  in 
addition  to  Prof.  Powell,  of  whom  I  have  spoken;  Lucy  Ann  Lee,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Jason  Lee,  who  was  left  here  an  orphan  child  when  her  father  died  in  ( 
Canada,  and  was  adopted,  fostered  and  educated  as  their  own  child  by  Rev. 
Gustavus  Hines  and  his  faithful  wife,  became  a  teacher  in  Willamette  Univer 
sity,  afier  taking  her  degree  of  M.  E.  L.  there.  After  some  years'  labor  in  that 
school  she  married  Prof.  Frank  A.  Grubbs,  and  they  two  together  have  been 
successful  and  useful  instructors  at  Baker  City  in  Eastern  Oregon,  and  at  Wil 
bur  Academy  in  Douglas  county.  Very  many  young  ladies  will  acknowlege  in 
their  mature  lives  the  value  of  the  services  of  this  now  sainted  woman,  who 
lately  passed  to  her  reward.  Prof.  Grubbs  is  of  a  pioneer  family. 

Prof.  Thomas  H.  Crawford,  the  able  and  efficient  City  Superintendent  of  the 
public  schools  of  Portland,  is  son  of  an  early  settler  in  Linn  county.  He  taughj. 
in  the  Portland  Academy  and  Female  Seminary,  then  in  the  University  at  Salein. 
and  afterward  was  placed  in  his  present  responsible  place.  He  is  a  live  man, 
conservatively  progressive  in  his  educational  views  and  firm  and  sagacious  in 
carrying  them  out. 

Prof.  D.  C.  Latourette,  grandson  of.  Rev.  Ezra  Fisher,  who  came  hither  in 
*845>  graduated  at  Forest  Grove,  taught  with  great  acceptance  as  Professor  of 
mathematics  two  years  at  McMinnville  and  is  now  reading  law  with  Johnson, 
McCown  &  Macrum  at  Oregon  City.  He  will  be  heard  of  hereafter. 

Prof.  Lyman  at  Forest  Grove  is  a  very  bright  and  capable  young  man,  and 
will  make  his  mark  if  he  will  stick  to  his  calling. 

You  will  readily  call  to  mind  the  names  of  pioneers'  sons  who  have  attained 
a  good  name  and  some  fame  as  lawyers.  Richard  Williams  and  Lafayette  Lane 
have  already  been  mentioned,  'ihe  silent  grave  encloses  all  that  is  mortal  of 
some  who  in  the  outset  of  a  career  of  brilliant  promise  were  cut  down  in  their 
youth.  C.  G.  Curl,  of  Salem,  was  widely  known  and  as  widely  admired,  and 
looked  to  for  great  prominence.  Chas.  E.  Warren,  son  of  Hon.  Henry  Warren, 
a  pioneer  of  1847,  who  sits  before  me,  full  of  years,  of  honors  from  his  neighbors 
and  friends,  and  still  full  of  good  works,  seemed  to  spring  to  the  bar  with  an 
intellectual  force  and  professional  vigor  that  would  have  carried  him  soon  to  the 
front  ranks.  Both  these  young  men  were  called  in  the  morning  of  life.  But  of 
the  living  I  may  name  a  few.  W.  Lair  Hill  is  in  the  front  ranks,  a  son  of  Rev. 


32  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

R.  C.  Hill,  the  distinguished  pioneer  Baptist  minister  of  the  central  portion  of 
this  valley;  he  was  for  a  time  sent  to  school  at  Corvallis  and  afterward  at  Mc- 
Minnville.  Without  completing  a  literary  course  he  studied  law  and  entered 
upon  the  practice.  Years  ago  he  was  County  Judge  of  Grant  county.  Since 
then  at  Portland  and  The  Dalles  he  has  had  a  successful  professional  career, 
He  has  also  attained  some  prominence  as  a  newspaper  writer,  and  while  editing 
the  Oregonian  and  other  newspapers  has  succeeded,  as  all  forcible  men  do,  in 
making  some  enemies  and  some  warm  friends.  As  a  lawyer  he  is  courageous, 
keen  and  ready,  always  thoughtfully  prepared  and  says  enough  for  judge  and 
jury  to  understand  what  he  is  driving  at.  He  is  not  an  orator.  John  Catlin, 
son  of  a  Washington  Territory  pioneer,  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  consid 
ered  one  of  the  safe  advisers  by  very  many  leading  business  men  iii  Portland, 
and  he  has  accomplished  the  remarkable  feat  of  being  for  one  or  two  terms  a 
member  of  the  City  Council  without  being  charged  with  selling  his  vote  or  put 
ting  through  any  jobs  for  needy  friends.  Of  course  he  would  not  answer  the 
purposes  of  any  ordinary  councilman  and  is  not  re-elected.  Judge  Wm.  Strong 
has  two  sons,  Fred  and  Thomas,  fine,  promising  young  men  who  will  take  care 
of  their  father's  business  when  he  retires.  Benton  Killin,  ex-Judge  Shattuck's 
partner,  is  a  fine  lawyer  and  may  amount  to  something  if  he  will  ever  leain  to 
write.  He  is  the  son  of  a  "Hardscrabble"  also,  pushed  his  way  through  school, 
studied  law  with  me,  and  is  getting  fat  and  rich  in  Portland.  I  told  him  all  I 
knew  several  years  ago  and  tried  to  teach  him  to  write,  but  failed.  George  H. 
Durham,  a  graduate  of  Forest  Grove,  and  H.  Y.  Thompson,  both  are  well-known 
attorneys  and  are  sons  of  old  settlers.  Hon.  F.  O.  McCown,  a  third  graduate 
from  "Hardscrabble"  and  "Needy,"  pushed  his  own  way  through  school  at  the 
Portland  Academy,  taught  school,  studied  law  with  Hon.  O.  C.  Pratt  in  San 
Francisco,  was  captain  in  the  army  during  the  rebellion,  and  since  1865  has 
lived  at  Oregon  City,  been  twice  Mayor  and  practiced  law  with  me  there  and 
in  Portland.  He  continues  his  literary  and  scientific  studies,  and  is  a  fine  speci' 
men  of  the  Christian  gentlemen,  lawyer  and  citizen.  He  writes  a  little  better 
than  Mr.  Killen,  has  a  vivid  imagination  and  fluent  tongue.  Hon.  J.  Q.  A. 
Bowlby,  at  Astoria,  is  County  Judge  and  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Com 
merce.  Julius  C.  Moreland  is  City  Attorney  of  Portland  and  a  good  general 
practitioner.  Fred  V.  Holman,  Judge  Advocate  of  the  State  Militia,  whose 
father  and  grandfather  came  early,  is  a  young  lawyer  of  good  promise.  Such 
also  are  F.  J.  Taylor  of  Astoria,  Oregon,  Dunbar  of  Goldendale,  W.  H.  Adams, 
son  of  "Parson  Billy"  of  Breakspeare  fame,  W.  D.  Fenton  of  Lafayette,  J.  E. 
Magers  of  McMinnville,  C.  B,  Moores  of  Salem,  T.  P.  Hackleman  of  Albany,  E. 
L  Eastburri,  H.  E.  Cross  and  M.  C.  Athey  of  Oregon  City,  Glen.  O.  Holman 
of  Baker  City,  and  a  number  of  others  whose  names  do  not  now  occur  to  me . 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  33 

Among  preach«rs,  pioneers'  sons  figure  somewhat  prominently  also.  One  of 
Elkanah  Walker's  sons  has  been  a  missionary  in  China  several  years;  Franklin 
Johnson  is  a  D.  D.  at  Cambridge,  Massachutts,  has  traveled  in  Europe  and  the 
Holy  Land,  taken  a  degree  at  a  German  University,  and  is  a  leading  man  in  his 
denomination*!!!  the  United  States;  E.  K.  Chandler  is  at  Saco,  Maine;  W.  H. 
Latourette,  a  grandson  of  Eld.  Fisher,  has  just  graduated  at  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
and  young  Royal  is  preaching  at  Ohio.  In  Oregon  Mr.  Dennison  at  Salem,  and 
others  scattered  over  the  country,  are  prominent  among  the  Methodists;  A.  J. 
Hunsaker,  W.  H.  Pruett,  Bailey  of  Coos  county,  and  others  among  the  Baptists 
are  pioneers'  sons;  P.  R.  Burnett  of  the  Christians;  P.  S.  Knight  and  William 
Capps  of  the  Congregatiot>alists,  are  men  of  note  ami  influence. 

Rev.  C.  C.  Stratton,  D.  D.,  President  of  the  Pacific  University,  the  Methodist 
institution  in  California,  a  fine  preacher  and  distinguished  educator,  is  an  Ore 
gon  boy,  educated  principally  at  Salem. 

As  to  poetry,  have  not  Joaquin  Miller  and  Samuel  L.  Simpson  achieved  a 
world -wide  fame  ? 

Among  newspaper  writers  I  will  mention  as  most  prominent  Harvey  W.  Scott, 
chief  of  the  Oregonian  staff.  Writing  is  his  trade,  and  he  wields  a  trenchant 
pen.  This  gentlemen  also  found  "Hardscrabble"  in  Clackamas  county  a  good 
place  to  move  away  from.  Going  to  Forest  Grove,  he  completed  the  classical 
course  of  study  and  took  his  degree.  He  is  still  bookish.  But  his  work  so  far 
is  on  the  Oregonian.  He  is  a  power.  He  has  far  more  to  do  in  moulding  pub 
lic  sentiment  in  this  State  than  any  other  ten  men  in  it. 

S.  A.  Moreland,  another  "Hardscrabbler,"  is  a  fine  writer  and  able  man.  He 
does  much  of  the  work  in  a  quiet  way  that  Scott  gets'  credit  for,  and  when  the 
latter  is  absent  or  sick,  the  "leaders"  come  right  along  as  usual,  for  Moreland  is 
always  there. 

Mrs.  C.  A.  Coburn  and  Mrs.  Duniway,  Mr.  Scott's  sisters,  are  both  women 
of  remarkable  talent  and  excellent  newspaper  writers.  Mrs.  Duniway  has  at 
tained  wide  celebrity  as  a  speaker  on  various  topics,  but  especially  in  favor  of 
woman's  enfranchisement. 

In  the  art  department,  we  have  Clyde  Cook,  son  of  a  carpenter  at  Salem.  Mr. 
Cook  has  done  some  really  excellent  work,  is  now  studying  at  Munich,  in  Ger 
many,  and  will  make  his  mark. 

So  already  has  Thaddeus  Welch,  son  of  Russell  Welch,  of  Yamhill,  who  is 
now  also  in  Europe  for  advancement. 

Messrs.  Parrott  and  Espy,  of  Portland,  are  deserving  of  mention,  and  with 
patience  and  experience  will  do  honor  to  Oregon. 


34  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Mrs.  J.  DeVore  Johnson  has  exhibited  some  excellent  amateur  specimens  in 
water  colors.  This  little  woman  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  of  her  sex  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  to  win  the  degrees  of  A.  B.  and  A.  M  ,  having  passed  the  en 
tire  literary  coarse  prescribed  in  the  Willamette  University.  She  will  yet  excel 
in  water-color,  landscape  and  figure  drawing.  She  is  a  daughterr.of  Rev.  J.  F. 
DeVore,  a  Washington  Territory  pioneer  of  1853,  and  is  a  graceful  amateur 
writer  and  reader,  as  well  as  Mrs.  Duniway's  right-hand  supporter  in  running 
the  machinery  of  women's  conventions. 

Among  steamboat  men  I  might  mention  Captain  Geo.  J.  Ainsvvorth,  general 
manager  of  O.  R.  N.  Co.'s  boats;  Captain  Nat.  Lane,  Jr.,  grandson  ot  General 
Lane,  Captain  I.  B.  Sanborh,  of  the  opposition  line  on  the  Willamette;  Captain 
J.  D.  Miller,  of  the  Narrow  Gauge  line,  and  Captains  J.  H.  D.  and  W.  H.  Gray, 
of  the  boats  about  Vancouver  and  Astoria,  all  pioneers'  sons.  And  so  is  Joseph 
Paquet,  the  boss  boat  builder  of  the  northwest  coast. 

A  chapter  might  also  be  written  of  the  exploits  of  Colonel  Geo.  B.  Curry, 
Major  Geo.  Williams  and  Lieutenant  Medorum  Crawford,  Jr.,  who  hails  from 
Yamhill  county  as  his  birthplace,  in  the  army,  and  Roswell  H.  Lamson  and  F. 
C.  Schwatka  in  the  navy,  and  other  pioneer  boys,  fit  representatives  of  the  vigor, 
intelligence  and  patriotism  of  their  ancestors. 

And  so  I  might  go  on  and  tell  you  of  the  leading  young  men  among  the  busi 
ness  fraternity,  the  physicians,  mechanics,  manufacturers,  farmers,  stock- 
growers  and  other  associations,  and  you  would  find  the  pioneer  boys  and  girls 
becoming  men  and  women,  holding  their  places  in  the  van  of  progress. 

Pioneers,  Peter  H.  Burnett,  as  he  stood  on  that  log  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Missouri  river  in  May,  1843,  declared  the  truth  when  he  said  those  who  pushed 
their  way  across  the  mountaies  to  occupy  this  country  for  the  government  would 
receive  high  honor  in  the  pages  of  history  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  patri 
otic  purpose.  I  consider  it  no  mean  honor  to-day  to  be  the  first  of  the  second 
generation  in  this  Association  accorded  the  privilege  of  voicing,  in  some  feeble 
manner,  the  praise  that  is  due  you  for  laying  on  these  green  hills  and  along 
these  fertile  valleys  so  deeply  the  foundations  of  free  government,  of  free  schools, 
of  higher  learning,  and  the  best  civilizalion.  The  day  we  celebrate  speaks  elo 
quently  of  the  new  departure  of  diplomatic  intercourse  by  compromise  and  arbi 
tration,  which  must  ultimately  do  away  with  standing  armies  and  the  horrors 
of  war  among  civilized  nations.  But  it  should  also  resound  with  the  praises  due 
you,  and  those  of  your  comrades  who  sleep  the  sleep  of  death  in  honored  graves 
for  the  sacrifices  and  perils  you  endured  to  make  possible  the  settlement  of  the 
controversy  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  as  it  was  made  June 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  35 

15,  1846.  May  you  long  live  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  your  patiotic  endeavor  in  the 
new  era  of  prosperity  now  at  our  doors,  and  may  your  children's  children  rise 
up  and  call  you  blessed. 

And  you  will  be  glad  to  stop  with  me  now  to  drop  the  tear  of  sorrow  over  the 
fresh  earth  on  the  graves  of  some  who  were  with  us  a  year  since,  but  whose 
places  are  vacant  now.  They  rest  from  their  labors  and  their  works  do  follow 
them. 

When'  I  was  a  printer  boy  in  the  old  Spectator  office  under  Uncle  John  Flem 
ing,  the  pioneer  typo  of  the  coast,  I  had  the  privilege  of  setting  in  type  six  or 
eight  months  after  the  happening  of  the  events,  the  first  news  to  the  people  of 
Oregon  of  the  career  of  our  soldiers  in  the  Mexican  war.  How  exciting  it  was! 
And  how  we  hurrahed  for  the  men  who  led  our  boys  to  victory!  What  a  hero 
General  Joseph  Lane  became  to  me  you  can  well  imagine.  And  when  a  year 
or  so  afterward  that  same  great  soldier  came  as  the  first  Governor  of  the  Terri 
tory,  took  up  his  abode  near  mine,  and  walked  across  the  street  to  where  I  was 
milking  my  cows  to  shake  hands  with  a  strange  neighbor  boy,  my  cup  was  full. 
I  had  the  privilege,  with  my  brother,  now  in  Cambridge,  of  helping  to  set  up 
and  print  on  that  old  wooden  press  of  ex-Gov.  Geo.  L.  Curry's  his  proclama 
tion  announcing  the  extension  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  coun 
try.  It  was  a  dingy-looking  sheet,  but  the  best  we  could  do  with  the  means  at 
hand.  The  many  noble  traits  of  this  great  man  have  been  and  will  be  touched 
by  the  pens  of  more  competent  men  than  I,  but  with  you  all  I  would  cherish 
in  memory  his  many  noble  deeds,  and  cover  with  the  mantle  of  charity  what 
ever  we  may  not  have  approved.  He  certainly  went  down  to  the  grave  with 
no  resentments  cherished,  and  with  many  a  prayer  for  the  continued  prosperity 
and  happiness  of  all  the  people  in  our  great  country. 

Gen.  Joel  Palmer  has  gone  to  his  great  reward.  You  all  know  him  and  honor 
his  memory.  He  seemed  to  me  greatest  in  his  honesty  and  integrity.  I  will 
relate  one  incident  showing  what  I  mean. 

At  the  time  of  the  struggle  over  the  election  of  United  States  Senator  in 
1866,  he  and  I  were  members  of  the  State  Senate.  When  it  became  apparent 
that  the  Republicans  could  not  elect  ex-Governor  Gibbs,  the  caucus  nominee, 
some  began  to  look  around  for  a  man  who  could  unite  the  factions  and  carry 
away  the  prize.  Among  those  named  was  Gen.  Palmer.  It  was  soon  ascer 
tained  that  the  "bolters,"  as  they  were  called,  would  vote  for  him,  if  the  regu 
lars  would  take  him  up.  Gen.  Palmer  was  waited  upon  in  relation  to  the  mat 
ter,  but  he  at  once  called  attention  to  the  provision  in  our  State  Constitution 
prohibiting  the  election  of  a  member  of  the  Legislature  to  any  lucrative  office 


36  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

during  the  term  for  which  he  was  chosen.  He  was  told  the  U.  S.  Senate  had 
decided  that  such  a  provision  did  not:  apply  to  the  qualifications  of  Senator. 
But  Palmer  said  firmly:  "No,  I  took  an  oath  to  support  this  Constitution;  it 
applies  to  my  conscience,  and  I  cannot  accept  the  office  if  elected."  It  was  a 
severe  trial  of  the  man's  integrity,  but  his  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  I  may 
remark  in  passing  that  another  living  pioneer,  Col.  Thos.  R.  Cornelius,  of 
Washington  county,  passed  through  the  same  crucible  and  came  out  unscathed. 
Such  men  are  pure  gold,  and  mention  is  fit  for  the  encouragement  of  the  same 
noble  qualities  in  the  young  and  rising  generation. 

Mrs.  Cynthia  Ann  Applegate,  first  among  the  women  who  came  to  Oregon  as 
a  settler,  faithful  consort  of  Hon.  Jesse  Applegate,  the  sage  of  Yoncalla,  is  no 
more.  Let  him  who  has  known  her  best  and  who  is  most  afflicted  by  her  de- 
mis?,  say  what  she  has  been  and  done.  He  speaks:  "I  have  been  stunned  and 
stupified  by  this  last  blow  Providence  has  dealt  me,  for  it  was  wholly  unex 
pected*.  We  did  not  expect  to  be  long  separated,  but  we  had  made  up  our 
minds  that  I  was  the  first  to  be  summoned.  Fifty  years  ago  the  I3th  of  last 
April  we  joined  our  earthly  destinies  together.  In  the  true  sense  of  the  word 
in  all  these  years  she  has  been  my  helpmeet.  She  has  been  the  chief  comfort 
of  my  life,  the  sharer  of  my  toils,  and  my  consoler  in  adversity.  She  had 
strong  good  sense,  a  loving  heart  and  a  deep  devotion  to  the  right.  She  was  a 
safe  counsellor,  for  her  untaught  instincts  were  truer  and  safer  rules  of  conduct 
than  my  better  informed  judgment.  Had  I  oftener  followed  her  advice  her 
pilgrimage  on  earth  might  have  been  longer  and  happier;  at  least  her  strong 
desire  to  make  all  happy  around  her  would  not  have  been  cramped  by  extreme 
penury.  I  have  not  been  as  good  a  husband  as  she  has  been  a  wife.  In  the 
day  of  prosperity  I  did  not  realize  at  its  proper  value  the  priceless  treasure  I 
had  in  a  friend  so  faithful,  devoted  and  true;  it  required  adversity  to  prove  the 
true  gold." 

Such  praise  from  such  a  man  is  worth  a  life  of  devotion. 

I  have  not  time  to  speak  further  of  Daniel  Waldo,  bluff,  honest,  and  hospita 
ble,  and  others  of  the  early  settlers— men  and  women  who  are  with  the  dead. 
Green  be  their  grave's  above  them  and  ever  green  and  fresh  in  our  hearts  be  the 
memory  of  their  noble  lives. 

Pioneers,  Pioneers'  children,  settlers  in  Oregon  old  and  new,  you  have  a  glori 
ous  heritage.  If,  in  the  discoveries  of  the  olden  time,  the  pilgrims'  feet  had 
first  fallen  upon  the  fruitful  soil  and  in  the  genial  climate  of  this  favored  land, 
many  long  centuries  would  yet  elapse  before  the  hardy  pioneer  would  have 
pushed  his  way  or  have  been  pushed  into  the  frozen  and  rocky  fields  of  New 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  37 

England  or  the  bleak  and  stormy  prairies  of  the  north  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  mountains  and  on  the  great  la'kes.  A  wise  Providence  ordered  the  law 
that  westward  the  star  of  empire  should  take  its  way.  And  now  the  people 
are  coming,  and  here,  in  less  than  the  years  that  have  buill  the  great  communi 
ties  and  States  of  the  Atlantic  side,  will  be  the  true  and  abiding  seat  of  empire. 
But  with  this  tide  of  prosperity  and  population  come  also  dangers.  The  great 
corporations,  with  their  immense  capital  and  control  of  lines  of  transportation 
and  travel,  threaten  us  with  a  domination,  compared  with  which  the  attempted 
monopolies  of  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were  as  the  little  finger  of  Solo 
mon  compared  with  the  loins  of  Rehoboam,  his  son,  in  the  early  history  of  the 
Jews.  To  guard  against  this,  all  parties  and  divisions  of  people  must  entrench 
themselves  behind  the  settled  doctrine  that  the  people  are  sovereign,  and  that 
by  their  constitutions  and  laws  they  may  and  can  regulate  and  fix  the  price  of 
fares  and  freight,  and  compel  corporations  to  do  business  for  a  fair  and  legiti 
mate  compensation. 

Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty.  Let  us  continue  to  build  wisely, 
industriously  and  intelligently  upon  the  foundations  already  so  well  laid,  and 
the  heritage  left  us  by  our  fathers  will  remain  sure  and  strong  to  the  end  of 
time. 


JOURNAL 


OF  A  VOYAGE  FBOM  FCBT  VANCOUVEB,  COLUMBIA  EIVEB,  TO  YOEK  FACTOEY,  HUD 
SON'S   BAY,   1841. 


BY  GEOKGE   T.  ALLAN. 


CATHLAMET,  October  23,  1881. 

I  have  preserved  the  following  journal  in  order  to  show  our  primitive 
mode  of  traveling  long  before  steamboats  or  railroads  were  heard  of  in  Ore 
gon.  The  anniversary  of  my  arrival  at  Fort  Vancouver  is  on  the  25th  day 
of  October,  1831. 

As  most  part  of  the  following  journal  was  written  while  in  boats  upon 
the  voyage,  its  readers  will  of  course  make  all  due  allowances. 

I  left  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  22d  of  March,  1841,  by  the  express,  accom 
panied  by  the  following  gentlemen:  Messrs.  Ermatiuger,  McKinley,  Payette, 
and  Dr.  Tolmie,  in  four  boats,  and  twenty-eight  men,  chiefly  Canadians. 
All  the  gentlemen  of  the  establishment,  as  usual  upon  such  occasions  ac 
companied  us  to  the  river  to  see  us  start.  Mr.  Ermatinger,  being  the  oldest 
clerk  of  the  party,  in  the  Company's  service,  the  command  of  conducting 
the  party,  so  fur  as  he  went,  of  course,  devolved  upon  him.  After  a  voy 
age  of  nine  days,  during  which  nothing  worth  recording  took  place,  we 
reached  Fort  Walla  Walla,  200  hundred  miles  from  Fort  Vancouver — river 
here  three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide — situated  in  the  midst  of  a  sandy  plain 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  and  in  charge  of  my  friend  Mr.  Chief 
Trader  Pambuin,  who  received  us  most  kindly,  and  presented  us  to  dinner 
a  couple  of  fine  roast  turkeys,  a  rather  unexpected  sight  in  this  quarter  of 
the  world. 

April  1. — Having  arranged  everything  for  my  trip  on  horseback  from 
Walla  Walla  to  Fort  Colville,  I  started  to-day  at  noon,  accompanied  by  a 
man,  a  boy,  and  an  Indian,  as  guide,  with  a  band  of  forty-six  horses,  the 
boats  having  gone  off  the  day  before  with  the  other  gentlemen,  my  object 
in  going  across  land  being  to  get  aheal  of  the  boats,  and  so  gain  time  to 
close  all  the  accounts  at  Fort  Colville  (about  700  miles  from  the  Pacific  by 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  39 

the  traveled  route,  and  the  last  post  on  this  side  of  the  Eocky  Mountains) , 
before  their  arrival.  As  the  country  through  which  I  now  passed  was  all 
much  of  the  same  description,  I  may  here  mention  that  its  general  appear 
ance  was  not  particularly  pleasing,  consisting  principally  of  hills  without  a 
stick  of  wood  to  adorn  the  summits  or  relieve  the  eye  from  the  sameness 
of  the  landscape,  which  now  presented  itself  to  an  immense  extent.  The 
surface  of  the  ground,  over  which  we  rode  at  no  tardy  pace,  was  so  covered 
with  badger  holes  that  it  required  the  utmost  caution  to  guide  our  riding 
horses  clear  of  them.  As  for  the  light  horses,  we  allowed  them  to  look  out 
for  themselves. 

After  a  ride  of  four  days  we  reached  Fort  Spokane,  an  old  establishment, 
abandoned  some  years  ago,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  that  name, 
in  a  beautiful  spot.  On  crossing  the  river,  which  we  did  with  the  assist 
ance  of  two  Indians  iu  a  small  canoe,  I  was  very  much  surprised,  when  gain 
ing  the  opposite  bank,  to  hear  my  name  distinctly  pronounced  by  one  of  a, 
band  of  Indians  assembled  there  to  greet  our  arrival;  but  on  looking  in  the 
direction  from  whence  the  voice  came,  I  immediately  recognized  my  old 
friend,  a  young  Indian  chief  called  Garry,  who  had  entered  the  Columbia 
with  me  ten  years  before.  He  had  been  educated  at  Red  Kiver,  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  Company,  and  when  I  had  known  him  was  well  clothed,  and 
could  both  read  and  write.  Now,  however,  the  march  of  improvement  had 
apparently  retrograded,  as-  he  made  his  appearance  wrapped  up  in  a  buffalo 
robe,  a  la  savage  pure.  Having  presented  some  tobacco  to  the  Indians,  I 
requested  Garry  to  send  for  one  of  our  horses  which  I  had  been  obliged  to 
abandon  that  morning,  he  being  too  much  fatigued  to  come  on,  and  to  for 
ward  him  to  Colville;  all  of  which  he  promised  to  do,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
has  already  performed.  N.  B. — Upon  my  return  from  Hudson's  Bay  I 
found  Garry  had  returned  the  horse . 

The  evening  before  our  arrival  at  Spokane  we  encountered  a  very  severe 
snow  storm,  but  we  were  fortunate  enough,  that  very  evening,  to  find  an 
abundance  of  wood,  an  article  of  which  we  had  hitherto  only  procured  a 
sufficiency  to  boil  the  tea  kettle.  We  were  therefore  enabled  to  make  a 
a  very  large  fire,  and  with  the  aid  of  my  bed  oil-cloth,  to  erect  a  kind  of 
shelter  from  the  pelting  of  the  pitiless  storm  during  the  night. 

On  the  night  of  the  7th  of  April  we  reached  Fort  Colville  about  10  o'clock, 
to  my  great  pleasure,  where  I  was  received  with  the  utmost  kindness  by  my 
old  acquaintance,  Mr.  Chief  Trader  Archibald  McDonald,  and  his  amiable 
wife.  Being  very  desirous,  if  possible,  to  reach  Fort  Colville  to-day  (the 
7th),  I  had  ridden  very  hard — so  much  so,  that  ataotber  of  our  horses  gave 


40  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

in,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Fort.  I  had,  however,  no  'alternative  but  to 
ride  hard  or  go  supperless  to  bed,  as  our  provisions  were  entirely  out.  This 
I  do  not  regret,  because  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  proving  the  correct 
ness  of  two  old  adages,  viz.:  Put  a  hungry  man  on  horseback  and  he'll  ride 
to  the  de'il,  and  keep  a  thing  seven  years  and  you  will  find  a  use  for  it.  To 
understand,  however,  the  allusion  to  the  latter  of  these  wise  sayings,  it 
will  be  necessary  here  to  state  that  on  leaving  Fort  Vancouver  Mr.  Erma- 
tinger,  a  veritable  John  Bull,  and  our  caterer  for  the  grub  department  of  the 
voyage,  had  prevailed  upon  Captain  Brotchie,  whose  vessel  was  then  lying 
at  Vancouver,  to  get  made  for  us  a  couple  of  large  plum  puddings;  and  the 
said  puddings,  upon  being  tried  on  the  voyage  from  Vancouver  to  Walla 
Walla,  had  been  found  wanting,  not  in  quantity,  but  in  quality,  and  until 
our  arrival  at  the  last  mentioned  post  had  lain  neglected  and  almost  forgot 
ten.  While  seeing  me  equipped  for  the  trip  on  horseback  from  Walla  Walla 
to  Fort  Colville,  Mr.  Ermatinger  had  slipped  in  amongst  my  eatables  apiece 
of  those  identical  plum  paddings.  Being  this  morning  therefore  pressed  by 
hunger,  I  had,  I  presume,  dived  deeper  than  usual  into  the  recesses  of  my 
haversack,  and  finding  poor  Brotchie  I  made,  sans  ceremonie,  and  cannibal 
like,  a  most  hearty  breakfast  upon  his  remains.  As  already 

mentioned,  we  reached  Colville  on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  April  about  10 
o'clock.  For  two  hours  previously  we  had  ridden  in  the  dark,  through 
woods,  across  rivers,  and  over  hill  and  dale,  so  anxious  was  I  to  reach  my 
destination,  not,  I  beg  it  to  be  understood,  from  the  paltry  motive  of  pro 
curing  a  supper,  but  from  the  desire  of  gaining  upon  the  trip  of  last  year. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  having  received  the  last  dispatches  from  Fort  Van 
couver,  and  having  finished  the  accounts,  I  started,  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Tolmie,  with  two  boats  and  fourteen  men,  the  other  gentlemen  having  dis 
persed  during  the  route  to  their  different  departments. 

Fort  Colville  is  a  very  neat  and  compact  little  establishment,  and  nothing 
I  have  yet  seen  in  the  Indian  country  can  equal  the  beauty  of  its  situation — 
placed  on  a  rising  ground  in  the  midst  of  a  very  pretty  plain,  encircled  by 
an  extensive  and  well  cultivated  farm,  the  fields  and  fences  laid  out  with  a 
neatness  which  does  credit  to  the  taste  of  their  projector — here  and  there  a 
band  of  cattle  to  enliven  the  prospect,  and  at  a  considerable  distance  sur 
rounded  on  all  sides  by  high  mountains,  covered  from  the  base  to  the  sum 
mit  with  beautiful  pines.  Nor  does  the  inside  of  the  establishment  yield 
in  any  respect  to  the  exterior,  for  when  seated  at  table  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McDonald  and  their  family,  one  cannot  help  thinking  himself  once  more  at 
home  enjoying  a  tete-a-tete  in  some  domestic  circle. 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  4 1 

After  a  voyage  of  ten  days  up  the  most  rapid,  and  almost  most  dangerous 
part  of  the  Columbia  river,  the  country  very  rugged  and  rocky,  we  arrived 
on  Tuesday,  the  4th  of  May,  at  the  Boat  Encampment,  which  is  the  hjgh- 
est  point  that  a  boat  or  canoe  can  navigate  the  Columbia.  We  slept  there 
and  arranged  everything  next  morning,  Wednesday,  the  5th,  for  our  journey 
on  foot  and  snow  shoes.  We  now  started  about  10  o'clock  IA.  M.  Not 
finding  any  snow  for  the  first  few  miles,  we  walked  in  moccasins,  otherwise 
called  Indian  shoes,  along  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  when  we  entered  the 
woods  and  found  ourselves  in  a  swamp,  the  water  reaching  above  the  knees. 
Our  road  leading  that  way,  it  was  of  course  unavoidable.  "We  therefore 
trudged  along  in  no  very  comfortable  trim  for  about  two  miles,  when  we 
again  entered  the  woods,  and  finding  deep  snow,  had  recourse  to  the  snow 
shoes.  The  Doctor  and  I  were  light,  but  the  men  were  heavily  loaded,  and 
many  of  them  having  never  seen  a  snow  shoe,  many  and  great  were  the 
falls  they  had.  The  snow  shoe  has  a  very  admirable  and  peculiar  quality — 
when  one  falls  down  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  get  up  again,  and  although  I 
felt  for  the  poor  men,  yet  I  could  not  altogether  command  my  risibility, 
though  it  was,  however,  sometimes  my  misfortune  to  share  the  same  fate, 
and  Dr.  Tolmie  keeping  me  in  countenance,  we  did  not  fail  upon  such  occa 
sions  to  laugh  heartily  at  each  other.  The  Canadians,  of  all  nations,  pos 
sess,  perhaps,  the  best  qualities  for  voyaging  (at  least  in  the  Indian  coun 
try),  where  we  have  to  undergo,  to  use  one  of  their  own  words,  so  much 
misere.  However  harassing  their  labor  may  have  been  during  the  day,  they 
no  sooner  arrive  at  the  encampment  for  the  night,  than  having  supplied 
themselves  with  an  excellent  fire  and  good  supper,  they  commence  joking 
each  other  with  the  greatest  good  humor  upon  the  mishaps  of  the  past  day, 
and  having  now  a  tolerable  knowledge  of  their  language,  I  really  enjoyed 
them,  and  now  and  then  put  in  a  word  by  way  of  encouragement,  to  keep 
up  their  spirits.  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  mention  that  my  friend  Dr.  Tol 
mie  is  not  only  a  temperance  man,  but  a  teetotaler,  so  that  during  our  voy 
age  from  Vancouver  to  the  Boat  Encampment,  I  had  no  one  to  join  me  in  a 
glass  of  wine  or  half  a  one  of  brandy,  and  having  a  good  stock  of  each,  I 
took  a  little  now  and  then  by  way  of  not  allowing  teetotalism  to  carry  the 
day,  for  although  a  temperance  man,  I  shall  never  become  a  teetotaler — 
there  is  something  so  very  unsocial  in  the  very  name;  besides,  the  idea  of  a 
man's  not  being  able  to  restrain  himself  without  an  oath,  is  absurd.  Let 
me,  however,  state  here  that  any  one  acquainted  with  Dr.  Tolmie  need  not 
be  informed  that  he  joined  the  society  from  the  purest  and  most  disinter 
ested  motives,  and  God  knows,  not  from  any  idea  jof  his  not  being  able  to 
refrain  from  spirituous  liquors. 


42  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

I  must  now  return  to  the  woods,  where  I  left  some  of  our  men  struggling 
amongst  the  snow.  We  at  last,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  man 
aged  to  emerge,  and  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  along  the  river,  a  small 
spot  clear  of  snow,  where  we  encamped  for  the  night.  The  Doctor  and  my 
self,  having  by  our  walk  procured  excellent  appetites,  we  made  as  excellent 
a  supper,  after  which  I  generally  regale  myself  with  a  pipe  and  enjoy  the 
jokes  of  the  men.  I  must  not  neglect  here  to  mention  that  I  was  now,  for 
the  time-being,  obliged  to  join  the  ranks  of  teetotalism,  we  having  left  all 
our  luxuries,  tea  and  sugar  excepted,  in  concealment  near  the  Boat  Encamp 
ment. 

Having  slept  soundly  until  3  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  voice  of  our 
guide,  nil  Iroquois,  calling  out  lever,  lever,  get  up,  get  up,  put  us  once  more 
upon  our  legs. 

Thursday,  Cth. — Everything  being  now  ready,  and  the  men  loaded,  we 
started  at  four.  It  having  frozen  hard  during  the  night,  we  found  that  we 
could  travel  without  the  snow  shoes,  our  route  lying  along  the  river.  We 
soon  found,  however,  that  though  enabled  to  dispense  for  a  time  with  the 
snow  shoes,  that  we  had  a  more  disagreeable  task  to  parform.  We  had 
scarcely  walked  a  mile  when  we  were  obliged  to  plunge  into  the  river, 
which  we  crossed  seven  times,  and  found  the  water  exceedLigly  cold.  At 
last,  about  8  A.  M.,  we  once  more  reached  the  woods,  and  lost  no  time  in 
consoling  ourselves  with  a  substantial  breakfast  for  the  hardships  of  the 
morning.  Having  rested  the  men  and  ourselves  for  three  hours,  we  again 
buckled  on  our  armor  (the  snow  shoes),  and  marched  to  the  attack,  when 
we  encountered  greater  disasters  than  we  had  done  the&day  before,  the  snow 
not  being  sufficiently  shallow  to  admit  of  our  throwing  off  the  snow  shoes, 
and  too  deep  and  soft  to  permit  our  walking  without  them.  About  3  o'clock 
p.  M.,  we  got  once  more  clear  of  the  woods,  and  encamped  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree  which  we  found  free  from  snow. 

Friday,  7th. — The  weather  clear  and  cold.  At  3  A.  M.  we  started,  and 
proceeding  along  the  river  without  the  snow  shoes,  had  nearly  the  same 
kind  of  route  as  the  preceding  day,  only  we  were  obliged  to  cross  the  river 
more  frequently,  and  found,  as  we  approached  i,'the  mountains,  the  water 
still  colder,  so  much  so,  that  upon  gaining  the  bank  oiir  leggins  were  stiff 
with  ice.  But  a  smart  walk  and  a  good  breakfast  at  the  base  of  the  moun 
tain  which  we  had  now  reached,  soon  banished  all  remembrance  of  misere. 
The  country  through  which  we  had  traveled  for  the  last  three  days  had 
nothing  in  its  appearance  to  recommend  it  to  the  eye  of  the  traveler.  The 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  43 

river  is  upon  both  sides  bound  in  by  rather  high  mountains,  wooded  to  the 
summits,  which  confine  the  view  to  the  river  alone.  We  now  betook  our 
selves  to  the  snow  shoes  and  commenced  the  ascent,  which  we  found  very 
steep.  We  managed,  however,  to  scramble  up  about  half  way,  when  we 
encamped.  Soon  after,  one  of  our  Indians,  rambling  about,  fell  in  with  two 
porcupines,  and  came  back  for  a  gun,  which  having  received,  and  being 
joined  by  his  companion,  they  went  oft'  and  soon  returned  with  their  prize. 
Having  made  the  Indians  roast  the  porcupines  after  their  own  fashion,  the 
Doctor  and  I  tasted  them  and  made  the  remainder  over  to  the  men.  When 
in  good  order,  they  are  excellent  eating,  but  at  this  season  they  happened 
to  be  poor  and  very  tasteless. 

Saturday,  8th. — On  raising  camp -this  morning,  we  found  the  fire  had  en 
tirely  disappeared,  having  sunk  during  the  night  almost  to  the  ground,  and 
the  snow  was  at  least  ten  feet  deep.  Cold  morning,  with  snow.  Again 
commenced  the  ascent,  which  increased  in  steepness  as  we  proceeded,  and 
obliged  us  often  to  crawl  upon  all  fours.  The  Doctor  and  myself  took  each 
our  turn  in  marching  ahead,  not  only  in  the  mountains,  but  throughout  the 
whole  journey,  a  task  by  no  means  easy,  as  the  snow  shoe  sinks  much 
deeper  before  the  track  is  formed,  and  retains  upon  it  a  great  quantity  of 
snow  (when  it  has,  as  in  the  present  case,  lately  fallen),  which  forces  the 
foot  dreadfully  in  a  long  journey,  and  often  occasions  the  mal  de  raequette, 
or  snow  shoe  sickness,  which  is  exceedingly  painful.  We  were  both,  how 
ever,  fortunate  enough  to  escape  it.  About  6  o'clock  A.  M.  we  gained  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  and  did  not,  certainly,  feel  regret  at  the  achievement. 
The  guide  soon  joining  us,  we  made  a  large  fire  long  ere  the  men  arrived, 
almost  worn  out  with  their  hard  journey,  which  did  not,  however,  prevent 
them  quizzing  each  other  as  usual,  and  many  were  the  tales  of  misfortune 
recounted.  We  had  hitherto  been  fortunate  enough  to  procure  water  for 
our  tea.  At  this  place  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with  melted 
snow  as  a  substitute;  the  difference  is  but  trifling. 

Having  refreshed  ourselves,  we  again  set  out.  Snowing  fast,  and  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  of  snow  upon  the  ground.  Towards 4  p.  M.  we  reached 
two  small  lakes  and  encamped.  This  place  is  called  the  "Height  of  Land," 
the  Columbia  river  taking  its  rise  from  one  of  the  lakes  and  winding  its 
course  to  the  Pacific;  the  river  Athabasca  from  the  other,  and  emptying  it 
self  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  lakes,  as  I  stated,  are  there,  but  at  the 
season  we  passed,  invisible,  from  the  great  quantity  of  snow.  We  had  so 
far  followed  the  course  of  the  Columbia,  and  had  been  ascending.  We  now 
took  that  of  the  Athabasca,  and  began  to  descend.  Dr.  Tolmie  tried  the 


44  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

height  at  this  encampment,  and  found  it  7000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea. 

Sunday,  May  9th. — We  set  out  at  the  usual  hour  and  walked  till  7  o'clock, 
when  we  breakfasted.  The  walk  of  this  morning  we  found  equal  to  the 
toil  of  climbing  the  mountain,  from  the  great  depth  and  softness  of  the 
snow;  and  the  Doctor  and  myself,  going  ahead,  as  usual,  to  beat  the  road 
for  th°  men,  wo  found  the  task  anything  but  an  easy  one.  To-day  I  saw  a 
couple  of  white  partridges,  and  went  in  pursuit  of  them,  but  without  suc 
cess.  We  now  found,  as  we  descended,  the  snow  to  get  less  deep,  and  con 
sequently  the  walking  less  fagging,  our  route  lying  sometimes  upon  the 
river,  and  at  others  through  the  woods.  At  12  o'clock,  noon,  after  a  march 
of  five  hours,  upon  emerging  from  a  point  of  the  woods,  we  fell  upon  the 
sands  of  the  river — no  snow — to  the  men  a  most  joyful  sight;  and  at  the 
distance  of  two  miles  we  expected  to  find  the  horses  which  are  always  sent 
from  Jasper's  House  to  meet  the  express  and  relieve  the  men  of  their  loads. 
We  now  cast  off'  the  snow  shoes  for  good  and  all,  and  bid  them  good  bye 
with  pleasure,  although  they  had  greatly  befriended  us.  Upon  our  arrival 
at  the  place  where  we  had  expected  to  find  the  horses,  we  met  with  a  sad 
disappointment — none  were  there!  We  found  the  horse  keeper's  lodge  OB 
hut,  the  remains  of  the  fire,  and  the  fresh  tracks  of  the  horses,  so  that  he 
must  have  decamped  not  two  hours  previous  to  our  arrival.  Upon  examin 
ing  his  hut  very  narrowly,  we  discovered  a  piece  of  wood  upon  which  he 
had  managed  t«  draw,  with  charcoal,  the  figure  of  a  moose  deer,  and 
marked  sixteen  strokes,  from  which,  after  various  conjectures,  we  under 
stood  that  he  had  been  waiting  for  us  sixteen  days,  and  there  being  a 
scarcity  of  food  for  the  horses,  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  next  en 
campment,  which  is  called  the  Moose  Deer  encampment.  The  men,  poor 
fellows,  were  much  cast  down  on  arriving,  as  well  they  might  be;  but  soon 
recovered  their  spirits  on  my  informing  them  that  next  morning  very  early 
the  Doctor,  the  guide  and  myself  would  start  ahead  and  send  them  the 
horses.  In  the  meantime  we  consoled  ourselves  by  taking  possession  for 
the  night  of  the  hut,  and  found  it  very  comfortable. 

Monday,  10th. — We  started  at  1  o'clock  this  morning,  I  having  left  orders 
with  the  men  the  night  before  to  get  under  way  about  the  usual  hour,  and 
follow  us  at  their  leisure.  After  a  very  harassing  walk  of  four  hours  (dur 
ing  which  the  grass  did  not  grow  under  our  feet),  through  a  very  rugged 
country,  leading  chiefly  through  thick  woods,  at  one  time  up  to  the  knees 
in  water,  at  another  in  snow,  we  arrived  at  the  Moose  Deer  encampment, 
but  could  find  no  horses.  However,  as  we  proceeded  on,  looking  anxiously 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  45 

from  side  to  side,  we  heard  the  report  of  a  gun.  We  also  fired  a  shot,  to 
which  another  immediately  responded,  and  in  about  ten  minutes  after 
wards  a  man  and  a  boy  met  us  on  horseback  and  conducted  us  to  their  hut, 
where  we  found  the  rest  of  the  horses  and  a  fine  fat  goose,  whose  death  had 
occasioned  the  report  of  the  first  gun  we  had  heard.  The  hunter,  a  half- 
breed  of  the  country,  in  about  ten  minutes  had  the  goose  spitted  upon  a 
piece  of  wood  and  roasting  before  the  fire,  a  la  fashion  savage.  It  was  then 
served  up  upon  a  pine  branch,  and  certainly  I  never  tasted  anything  of  the 
goose  tribe  so  good.  But  a  long  walk,  such  as  we  had  had  that  morning,  is 
excellent  sauce — so  good  that  we  never  once  thought  of  salt,  and  bread,  of 
course,  was  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Immediately  after  breakfast  I 
despatched  the  horse  keeper  and  his  boy,  with  all  the  horses,  to  meet  the 
men  and  relieve  them  of  their  loads.  Being  joined  by  the  party,  we  con 
tinued  our  route,  and  in  the  evening  encamped  along  the  Athabasca  river. 

Tuesday,  llth. — This  morning  betimes  the  hunter  called  me,  saying  it 
was  time  to  start.  I  immediately  ordered  the  men  to  get  the  horses  ready, 
a  task  which  they  set  about  with  great  alacrity,  rejoicing  at  the  idea  of  their 
loads  being  transferred  from  their  own  backs  to  tlose  of  the  horses.  About 
8  o'clock  we  called  a  halt  and  had  breakfast.  Our  store  of  eatables  being 
now  so  much  reduced,  that  having  finished  that  meal,  there  only  remained 
a  few  biscuits  and  some  tea  and  sugar,  and  not  being  able  to  reach  Jasper's 
House  before  next  day,  it  did  not  require  a  great  logician  to  prove  that  un 
less  we  picked  up  something  betwixt  that  place  and  the .  encampment,  we 
should  make  but  a  sorry  supper  of  it.  I  therefore,  before  starting,  got  Dr. 
Tolmie  to  make  over  the  remainder  of  our  ammunition  to  the  hunter, 
whose  prowess  as  a  sportsman  we  had  yo  lately  experienced  in  the  aforesaid 
goose  (which  by  the  bye  he  had  killed  with  ball),  telling  him  at  the  same 
time  if  he  wished  something  for  supper,  that  he  would  not  spare  his  exer 
tions.  He  had  no  sooner  received  orders  than  off  he  started  ahead  of  the 
party,  accompanied  by  the  Doctor  and  myself  (we  being,  as  may  readily 
be  supposed,  parties  interested).  During  a  ride  of  five  hours,  to  the  place 
of  encampment,  our  hunter  shot  three  partridges,  a  duck,  and  a  pigeon,  so 
that  we  made  an  excellent  supper.  It  was  soon  after  that  meal,  when  sit 
ting  down  to  regale  myself  with  a  pipe  after  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  a  cir 
cumstance  took  place  which  caused  great  mirth  amongst  the  men.  The 
man  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend  upon  me  during  the  voyage,  a  Canadian, 
came  up  to  Dr.  Tolmie,  and,  making  a  very  polite  obeisance,  announced 
himself  as  a  chasseur  or  sportsman — tho'  I  believe  he  had  ^scarcely  ever 
fired  a  shot  in  his  life — and  requested  the  loan  of  his  gun.  The  Doctor 


46  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

very  good  natnredly  granted  his  request,  telling  him  at  the  same  time  that 
he  must  load  the  gun,  which  he  did,  and  started  upon  his  hunt;  and  I,  by 
way  of  a  joke,  called  out  to  the  rest  of  the  men  to  have  their  kettles  in 
readiness,  for  a  renowned  hunter  had  just  gone  forth,  and  might  be  expected 
soon  to  return  with  a  sheep,  abundance  of  which  frequent  the  surrounding 
mountains.  In  about  half  an  hour  our  hunter  returned,  not  with  a  sheep, 
but  with  the  important  information  that  he  had  discovered  a  partridge,  and 
had  burnt  priming  at  it,  and  that  the  bird  still  awaited  him.  The  Doctor, 
suspecting  that  all  was  not  right,  drew  the  charge,  and  found  that  the  gun 
was  only  loaded  with  shot — no  powder.  The  discovery  being  made  in 
presence  of  all  hands,  caused  great  laughter  at  the  expense  of  our  noble 
hunter.  One  of  the  men,  in  allusion  to  his  having  said  that  the  partridge 
awaited  him,  requested  he  would  extend  his  powers  of  attraction  to  a  flock 
of  geese  just  passing  overhead,  as  his  provisions  were  getting  rather  low. 
Numberless  were  the  jokes  cracked  upon  the  occasion,  and  they  ended  in 
my  naming  the  place  Le  Campment  Sans  Poudre — Encampment  without 
Powder — and,  I  have  no  doubt,  it  will  retain  that  name.  The  scenery  for 
the  last  two  days  hits  much  improved.  We  traveled  to-day  through  a  very 
pretty  country  and  numbers  of  little  plains,  and  being  principally  upon 
high  ground,  they  commanded  an  extensive  view  of  the  adjacent  country. 

Wednesday,  12th. — Fine,  pleasant  weather.  Had  the  horses  caught  at 
3  o'clock  this  morning,  and,  seeing  all  ready,  I  set  put  ahead,  accompanied 
by  Dr.  Tolmie  and  the  guide;  and  after  a  smart  ride  of  four  hours  we  ar 
rived  at  the  tent  of  a  fisherman  and  his  family,  situated  in  a  most  romantic 
spot  upon  the  side  of  a  beautiful  lake,  its  waters  so  clear  that  I  could  see, 
from  the  hill  where  I  stood,  the  bottom  of  the  lake  all  over.  On  inquiring 
of  the  fisherman  what  success,  he  informed  me  that  the  preceding  night 
he  had  killed  with  the  spear  one  hundred  white  fish,  part  of  which  I  desired 
him  to  send  to  Jasper's  House,  now  distant  only  t'vo  miles.  Upon  our 
arrival  there  we  received  a  regular  Highland  welcome  from  the  person  in 
charge,  Colin  Fraser,  formerly  piper  to  Governor  Simpson,  but  now  pro 
moted  to  the  charge  of  Jasper's  House.  Colen  lost  no  time  in  asking  us 
what  we  would  have  for  breakfast,  at  the  same  time  presenting  his  bill  of 
fare,  which  consisted  of  moose  deer's  and  sheep's  meat,  and  white  fish.  To 
travelers  like  ourselves,  who  had  the  night  before  been  obliged  to  hunt  for 
a  supper,  there  could  be  no  choice.  The  white  fish,  however,  being  just 
caught,  carried  the  day,  and  such  a  hearty  breakfast  did  we  make  of  it  as 
would  not  have  disgraced  Richard  Coeur  de  Leon  when  he  fell  foul  of  the 
pastry  set  before  him  by  the  fat  friar. 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  47 

Thursday,  13th. — We  remained  to-day  at  Jasper's  House  arranging  the 
boats.  Colin  could  scarcely,  had  he  searched  the  whola  Indian  country, 
have  found  a  spot  to  resemble  more  his  own  native  Highlands— surrounded 
upon  all  sides  by  high  mountains,  frequented,  if  not  by  lame,  at  least  by 
wild  sheep,  and  at  some  distance  a  large  lake,  which  yields  most  excellent 
trout. 

Friday,  14th. — Fine  pleasant  weather.  Immediately  after  breakfast,  we 
resumed  our  travels,  with  two  boats  and  ten  men,  and  descended  a  long 
way  down  the  Athabasca  river.  The  banks  of  this  river  are  very  thickly 
wooded,  and  the  current  so  extremely  rapid  that  a.  boat  can  descend  with 
ease  in  three  days  a  distance  which  it  requires  fourteen  to  ascend. 

Saturday,  15th. — We  got  under  way  this  morning  at  3  A.  M.  We  had  de 
scended  about  four  hours,  when  turning  a  point  in  the  river,  we  discovered 
two  moose  deer  about  to  cross  at  some  distance  below  us.  The  men  imme 
diately  stopped  pulling,  and  allowed  the  boats  to  drive  before  the  current. 
In  this  manner  we  had  approached  very  near  the  deer,  who,  not  perceiving 
the  boats,  took  to  the  water,  and  proved  to  be  a  doe  with  her  fawn  of  a  year 
old.  Now  the  chase  commenced  in  right  down  earnest,  and  although  there 
were  no  scarlet  coats  amongst  us,  I  am  sure  there  could  not  have  been 
more  ardent  sportsmen.  The  moose,  finding  their  retreat  cut  off  from  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  swam  with  great  speed  towards  the  north.  The  doe 
at  this  moment  received  two  shots,  and,  the  boats  coming  up,  a  blow  from 
an  axe  dispatched  her.  Leaving  one  of  the  boats  to  secure  the  prize,  we 
made  chase  with  the  other  after  the  fawn,  and  soon  coming  up  with  her, 
one  of  the  men  caught  her  by  the  ears,  and,  drawing  his  knife,  cut  her 
throat  in  regular  Smithfield  fashion.  Such  was  the  end  of  the  two  moose 
deer! — and  the  excitement  of  the  chase  being  over,  I  could  not  but  think  of 
the  sanguinary  nature  of  man — and  when  I  perceived  the  river  died  with 
the  blood  of  the  poor  moose,  I  almost  regretted  the  part  I  had  just  taken  in 
their  destruction.  We  now  made  for  the  shore,  and  making  a  large  fire, 
endeavored  to  console  ourselves  for  the  late  murder,  if  it  may  be  so  styled, 
with  a  breakfast  of  moose  deer  steaks,  than  which  no  meat,  to  rny  taste, 
can  be  better.  Those  were  the  first  of  the  moose  tribe  that  either  Dr.  Tol- 
mie  or  I  had  seen,  and  we  found  them  very  interesting  animals.  The  men 
having  cut  them  up,  we  again  embarked,  and  had  descended  but  a  very 
short  distance  when  we  started  some  geese  from  the  sands  along  the  shore, 
and  one  of  the  men,  leaping  ashore,  brought  us  five  of  their  eggs,  and  we 
picked  up  a  good  many  afterwards,  going  along.  We  thus  suddenly  found 


4  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

ourselves  in  a  land  flowing,  if  not  with  milk  and  honey,  at  least  with  deer, 
geese  and  eggs. 

Sunday,  16th. — About  12  o'clock  A.  M.,  we  arrived  at  Fort  Assiniboine, 
and  arranged  ourselves  to  start  with  horses  for  Fort  Edmonton.  It  had 
heretofore  been  the  custom  for  the  Columbians  to  receive  provisions  at 
Fort  Assiniboine,  to  take  them  to  the  next  post;  but  our  success  as  hnnters 
enabled  us,  instead  of  receiving  provisions,  to  leave  a  portion  for  the  peo 
ple  of  the  Fort,  in  exchange  for  which  we  received  some  potatoes  and  dried 
buffalo  meat.  Having  secured  the  boats,  by  hauling  them  upon  a  high 
bank,  for  oar  return  in  the  fall  from  York  Factory,  the  property,  now 
swelled  up  with  fifteen  packs  of  beaver  skins  we  had  brought  from  Jasper's 
House  to  fifteen  horse  loads,  was  all  tied  up  ready  for  a  start  next  morning. 

Monday,  17th. — Early  this  morning,  the  horses  being  collected  and  load 
ed,  we  started  from  Fort  Assiniboine  with  fifteen  loaded  and  eighteen  light 
horses,  in  all  thirty-three,  I  having  previously  disposed  the  men  so  as  to 
give  each  two  four  loaded  horses  betwixt  them  (to  take  charge  of),  and  each 
a  horse  to  ride.  About  4  p.  M.  we  encamped  at  a  place  called  Larocque's 
Encampment. 

Tuesday,  18th. — Started  at  8  A.  M.,  and  marched  till  2  p.  M.,  when  we 
arrived  upon  the  banks  of  the  Kiver  Pambino.  This  river  being  so  much 
swelled  by  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  the  mountains  as  to  prevent  our 
crossing,  we  were  obliged  to  chop  wood  and  make  four  rafts,  upon  which 
we  managed  to  transport  ourselves  and  the  baggage,  and  encamped  upon 
the  other  side. 

Wednesday,  19th. — Before  getting  under  way  this  morning,  I  found  a 
note  suspended  to  a  branch  in  our  road,  addressed  to  the  gentleman  in 
charge  of  the  Columbia  Express,  and  upon  opening  it,  it  proved  to  be  from 
Mr.  Geo.  McDougall,  who  had  passed  with  a  party  of  men  and  a  band  of 
horses,  only  about  two  hours  before  we  reached  the  opposite  bank,  stating 
that  he  had  left  two  rafts  at  my  service;  but  they  happened  to  be  upon  the 
wrong  side  of  the  river,  and  had  we  perceived  his  note  sooner  we  could  not 
have  availed  ourselves  of  them  without  swimming  across,  a  rather  unpleas 
ant  occupation  in  such  cold  water  and  swift  current.  We  now  pushed  on 
as  quickly  as  the  horses  could  march,  through  a  very  rugged  country  cov 
ered  with  swamps  and  fallen  timber,  as  I  had  some  hopes  of  overtaking  Mr. 
McDougall,  with  whom  I  am  well  acquainted.  About  3  p.  M.  we  got  clear 
of  the  woods,  and  my  horse,  smelling  those  of  the  party  ahead,  began  to 
neigh  with  all  his  might,  and  upon  my  giving  him  the  reins,  he  lost  no 
time  in  accelerating  his  pace,  which  in  a  very  short  time  brought  me  in 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  49 

sight  of  Mr.  McD.'s  party,  wending  their  way  slowly  over  a  hill.  Waiting 
now  for  Dr.  Tolniie  to  come  up,  we  both  rode  on  swiftly  ahead  of  our  men, 
and  took  Mr.  McDougall  quite  by  surprise,  he  having  had  a  full  day's  start 
of  us  from  Assiniboine.  Introducing  the  Doctor,  I  called  a  halt  to  a  wait  the 
arrival  of  those  behind,  it  being  now  4  o'clock,  and  the  horses  much  fa 
tigued.  Mr.  McD.  rode  off  to  inform  his  people  where  to  camp,  and  soon 
rejoined  us,  to  get  the  Columbia  news  and  take  supper.  Making  my  man 
produce  the  wine,  etc.,  we  gave  all  the  news  of  the  west,  and  in  return  re 
ceived  those  of  the  east  side  of  the  mountains.  Dr.  Tolmie  stuck  to  his 
teetotalism,  and  would  not  join  Mr.  McDougall  and  me  in  a  glass  of  wine. 
The  latter  gentleman  rode  off  after  supper,  to  sleep  at  his  own  camp. 

Thursday,  20th. — This  forenoon  we  breakfasted  at  Sturgeon  river,  and 
arrived  at  Fort  Edmonton  about  5  o'clock  p.  M., where  we  were  received 
most  kindly  by  Mr.  Harriott,  Chief  Trader,  and  treated  with  an  excellent 
supper  of  buffalo  steaks.  The  country  over  which  we  have  just  passed, 
from  Assiniboine  to  Edmonton,  scarcely  merits  description,  being  composed 
principally  of  thick  woods  and  swamps,  with  here  and  there  a  small  plain 
to  vary  the  uniformity  of  the  prospect. 

Friday,  21st. — Having  picked  out  six  of  my  best  men  and  the  guide,  at 
Mr.  Harriott's  request,  we  once  moie  abandoned  the  horses,  and  embark 
ing  in  a  boat,  began  to  descend  the  Saskatchewan  river. 

Sunday,  23d. — We  reached  Fort  Pitt,  u  small  fort  under  charge  of  Mr. 
Alexander  Fisher,  and  having  received  from  him  an  additional  supply  of 
provisions,  continued  our  voyage.  In  our  descent  of  the  Saskatchewan, 
nothing  very  interesting  occurred.  The  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
is  low,  and  plains  of  immense  extent  meet  the  eye  in  every  direction,  with 
strips  of  wood  along  the  banks.  The  water  of  this  river  at  this  season  is 
very  thick  and  muddy,  and  produces  the  —  —  when  long  confined  to 
its  use.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  buffalo  are  extremely  numerous 
along  the  banks.  At  present  we  saw  none,  but  abundance  of  antelope, 
wolves,  some  red  deer  or  elk,  and  black  bears.  Buffalo  were  so  numerous 
last  year  that  the  hunters  attached  to  Fort  Edmonton  alone  killed  four 
hundred  head.  The  fort  last  mentioned  is  built  upon  the  Saskatchewan, 
and  is  of  great  strength,  having  a  balcony  all  round,  with  a  bastion  at  each 
angle,  in  which  are  kept,  always  charged,  a  number  of  fire  arms.  There  is 
also  an  observatory  of  considerable  height,  which  commands  an  extensive 
view  of  the  adjacent  country.  All  these  precautions  are  by  no  means  un 
necessary,  as  Edmonton  is  frequented  by  bands  of  Blackfeet,  Assiniboines, 
and  other  lawless  tribes,  who  consider  it  almost  a  duty  to  plunder  and  even 


50  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAOE. 

murder  a  white  man  when  opportunity  offers.  Mr.  Harriott,  himself,  who 
came  to  the  country  when  quite  a  boy,  and  is  much  liked  by  the  natives 
generally,  being  upon  a  voyage  once,  accompanied  only  by  two  men,  fell  in 
with  a  band  of  Assiniboines,  to  whom  he  was  well  known,  and  as  it  is 
almost  a  universal  custom  when  we  meet  Indians  to  give  them  wherewith  to 
smoke,  he  drew  up  his  horse,  and  iu  order  to  get  the  tobacco  from  his 
pocket,  laid  his  gun  fora  moment  across  his  saddle.  He  had  no  sooner 
done  so  than  an  Indian  snatched  it  up.  Mr.  Harriott  was  now  defenceless, 
and  his  two  men  were  in  the  same  predicament,  their  arms  being  taken 
from  them  by  force.  To  endeavor  to  retake  them  was  useless.  They 
therefore  returned  to  the  fort,  too  happy  to  escape  with  their  lives;  and  had 
it  been  any  one  but  Mr.  Harriott,  ten  to  one  had  they  never  returned. 

Tuesday,  25th.— We  reached  Fort  Carlton,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Small.  This 
fort  is  just  a  duplicate  of  Edmonton,  upon  a  smaller  scale.  We  were  now 
again  about  to  change  our  mode  of  traveling. 

Wednesday,  26th. — Having  disposed  of  all  our  superfluous  baggage  and 
provisions,  Dr.  Tolmie,  myself,  an  Indian  guide  and  three  men,  including  a 
young  half-breed,  sou  of  Chief  Factor  Prudeu.  mounted  our  horses  and 
commenced  our  journey  over  the  plains  to  Keel  River.  Our  route  for  the 
first  three  days  lay  through  a  very  pretty  country,  a  mixture  of  plains, 
woods  and  lakes,  the  latter  abounding  with  wild  fowl,  a  number  of  which 
we  killed,  and  the  plains  with  antelopes:  but  our  time  pressed  too  much  to 
admit  of  our  hunting  them. 

Saturday,  29th. — "Very  sultry  weather,  and  no  water  to  be  had,  except 
from  stagnant  pool?,  and  to  increase  our  comforts,  the  guide  lost  his  way 
and  kept  us  wandering  backwards  and  forwards  for  upwards  of  three  hours. 
At  last  he  fell  upon  the  track.  During  the  day  we  perceived  three  buffalo, 
but  at  a  great  distance;  and  the  guide,  going  a  little  ahead,  saw  two  moose 
deer,  at  which  he  snapped  his  gun  three  times.  Lucky  for  him  they  were 
not  Blackfeet.  The  rest  of  the  party,  coming  up,  fired  two  shots,  without 
effect. 

Sunday,  30th. — To-day  we  came  in  sight  of  a  very  extensive  salt  lake,  the 
borders  of  which  are  much  frequented  by  buffalo  at  certain  seasons.  At 
present  we  only  saw  three  bulls,  and  our  time  was  too  precious  to  go  in 
pursuit  of  them.  Our  horses  were  also  very  much  jaded,  as  we  had  ridden 
very  hard  all  day  in  order  to  get  to  the  end  of  the  lake,  no  fresh  water 
being  found  along  its  borders.  We  were  so  fortunate  as  to  achieve  our  ob 
ject,  and  enjoyed  with  great  relish  a  glass  of  good  cold  water,  than  which, 
when  a  man  is  really  thirsty,  nothing  can  be  more  acceptable . 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  51 

Monday,  31st.— This  morning  we  commenced  our  journey,  as  usual,  very 
early,  and  had  traveled  about  twenty  miles,  when  our  guide  once  more  got 
bewildered,  to  my  great  chagrin,  as  the  dispatches  I  carried  for  Governor 
Simpson  were  already  late.  Having  arrived  upon  the  summit  of  a  hill,  the 
poor  Indian,  worn  out  with  vexation  and  fatigue,  asked  my  permission  to 
smoke  a  pipe  and  recollect  himself;  which  being  granted,  and  the  pipe  fin 
ished,  he  again  led  the  way,  but  in  a  totally  different  direction  to  that  which 
he  for  the  last  few  hours  pursued.  We  of  course  followed,  though  doubt 
ing  whether  he  was  right  or  wrong.  Towards  evening  we  encamped,  with 
our  horses  much  fatigued,  and  uncertain  with  regard  to  the  route.  "While 
at  supper  I  despatched  the  guide  to  make  a  tour  of  discovery.  He  had  not 
proceeded  far  when  he  fell  upon  a  lake  which  put  him  again  to  rights,  and 
he  rejoined  us  with  a  smiling  countenance. 

Tuesday,  June  1st. — At  half-past  three  A.  M.,  we  raised  camp.  The  guide 
and  I  being  ahead,  upon  ascending  a  rising  ground,  we  discovered  a  herd  of 
about  fifty  buffalo  cows  with  their  calves.  Calling  a  halt,  I  despatched 
the  half-breed  and  guide  to  endeavor  to  intercept  them,  while  the  rest  of  us 
remained  concealed  with  our  guns  ready  for  action,  as  it  was  most  probable 
they  would  pass  our  way;  but  roost  unfortunately  as  they  approached  them 
the  wind  suddenly  changed,  and  the  buffalo  scampered  away  at  a  great  rate, 
leaving  us  to  digest  our  perhaps  over  sanguine  anticipations  of  beef  steaks 
and  roast  ribs  as  we  best  might.  This  evening  we  reached  Fort  Petty,  a 
post  in  charge  of  Mr.  Chief  Trader  Todd,  who  had  left  a  few  days  before 
for  Red  River.  I  found,  however,  his  representative,  Peter  Sinclair,  an  old 
half-breed,  in  charge  of  the  fort,  who  waited  to  receive  us  at  the  gate  with 
his  pipe  in  his  cheek,  arms  folded,  and  hat  upon  one  side  of  his  head,  evi 
dently  impressed,  and  no  doubt  wishing  to  impress  us,  with  a  high  idea  of 
his  importance.  I  did  not,  however,  at  the  moment  feel  in  a  humor  to  be 
awe-struck  with  our  friend  Peter's  dignified  demeanor  (being  vexed  at  the 
state  of  our  horses"),  and  therefore  desiied  him  sans  ceremonie  to  provide  us 
the  means  without  loss  of  time  to  prosecute  our  journey.  I  here  found  a 
note  addressed  to  me  by  Chief  Factor  Rowan,  who  had  passed  only  four 
days  before,  informing  me  that  he  had  left  two  fresh  horses  for  our  use,  and 
hoping  we  might  overtake  him  before  he  reached  Red  River,  where  the  Co 
lumbia  dispatches,  of  which  I  was  the  bearer,  at  all  times  looked  for  with 
anxiety,  were  doubly  so  this  year,  as  Governor  Simpson  was  about  to  visit 
that  quarter  of  the  Hon.  Company's  territories.  We  certainly  stood  in 
great  need  of  fresh  horses,  for  those  we  had  been  traveling  with  were 
wretched  in  the  extreme;  in  fact,  could  we  have  only  mounted  Mr.  Peter 
Sinclair  as  Don  Quixote,  and  procured  an  equally  good  representative  of  his 


52  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

man  Sancho,  nothing  else  would  have  been  wanting  upon  our  arrival  at 
Ked  Eiver,  where  wind  mills  abound,  to  have  completed  a  most  perfect 
likeness  of  that  celebrated  hero,  as  any  one  of  our  steeds  might  have  well 
passed  for  a  Rosenante.  I  had  myself  ridden  for  half  a  day  on  an  old  buf 
falo  runner,  out  of  one  shoulder,  who  was  so  extremely  well  bred  that  when 
he  felt  inclined  to  lie  down  (which  occurred  rather  too  frequently),  he 
would  endeavor  to  get  to  one  side  of  the  road  and  lie  clown  gently  upon  the 
grass.  His  sense  of  politeness,  however,  carried  him  no  farther,  for  did 
you  not  immediately  dismount  he  would  roll  over  you  without  more  ado. 

Wednesday,  2d. — Bidding  adieu  to  Mr.  Peter  Sinclair  and  his  importance, 
we  soon  fell  upon  a  narrow  muddy  river,  in  endeavoring  to  cross  which 
some  of  our  horses  nearly  stuck  fast,  and  what  would  have  been  a  still 
greater  misfortune,  the  cussette  containing  the  papers  narrowly  escaped  get 
ting  wet. 

Thursday,  3d. — Starting  this  morning  as  early  as  usual,  we  arrived  upon 
a  river  both  deep  and  rapid,  which  gave  us  some  trouble  to  cross.  We 
soon,  however,  fell  upon  the  plan  of  rafting  the  provisions,  etc.,  by  means 
of  the  bed  oil  cloths,  which  we  converted  into  a  raft,  drove  in  the  horses, 
and  swam  after  them. 

4th,  5th  and  6th. — Our  route  during  those  three  days  lay  through  a  low 
swampy  country,  studded  with  woods  and  small  lakes. 

Monday,  7th. — We  arrived  this  morning  upon  nnother  very  rapid  river, 
over  which  we  swam  the  horses  and  crossed  ourselves  and  luggage  in  a  sort 
of  wooden  canoe  lined  with  two  of  the  oil  cloths.  We  had  no  sooner  land 
ed,  and  had  just  begun,  upon  the  opposite  bank,  to  arrange  everything  for 
a  fresh  start,  when  one  of  us,  happening  to  look  ahead,  discovered  upon  a 
rising  ground,  descending  toward  us,  a  band  of  eight  Indians,  tall,  fierce 
looking  fellows,  who  we  soon  perceived  to  be  armed,  from  the  glancing  of 
the  guns  in  the  sun  as  they  descended  the  hill.  As  our  guns  were  all  scat 
tered  about,  we  immediately  each  secured  his  own  and  remained  waiting  the 
approach  of  the  Indians,  who  we  imagined  might  be  Assimboines;  but  for 
tunately  they  turned  out  to  be  Santeux,  or  it  is  not  unlikely  the  recourse  to 
our  guns  had  not  been  in  vain.  I  was  not,  I  need  not  say,  displeased  to 
find  they  were  Santeux,  as  I  felt  very  anxious  concerning  the  dispatches, 
besides  we  did  not  feel  particularly  anxious  to  fight,  they  being  more  nu 
merous  than  our  party,  and,  as  Butler  has  it,  "He  that  fights  and  runs  away 
lives  to  fight  another  day."  So  much  for  the  Santeux  and  our  encounter 
with  them,  who,  having  received  their  pittance  of  tobacco,  "took  their  road, 
and  so  did  we."  Towards  evening  we  fell  in  with  a  hut  of  Indians,  and 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  53 

procured  a  large  supply  of  eggs,  viz. :  goose,  duck,  and  water  hen  or  coot, 
which  enabled  us  to  make  a  comfortable  supper. 

Wednesday,  9th. — This  morning,  having  got  under  way  very  early,  we 
pushed  the  horses  to  a  trot,  determined,  if  possible,  to  reach  the  settlement 
next  day.  We  had  now  trotted  on  till  about  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  when  we  began 
to  think  of  breakfasting  at  a  small  river  now  at  no  great  distance,  when  we 
suddenly  perceived  a  band  of  horses  and  cattle,  and  upon  a  nearer  ap 
proach  discovered  people  and  a  great  number  of  carts  and  other  parapher 
nalia,  evidently  the  accompaniment  of  a  party  about  to  start  upon  a  very 
long  journey,  who  we  immediately  supposed  to  be  some  of  the  Red  River 
settlers  bound  upon  a  pilgrimage  to  that  land  of  promise,  the  Columbia; 
and  upon  our  coming  up,  our  conjectures  proved  to  be  correct.  Having  re 
ceived  the  news  of  Red  River,  we  in  our  turn  dealt  out  those  of  the  Colum 
bia,  to  willing  ears.  The  Doctor  and  myself  were  upon  the  point  of  sitting 
down  to  breakfast,  when  an  invitation  arrived  from  one  of  the  principal 
settlers  for  us  to  partake  with  him  of  that  meal,  and  certainly  nothing 
could  have  happened  more  appropos,  as  though  had  our  waiting-man  pos 
sessed  in  perfection  all  the  attributes  of  the  never-to-be-forgotten  Caleb 
Balderstone,  he  could  not  have  garnished  our  table  with  more  than  pemi- 
can,,  of  which  we  had  now  become  thoroughly  tired.  On  proceeding  to  the 
tent  of  Mr.  Alex.  McKay,  for  to  him  we  stood  indebted  for  the  invitation  to 
dejeuner,  we  found  that  his  wife,  a  nice,  tidy  little  woman,  had  laid  out  the 
table  in  great  style,  consisting  of  bread  and  butter,  buffalo  tongiies  and 
roast  veal,  flanked  by  a  fine  pork  ham  of  stately  dimensions.  I  need  scarcely 
remark  that  we  did  ample  justice  to  Mr.  McKay's  hospitable  board,  which 
seemed  like  a  table  spread  in  the  wilderness  for  us.  Breakfast  being  de 
spatched,  we  bade  adieu  to  our  kind  entertainers,  wishing  them  a  pleasant 
trip  to  the  Columbia,  and  continued  our  route  over  beautiful  and  extensive 
plains. 

Thursday,  10th. — I  have  hitherto  refrained  from  stating  the  annoyance 
which  we  daily  received  from  those  mischievous  little  dabblers  in  human 
blood,  the  mosquito  and  the  bull  dog,  or  gad-fly,  as  it  is  a  plague  to  which 
travelers  in  this  country  are  always  more  or  less  subject.  To-day,  however, 
we  felt  rather  indebted  to  than  annoyed  by  that  respectable  insect,  the  gad 
fly,  as  when  our  horses  began  to  flag  he  invariably  attacked  them  and  spur 
red  them  on,  or  I  question  much  whether  we  would  have  reached  the  Fort 
in  the  time  we  had  anticipated.  Soon  after  breakfast  we  reached  the  first 
house  in  the  settlement,  belonging  to  Mr.  Belcour,  a  Catholic  priest,  who 
received  us  \\ith  great  kindness,  to  whom  I  stated  the  miserably  fatigued 


54  JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE. 

state  of  our  horses,  and  as  we  were  still  about  thirty  miles  from  the  Fort, 
solicited  his  assistance  in  providing  us  fresh  ones,  and  we  did  not  solicit  in 
vain.  His  reverence  \ery  soon  procured  us  what  we  required,  and  it  was 
high  time,  as  upon  coming  out  of  the  house  we  found  oar  own  poor  horses 
lying  down,  saddles  and  all,  just  as  we  had  dismounted.  We  again  resumed 
our  journey,  with  many  thanks  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Belcour,  and  in  about  an 
hour  and  a  half  reached  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Mr.  Cuthbert  Grant, 
who  would  not  let  us  depart  without  dinner,  at  which  we  had  an  opportu 
nity  of  proving  the  quality  of  the  Ked  River  beef,  in  the  shape  of  an  ex 
cellent  steak.  Having  dined,  we  proposed  starting  for  the  Fort,  when  Mr. 
Grant  kindly  tendered  me  the  loan  of  his  gig,,  by  way  of  change,  and  his 
fine  American  horse,  to  drive  to  the  Fort.  Of  course  this  was  too  agreeable 
a  proffer  to  be  rejected,  we  having  by  this  time  (our  sixteenth  day  upon 
horseback),  had  quantum  suffitit  of  that  sort  of  exercise;  and  having,  as  we 
thought,  during  that  time  proved  our  equestrianshship  beyond  a  doubt,  had 
no  wish  whatever  to  show  off  before  the  good  lieges  of  Red  River.  The 
Doctor  and  I  had  no  sooner  taken  our  places  in  the  gig,  and  I  had  taken 
possession  of  the  reins  and  whip,  and  which  I  am  sure  no  Jehu  in  the 
Strand  could  have  done  more  knowingly,  we  set  out,  and  having  got  safely 
round  the  angle  of  a  fence  (against  which,  by  the  by,  in  spite  of  my  dexter 
ity  in  managing  the  reins,  we  had  nearly  run  foul),  we'iound  ourselves  in  the 
high  road  to  Fort  Garry.  Mr.  Grant's  American  is  of  first  rate  metal,  a 
single  shake  of  the  reins  being  sufficient  to  put  him  to  a  hard  trot,  at  which 
rate  we  continued  until  we  reached  our  destination.  During  the  drive  we 
passed  through  beautiful  green  plains j  alive  with  herds  of  cattle,  horses 
and  sheep,  and,  upon  each  side  of  the  road,  neat  whitewashed  cottages, 
with  gardens  and  fences,  laid  out  with  great  taste. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  Fort  Garry  we  weie  kindly  received  by  Chief  Factor 
Finlayson  (the  same  gentleman  whom  I  accompanied  formerly  to  the  Co 
lumbia),  and  the  rest  of  the  gentlemen.  By  Mr.  Finlayson  we  were  in 
troduced  to  Sir  George  Simpson,  Governor  in  Chief,  who  had  arrived  from 
England  on  that  morning,  and  Sir  George  introduced  us  to  Lords  Mullgrave 
and  Caledon,  and  a  Russian  gentleman,  who  had  accompanied  his  Excel 
lency  to  Red  River — their  Lordships  in  order  to  enjoy  a  buffalo  hunt,  and 
the  Russian  to  accompany  Sir  George  to  the  Columbia,  and  from  thence  to 
Russia.  Having  delivered  the  dispatches  to  the  Governor,  we  retired  to 
have  a  view  of  the  Fort,  which  we  found  to  be  extremely  neat  in  all  its  ar 
rangements,  the  house  and  stores  laid  out  with  great  regularity,  the  whole 
surrounded  by  a  well  built  stone  wall,  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height,  and  a 
bastion  of  stone  at  each  angle.  In  fact,  from  whatever  side  the  approach 


JOURNAL    OF    A    VOYAGE.  55 

is  made,  the  effect  is  striking,  and  leads  one  to  believe  that  there  will  be 
comfort  within  the  walls;  which  a  day's  trial  at  Mr.  Finlayson's  table  will 
not  fail  to  realize,  even  to  a  more  fastidious  appetite  than  mine.  On  Sun 
day  I  accompanied  the  other  gentlemen  to  church,  where  we  had  a  good 
sermon  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cochrane,  whose  congregation  looked  very  re 
spectable. 

June  24. — In  company  with  Mr.  Chief  Trader  Gladman  and  Dr.  Tolmie, 
I  started  in  a  bark  canoe  for  York  Factory,  a  voyage  of  ten  days,  during 
which,  when  not  wind  bound  in  Lake  Winipeg,  we  traveled  at  the  rate  of 
seventeen  hours  per  day;  and  on  one  occasion  we  started  at  half-past  nine 
o'clock  P.  M.,  and  went  on  till  half-past  seven  the  following  evening.  I 
mention  this  to  give  some  idea  of  light  canoe  traveling,  which,  of  all  kinds, 
is  by  far  the  most  severe  upon  the  men.  On  the  30th  we  reached  Norway 
House,  the  place  where  I  had  passed  my  first  winter  in  the  Indian  country, 
and  here  I  found  Mrs.  Ross,  who  looks  upon  me  as  one  of  the  family.  On 
the  same  evening  Mr.  Ross  arrived  from  Red  River,  accompanied  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Evans  and  his  daughter.  I  soon  discovered  that  an  absence  of 
ten  years  had  made  great  changes  at  my  old  quarters.  Instead  of  living  all 
the  year  round  upon  white  fish,  as  in  days  of  old,  Mr.  Ross  produced  a  din 
ner,  a  better  than  which  I  have  seldom  seen  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Evans,  who  is  Chief  Superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Mis 
sion,  resides  with  his  family  at  Norway  House,  and  has  established  a  school 
there  for  the  purpose  of  educating  the  Indians;  but  it  has  not  yet  been  long 
enough  established  to  enable  one  to  predict  respecting  its  success. 

July  4. — We  arrived  at  York  Factory,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  drink 
ing  tea  with  Mrs.  Hargrave,  a  lady  just  come  out  fro  11  Scotland  last  year; 
and  when  seated  at  table  could  not  help  thinking  mvself  once  more  across 
the  Atlantic,  enjoying  that  beverage  with  some  of  my  own  dear  friends. 

Wednesday,  July  14. — Having  arranged  and  brought  all  the  accounts  con 
nected  with  the  Columbia  to  a  close,  I  embarked  with  Chief  Traders  Messrs. 
Harriott  and  Manson,  and  a  young  gentleman,  a  Mr.  Petty,  clerk,  upon  my 
return  to  the  Columbia;  but  as  I  have  already  endeavored  to  give  some  ac 
count  of  my  voyage  out,  I  shall  only,  should  anything  remarkable  occur 
upon  our  return,  take  notice  of  such  an  event,  in  order  to  avoid  repetition. 


A  GALLOP  THROUGH  THE  WILLAMETTE, 


BY    GEO.    T.     ALLAN. 


NOVEMBEE,   1841. 

Before  commencing  an  account  of  a  trip  through  part  of  the  Willamette, 
it  may  be  well  to  premise  in  a  few  words  the  circumstances  which  led  to  it. 
I  arrived  at  Vancouver  on  the  30th  of  October,  1841,  with  the  express  from 
York  Factory,  where  I  remained  only  about  a  fortnight,  and  had  begun  to 
make  my  arrangements  for  passing  the  winter  there,  where  I  had  already 
passed  the  preceding  nine,  when,  on  the  evening  of  the  19th  of  November, 
Sir  George  Simpson  sent  for  me  to  his  room,  and  acquainted  me,  much  to 
my  surprise,  that  he  had  appointed  me  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  for  which 
place  I  should  shortly  sail  on  board  the  Hon.  Company's  barque  Columbia, 
Captain  Humphreys. 

Having  many  little  items  to  settle  before  leaving  Fort  Vancouver,  I  was 
very  late  in  retiring  to  bed,  and  had  only  slept  about  an  hour  when  a  mes 
senger  from  Sir  George  awoke  me,  saying  that  he  requested  my  company 
upon  a  visit  to  the  Willamette.  If  I  had  been  surprised  at  the  news  of  my 
appointment  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  I  was  now  doubly  so;  but  one  is  so 
apt  to  receive  sudden  and  unexpected  orders  in  this  country  that  he  in  a 
manner  holds  himself  in  readiness  for  such  emergencies.  I  therefore  hud 
dled  on  my  clothes  without  more  ado,  giving  orders  to  ship  my  trunks  on 
board  the  Columbia,  as  she  would  drop  down  the  river  before  our  return. 

Chief  Factor  Douglas  had  been  appointed  to  accompany  the  Governor 
upon  his  present  tour,  but  had  been  taken  unwell  during  the  night,  when 
that  duty  devolved  upon  me.  I  now  set  about  in  earnest  to  collect  our  men 
and  see  the  baggage  carted  down  to  the  river,  when  we  started  about  5 
o'clock  A.  M.,  in  a  boat  manned  with  sixteen  picked  men,  who,  of  course, 
did  not  neglect  to  enliven  our  departure  with  some  of  their  best  songs;  nor 
did  the  Captain  of  the  Columbia  forget  to  add  his  quota  to  the  harmony  by 
a  salute  of  five  guns,'  that  awoke  all  the  good  folks  of  Vancouver. 

Besides  Sir  George  Simpson,  Chief  Factor  Rowand  and  a  French  gentle 
man  honored  the  excursion  with  their  presence. 


A    GALLOP    THROUGH     THE    WILLAMETTE.  57 

About  six  miles  down  the  Columbia  we  entered  the  river  Willamette 
which  has  a  noble  appearance,  being  in  some  places  nearly  as  broad  as  the 
Columbia. 

About  9  o'clock,  Sir  George  requested  me  to  look  out  for  a  place  for 
breakfast,  which  to  one  upon  the  voyage  is  generally  an  agreeable  task. 
That  meal  being  over,  we  resumed  our  seats  in  the  boat  and  continued  the 
voyage,  when  we  reached  the  falls  at  3  p.  M.  At  this  place,  which  is  ex 
tremely  romantic,  we  made  a  portage,  carrying  all  the  baggage  and  dragging 
the  boat  a  considerable  distance.  The  American  Methodist  Missionaries 
have  here  established  a  station  with  the  avowed  intention  of  teaching  and 
civilizing  the  natives;  but,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  hitherto  with  little  success, 
those  laudable  objects  being  frustrated  partly  through  the  extreme  stupid- 
ness  of  the  Indians,  and  partly  from,  I  may  say,  the  extreme  selfishness  of 
the  Missionaries,  who  devote  more  attention  to  their  own  wordly  comforts 
than  their  professions  warrant. 

About  four  hours'  march  above  the  falls  we  encamped  for  the  night,  and 
had  the  good  fortune  to  find  a  comfortable  berth  for  both  the  tents. 

Saturday,  20th. — We  started  this  morning  at  4  o'clock,  and  at  7  o'clock 
reached  the  house  of  Mr.  Laframboise,  when  we  engaged  his  services  as 
guide,  and  he  promised  also  to  furnish  horses  for  the  trip .  These  arrange 
ments  being  made,  we  returned  to  the  Sand  Encampment,  some  little  dis 
tance  below,  where  we  breakfasted,  and  were  visited  by  some  of  the  nearest 
settlers,  who  brought  horses  for  our  use.  At  midday,  Laframboise  swam 
over  a  band  of  horses,  and  finding  we  now  had  sufficient  for  our  purpose, 
we  mounted,  and,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Laframboise  in  his  capacity  of 
guide,  set  off  at  a  round  pace,  passing  on  the  way  several  houses  and  farms, 
apparently  well  arranged.  The  face  of  the  country,  as  we  rode  along,  ap 
peared  to  disadvantage,  owing  to  the  season  of  the  weather;  but  is  undoubt 
edly  a  fine  country,  and  will  one  day  become  an  extensively  settled  one. 

At  2  o'clock  we  entered  upon*  a  beautiful  and  extensive  plain,  in  which, 
the  Catholic  Church  is  the  most  conspicuous  object.  Here  we  paid  a  short 
visit  to  the  Kev.  Mr.  Blanchet,  and  then  continued  our  route  through  woods 
and  plains,  studded  with  stately  oaks.  About  4  o'clock  p.  M.  we  reached  the 
mansion  of  the  Kev.  Jason  Lee,  head  of  the  Methodist  Mission,  situated  in 
a  very  beautiful  spot,  where  he  has  lately  erected  a  saw  mill— this  gentle 
man's  house  being  the  most  remote  in  the  settlement.  After  a  very  short 
stay,  we  commenced  our  return,  and  had  rode  about  an  hour  and  a  half, 
when  night  overtook  us,  a  circumstance  that  appears  to  have  been  as  un 
locked  for  as  it  was  unexpected  by  our  guide,  who  therefore  soon  lost  the 


58  A    GALLOP    THROUGH    THE     WILLAMETTE. 

road  and  got  completely  bewildered.  We  kept  riding  about  in  the  dark  for 
four  hours,  with  the  hope  of  discovering  a  light  in  some  of  the  houses, 
which  we  expected  surrounded  us.  In  this  dilemma,  our  horses  began  to 
fag,  and  left  us  the  comfortable  anticipation  of  passing  the  night  in  the 
woods.  At  this  moment,  when  we  had  almost  given  up  all  other  thoughts, 
we  heard  the  welcome  bark  of  a  dog,  and  steering  our  course  in  that  direc 
tion,  soon  perceived  a  light,  which  led  us  to  a  small  house,  the  inmates  of 
which  we  took  quite  by  surprise.  The  good  man  had  that  day  killed  a  large 
pig,  which,  added  to  himself  and  family  and  their  unexpected  guests,  so 
rilled  his  domicile  that  .there  was  scarely  room  to  stir.  We  made  a  demand 
for  fresh  horses,  and  were  iortunate  enough  to  procure  them,  and  also  a 
new  guide,  Laframboise  readily  confessing  his  inability  to  guide  us  in  the 
dark.  We  now  made  a  fresh  start,  and  at  half-past  ten  reached  the  house 
of  Joseph  Gervais,  one  of  the  principal  settlers,  where  we  found  our  tents 
pitched  and  a  good  supper  awaiting  us,  to  which  we  all  did  justice,  with  the 
exception  of  our  French  friend,  who,  although  accustomed,  as  he  had  in 
formed  us  (while  in  California),  to  ride  GU  leagues,  or  18U  miles  a  day, 
found,  if  I  am  not  much  mistaken,  Sir  George's  mode  of  traveling  suffi 
ciently  expeditious.  Gervais  did  not  fail  to  contribute  his  share  of  good 
things  to  our  supper,  which  repaid  us  for  all  our  troubles . 

Sunday,  '21st. — After  breakfast  we  again  set  out,  though  the  weather  was 
disagreeably  wet,  and  arrived  at  the  Catholic  Church  at  10  A.  M.,  where  we 
found  all  the  Canadians  assembled,  with  a  display  of  horses  that  would  have 
done  credit  to  a  much  more  ancietit  colony.  After  service,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Blanchet  regaled  us  with  an  excellent  dinner.  In  the  meantime,  some  of 
the  most  respectable  of  the  settlers  waited  upon  Sir  George,  tendering  their 
respects,  and  offering  their  services  ana  assistance  for  the  continuance  of 
our  tour.  They  were  thanked  for  their  attention,  aud  informed  that  the 
Governor  was  much  pleased  at  rinding  them  so  well  and  comfortably  set 
tled.  I,  however,  availed  myself  of  their  proffers,  to  take  possession  of  a 
very  spirited  and  high  mettled  horse,  which  carried  me  back  in  fine  style  to 
the  Sand  Encampment,  where  we  found  our  men  awaiting  us.  Mr.  Blan 
chet  followed  in  his  light  cart,  accompanied  by  the  180-mile  gentleman,  who 
confessed  his  being  thoroughly  tired  of  horseback,  and  availed  himself  of 
the  opportunity  to  abandon  his  nag  and  embark  with  His  Reverence. 

Monday,  '22d. —  We  now  resumed  our  seats  once  more  in  the  boat,  with 
the  addition  of  Mi*.  Blanchet,  at  4  A.  M.  At  8  o'clock  we  reached  the  falls, 
and  while  the  men  were  making  the  portage,  we  breakfasted,  and  after 
wards  paid  a  visit  to  the  American  Missionaries,  whom  we  found  very  com- 


A    GALLOP    THROUGH  THE     WILLAMETTE.  59 

fortably  situated.  On  parting  from  the  falls,  Sir  George  requested  me  to 
order  the  men  to  paddle  up  close  to  them,  where  we  got  an  excellent  view, 
and  really  the  sight  was  magnificent.  Having  gratified  ourselves  with  this 
fine  sight,  we  turned  our  faces  towards  home,  descending  the  current  at 
such  a  rapid  rate,  with  our  sixteen  paddles,  and  a  cheerful  song,  as  quite 
electrified  our  Missionary  friends.  About  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  we 
arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver,  where  I  immediately  commenced  my  prepara 
tions  for  a  voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  during  which,  should  anything 
interesting  occur,  I  may  probably  add  to  the  foregoing  trifles. 

May  22,  1868. 

At  the  date  of  the  Willamette  trip,  Oregon  City  had  only  one  small  leg 
house  to  boast  of, t  and  Portland  was  yet  in  embryo. 


GEN.    JOSEPH    LANE. 


(From  the  Daily  Oregonian,  April  21,  1881.) 
BY   JUDGE   MATTHEW  P.  DEADY. 


"How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest, 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest." 

General  Lane  is  dead  !  The  brave  old  soldier  and  genial  gentleman  is  no 
more  !  The  hero  of  many  a  hard  fought  field  and  daring  adventure  has  lain 
down  to  rest ! 

He  breathed  his  last  at  Roseburg  at  nine  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  igth 
instant,  in  the  midst  of  his  friends  and  descendents  to  the  third  generation.  His 
illness  has  been  of  short  duration  and  his  death  may  be  characterized  as  simply 
the  natural  termination  of  his  mortal  life.  For  some  weeks  he  has  been  satisfied 
that  his  end  was  drawing  nigh,  and  cheerfully  and  resignedly  preparing  him 
self  for  the  event,  has  approached  his  grave — 

"Like  one  that  draws  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

To  his  old  friends  and  comrades  throughout  the  country  he  has  written  his 
kind  farewells,  and  for  some  weeks  his  closing  life  and  coming  death  have 
colored  the  thoughts  and  conversation  of  many  a  household  in  Oregon. 

Joseph  Lane  was  born  in  Buncombe  county,  North  Carolina,  on  December  14, 
1801,  and  his  life  was  almost  coeval  with  that  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

In  his  early  life,  his  father  moved  to  Kentucky  and  thence  to  Indiana,  where 
he  lived  until  1848,  engaged  much  of  the  time  in  boating  and  trading  to  New 
Orleans.  He  was  several  times  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  that  State — the 
first  time  when  he  was  scarcely  of  age. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  War,  he  volunteered  hi%  services,  and 
was  appointed  a  Brigadier  General,  and  afterwards  was  brevetted  a  Major-Gen- 
eral.  He  distinguished  himself  at  Buena  Vista,  where  he  was  severely  wounded. 


GENERAL    JOSEPH    LANE.  6l 

From  thence  at  the  close  of  the  war  he  held  a  comparatively  independent 
command,  operating  in  central  Mexico,  upon  Gen.  Scott's  line,  during  which 
time  Lane's  brigade  became  famious  for  its  daring  and  activity,  and  he  himself 
acquired  the  sobriquet  of  "the  Marion  of  the  Mexican  war." 

Gen.  Scott  had  a  high  opinion  of  his  services  and  ability.  At  San  Francisco, 
in  October,  1859,  the  writer  witnessed  a  meeting  between  them.  Gen.  Scott 
was  on  his  way  to  Oregon  to  compose  the  San  Juan  difficulty  and  Gen.  Lane 
was  on  his  way  to  Washington  as  Senator.  Upon  the  approach  of  the  latter 
Gen.  Scott  at  once  rose  up  and  cordially  grasping  his  hand,  said,  "How  are  you, 
my  old  friend  and  fellow  soldier?"  To  which  Gen.  Lane  quickly  and  happily 
replied,  "General,  my  career  as  a  soldier  was  a  brief  one,  but  I  had  the  honor 
of  serving  under  the  greatest  general  of  the  age." 

Upon  the  passage  of  the  bill — August  14,  1848 — organizing  Oregon  Territory, 
Gen.  Lane  was  selected  by  President  Polk  as  a  suitable  person  to. entrust  with 
the  governorship  of  this  then  far  off  and  unknown  country.  At  the  urgent  solici 
tation  of  the  President,  he  accepted  the  position  and  in  the  following  winter 
crossed  the  continent  to  California  by  the  southern  route,  in  company  with 
Mijor  Joe  Meek  and  a  small  military  escort,  and  reached  Oregon  City  March  2, 
1849 — pulling  an  oar  in  his  boat  much  of  the  way  from  Astoria. 

At  Oregon  City  he  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the  people  far  and  near,  who 
saw  in  him  and  his  presence  the  realization  of  their  long  cherished  but  oft  de 
ferred  hope  of  congressional  aid  and  protection. 

On  March  3d  he  wrote  and  published  his  proclamation  announcing  his»arrival 
and  set  the  machinery  of  the  new  government  in  motion  on  the  very  last  day  of 
his  friend  Polk's  administration.  The  proclamation  was  printed  by  the  late 
Gov.  Geo.  L.  Curry,  then  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Free  Press.  His  career 
since  then  has  been  in  Oregon,  and  is  well  known  to  the  early  settlers. 

After  eighteen  months  of  arduous  duty  in  the  Gubernatorial  office  and  as  Su 
perintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  he  resigned  his  office  to  his  successor,  and  went 
•  to  the  mines  of  Northern  California,  where  he  worked  as  a  miner  during  the 
winter  of  1850-1.  In  1851  he  was  triumphantly  elected  Delegate  to  Congress, 
where  he  was  continued  by  successive  re-elections  until  the  formation  of  the 
State  government,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate — taking  his  seat  in  that 
body  with  the  admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union,  on  February  14,  1859, 
where  he  remained  until  the  expiration  of  his  term,  on  March  3,  1861. 

From  Washington  he  returned  to  Oregon,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since — 
most  of  the  time  in  comparative  retirement  on  his  farm  among  the  picturesque 
hills  of  the  Umpqua. 


62  GENERAL    JOSEPH    LANE. 

In  1860  he  was  on  the  Presidential  ticket  with  Breckenridge,  for  the  office  of 
Vice  President. 

During  the  heated  controversy  which  immediately  preceded  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  Gen.  Lane  was  by  nature,  education  and  position,  an  ardent  friend 
of  the  South,  and  what  he  conceived  to  be  its  constitutional  rights,  and  took 
his  share  of  the  rancor  and  ill-will  which  usually  grow  out  of  such  contentions 
and  conflicts.  But  these  have  been  long  since  forgotten  by  him;  and  it  is  not 
often  that  one  who  has  played  so  long  and  prominent  a  part  in  public  affairs,  in 
troublous  times,  goes  down  to  his  grave  with  more  good  will  and  regard  than 
Joseph  Lane  of  Oregon. 

In  August,  1853,  there  was  a  sudden  and  severe  Indian  outbreak  in  Rogue 
river,  which  struck  terror  into  the  scattered  mining  camps  and  sparsely  settled 
valley.  As  soon  as  the  news  reached  the  Umpqua,  Gen.  Lane  left  bis  unfin 
ished  home  and  hurried  to  the  scene  of  action.  There  he  organized  a  volun 
teer  force  and  pursued  the  Indians  into  their  mountain  fastness,  and  compelled 
an  engagement  on  Battle  creek,  on  August  24th,  which  resulted  in  a  permanent 
peace.  In  leading  the  charge,  he  was  shot  through  the  same  shoulder  that  was 
wounded  at  Buena  Vista. 

On  the  nth  day  thereafter — Sunday,  September  4th — the  writer  was  present 
when  the  white  and  Indian  chiefs,  Joseph,  the  former,  with  his  arm  in  a  sling, 
and  the  latter  in  a  toga  that  would  have  done  honor  to  a  Roman  senator,  met 
on  the  side  of  the  mountain  over  against  Fable  Rock,  in  the  presence  of  half  a 
dozen  white  men  and  hundreds  of  Indians,  agreed  upon  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

Lan«  was  emphatically  a  man  of  the  people,  and  gave  his  life  to  their  service 
with  a  devotion  that  few  can  feel  or  appreciate. 

With  him  politics  was  an  honorable  struggle  for  position  and  power  for  public 
ends  and  purposes,  and  not  for  public  gain.  Accordingly,  he  lived  honestly 
and  died  poor. 

In  his  intercourse  with  others  self  was  always  a  secondary  consideration,  and 
he  seldom  failed  to  inspire  a  lasting  regard  for  himself. 

A  distinguished  cavalry  officer,  who  served  under  him  as  a  volunteer  in  Mex 
ico,  has  since  said  of  him — ''The  men  of  his  brigade  loved  him,  and  a  tender 
chord  could  always  be  touched  by  speaking  to  them  of  him." 

When  the  history  of  this  country  is  written,  Oregon's  first  senator  must  occupy 
a  prominent  place  in  it.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability — gen 
erous  and  affable — brave  and  gallant — a  lover  of  women  and  a  friend  of  the 
helpless — and  take  him  all  in  all,  we  shall  not  soon  look  upon  his  like  again. 

In  his  grave  are  buried  the  memories  of  the  frailties  incident  to  human  na 
ture  and  the  asperities  of  life's  hot  conflicts;  and  the  passage  of  time  will 
but  brighten  his  nam§  and  enhance  his  renown. 


MEDARE    G.    FOISY 


BY  WILLARD  H.  REES. 


To  fulfill  a  somewhat  ancient  agreement,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  place  upon 
record  as  best  I  may  a  few  words  in  memory  of  M.  G.  Foisy,  a  practical  printer, 
and  first  one  of  the  art  who  set  type  on  the  Pacific  Coast  north  of  the  Mexican 
Republic.  Mr.  Foisy  and  Charles  Saxton,  Oregon's  first  printers,  crossed  the 
plains  in  1844.  Saxton  returned  with  Dr.  White  to  the  States  the  following 
year,  published  a  journal  of  his  trip  across  the  plains,  with  a  description  of 
Oregon  and  a  short-sighted  view  of  the  importance  of  the  country  claimed  by 
the  United  States  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast.  In  1845  Jonn  Fleming  and  N. 
W.  Colwell,  veterans  of  the  art  preservative,  crossed  the  plains,  and  the  follow 
ing  year  \V.  P.  Hudson.  These  three  last  named  pioneer  printers  were  succes 
sively  the  first  printers  on  the  first  paper,  the  Oregon  Spectator.  W.  P.  Hudson, 
a  native,  I  believe,  of  Boston,  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen.  He  printed  under 
date  of  February  I,  1847,  tne  first  English  spelling  book  published  on  the  Paci 
fic  Coast;  went  to  the  California  gold  mines  in  the  fall  of  1848.  After  spending 
considerable  time  in  work  and  prospecting,  he  found  a  rich  gulch,  from  which 
in  a  very  short  time  he  realized  $21,000  and  returned  to  Oregon,  but  did  not 
remain  long  until  he  took  passage  for  San  Francisco,  and  died  at  sea,  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  in  December,  1850.  With  all  the  above  named  good 
fellows,  time  has  ceased  to  be. 

In  presenting  this  sketch  I  will  ask  to  be  pardoned  for  deflecting  from  the 
line  usually  followed  in  biographical  sketching,  and  give  briefly  a  few  circum 
stances  which  preceded  and  lead  to  my  first  acquaintance  with  our  deceased 
friend,  M.  G.  Foisy. 

Returning  from  Havana,  Cuba,  in  May,  1842,  I  met  at  the  St.  Charles  Hotel, 
New  Orleans,  a  descendant  of  Col.  Auguste  Chouteau  and  Mr.  Menard,  both 
natives  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  A  few  days  later  found  myself  on  board  the 
steamer  Alex.  Scott,  Swan,  master,  in  company  with  the  above  named  gentle 
men  bound  for  St.  Louis.  After  a  very  enjoyable  passage,  occupying  5%  days 
and  costing  $15  passage,  the  writer  for  the  first  time  stepped  on  the  wharf  of  an 


64  MEDARE    G.    FOISY. 

inland  city,  more  than  1,000  miles  by  river  from  the  sea.  Yet  when  we  take 
into  consideration  this  great  distance  from  tide  water,  St.  Louis  for  natural  re 
sources  of  wealth  and  commercial  advantages  had  no  parallel  in  the  United 
States  or  any  other  land.  The  day  following  our  arrival,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Chouteau,  called  at  the  office  of  the  St.  Louis  Reprtblican,  then  the  leading 
Whig  paper  of  the  Far  West.  My  object  was  to  see  John  Corse,  a  printer  who 
had  been  reared  by  my  father  in  the  State  of  Delaware.  When  my  parents  left 
that  State  for  the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1825,  the  boy  Corse,  then 
about  15  years  of  age  was  put  to  the  printing  business,  and  had  a  few  years  prior 
to  my  first  visit  to  the  then  western  border  of  civilization,  wended  his  way  to 
that  city  of  the  plains.  The  writer  was  first  introduced  to  Mr.  Chambers,  edi 
tor  and  proprietor  of  the  Republican,  and  finally  to  a  young  Canadian,  Mr.  M. 
G.  Foisy,  who,  two  years  later,  crossed  over  to  Oregon,  and  from  the  time  he 
entered  the  Territory  until  the  day  he  died  was  a  worthy  representative  of  the 
French-Canadian  element  on  the  North  Pacific  Coast. 

Mr.  Edmond  Mallett,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  who  visited  Oregon  a  few  years 
since,  and  who  is  engaged  in  compiling  a  work  on  the  French  element  in  the 
United  States,  also  a  work  on  Oregon,  has  said  in  corresponding  with  the  writer, 
"theearly  Canadians  of  the  country  as  a  class  were  considered  as  almost  unworthy 
of  notice  until  Mr.  Lyman  C.  Draper  recognized  their  claims  to  historical  im 
portance  in  the  admirable  Transactions  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin." 
Nothing  is  better  known  to  _the  student  of  our  pioneer  history  than  the  fact  tha 
the  great  valley  of  North  America,  extending  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  was  explored  and  the  older  cities  were  settled  by  the  French.  Scarcely 
a  fortified  camp  or  hamlet  reared  in  the  unbroken  wilderness  along  the  lake 
shores  and  from  the  head  of  the  La  Belle  Riviere,  the  mighty  Mississippi,  and 
the  wild,  turbid  river  of  the  plains,  but  what  were  of  French  origin.  It  is  also 
true  that  over  much  of  this  vast  region  drained  by  the  Father  of  Waters,  have 
the  Spaniard,  the  Frenchman,  and  Briton  held  the  ruling  rein,  but  at  last  the 
world's  young  giant  reaps  the  ripening  corn. 

St.  Louis,  one  of  the  younger  of  the  early  French  villages,  but  now  hoary  with 
more  than  a  century's  years,  became  the  fortified  home  of  the  husbandman  and 
rendezvous  of  the  voyageur  and  trapper  soon  after  the  site  was  selected  by  M. 
Laclide  in  1763.  In  February  of  the  following  year,  Col.  Auguste  and  Pierre 
Chouteau  arrived  on  the  site  of  the  embryo  town  with  a  large  company  of  settlers 
from  St.  Genevieve,  Cahoki  and  old  Fort  Chartres.  Laclede,  the  intrepid 
founder  of  the  city,  died  at  the  post  of  Arkansas  in  1778,  and  his  associate,  Col. 
Chouteau,  at  St.  Louis  in  1829. 

During  two  months  pleasantly  and  profitably  spent  in  the  summer  of  1842  at 


MEDARE    G.    FOISY.  65 

the  old  city,  that  had  so  long  been  the  grand  rendezvous  of  the  voyageur  and 
trapper  of  the  mountains  and  plains,  I  visited  all  the  old  French  villages  on 
either  side  of  the  river  in  that  vicinity.  On  one  of  our  excursions  among  the 
many  groups  of  ancient  mounds  then  to  be  seen,  commencing  in  the  northern 
suburb  of  the  city,  our  little  party  was  enlivened  by  "Quebec,"  who  was  select" 
ed  as  commissary  for  the  occasion,  carrying  his  well  selected  stores  in  a  cham 
pagne  basket.  This  was  the  pet  name  by  which  Mr.  Foisy  had  been  knighted 
by  his  brother  typoes  in  the  office,  and  to  which  he  always  cheerfully  answered. 
Driving  past  sever  ;1  large  mounds  within  the  city  limits,  one  of  which  had  been 
utilized  as  a  mount  for  water  works,  the  party  first  called  a  halt  at  the  base  of 
one  known  as  the  Big  Mound,  which  we  found  to  be  more  than  30  feet  high,  150 
feet  long,  gradually  tapering  to  a  level  walk- way  6  feet  wide  on  the  summit. 
From  this  mound  continuing  in  a  northerly  direction  were  many  groups  of 
tumuli  in  close  proximity  stretching  along  the  river  bluffs  for  several  miles. 
Who  were  the  builders  of  those  huge,  enduring  monuments  of  clay  ?  More  than 
a  hundred  generations  we  are  told  have  lived,  and  like  autumn  lea,ves  returned 
to  Mother  Earth,  since  first  the  dark  shadows  of  old  Egypt's  pyramids  were  re 
flected  by  the  annual  inundations  of  the  Nile.  But  where  is  the  savant  or 
medium  who  can  tell  us  in  what  age  of  the  world,  or  the  story  of  the  people 
who  reared  those  mighty  earth-works  of  American  antiquity  ?  -How  vain  the 
attempt  to  solve  the  mystery  that  enshrouds  a  race,  who  only  to  themselves  were 
known  and  who,  for  untold  centuries,  have  ceased  to  breathe  the  breath  of  life. 
Like  all  the  tribes  of  men  who  lived  in  the  primitive  ages  of  the  race,  they  left 
no  trace  of  their  former  existence  more  legible  than  those  wonder-begetting 
tumuli  which  they  reared  throughout  the  central  valleys  of  their  ocean-bound 
home.  Peopled  as  were  all  other  lands,  yet  even  the  existence  of  this  mighty 
continent  remained  unknown  to  the  inspired,  or  any  other  writers  for  countless 
ages  after  those  Mound  Builders  had  flourished,  died  and  were  buried  beneath 
accumulated  centuries,  whose  number  can  never  be  known. 

"Ye  mouldering  relics  of  a  race  departed, 

Your  names  have  perished;  not  a  trace  remains; 
Save  where  the  grass-grown  mound  its  summit  rears 
From  the  green  bosom  of  your  native  plains." 

I  will  not  further  trespass  upon  the  patience  of  the  reader,  in  this  connection, 
than  to  say:  For  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  founding  of  St.  Louis,  the 
Catholic  faith  prevailed  almost  exclusively,  and  down  to  the  time  of  which  I 
write,  many  of  the  public  and  benevolent  institutions  of  the  city  were  under 
the  control  of  that  church,  while  among  her  worthy  and  most  opulent  citizens 
were  numbered  the  Soulards,  Cabennes,  Menards,  Spary's,  Prattes,  Choteaus, 


66  MEDARE    G.    FOISV. 

and  many  other  prominent  French   Canadian  families,  all  of  whom  were  well 
well  known  to  Oregon's  mountain  men  and  many  of  her  earlier  pioneers. 

Here  in  this  old  French  city,  built  upon  the  ancient  ruins  of  an  unknown 
people,  forty  years  ago,  I  first  grasped  the  open,  generous  hand  of  M.  G.  Foisy, 
in  whom  thence  forward  through  all  the  years  that  he  lived  I  found  a  true,  un 
wavering  friend.  Medare  G.  Foisy  was  born  in  Quebec,  Canada,  in  1816;  died 
on  his  French  Prairie  farm  June  II,  1879.  He  descended  from  an  old  and 
highly  respected  family  of  that  Gibraltar  of  the  new  world.  His  father  was  a 
leather  dealer  in  affluent  circumstances,  and  gave  his  son  a  practical  business 
education  in  the  French  schools  of  his  native  town.  At  the  age  of  1 6  he  was 
sent  for  a  short  time  to  an  English  school  in  the  State  of  Vermont.  It  was  his 
father's  wish  that  his  son  should  learn  the  tanning  and  leather  business  in  which 
he  had  prospered.  Accordingly  young  Foisy  was  for  18  months  kept  at  work 
in  the  tannery  and  store,  neither  of  which  proved  congenial  to  his  taste.  His 
mind  was  intent  on  learning  the  printing  business,  and  'it  the  age  of  18  he  was 
apprenticed  to  the  trade.  The  business  of  the  office  was  conducted  exclusively 
in  the  French  vernaculars  while  he  longed  for  an  opportunity  to  improve  his 
English,  and  having  a  friend  and  townsman  at  work  on  the  Louisville  JoiiDial 
at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  accordingly  on  attaining  his  majority  and  receiving  from 
his  father  a  small  sum  of  money  he  crossed  the  border  in  the  spring  of  1837, 
went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  for  a  short  time;  then  joined  his 
friend  at  Louisville,  working  for  two  months  in  the  Journal  office,  and  from 
thence  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  went  to  St.  Louis,  entered  into  an  engage 
ment  with  his  life  long  friend,  Mr.  Chambers,  editor  of  the  Republican,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  the  close  of  1843,  when  he  surrendered  his  case  to  pre 
pare  for  the  overland  journey  to  Oregon.  Father  Joset  with  two  other  Jesuit 
fathers  left  St.  Louis  early  in  the  spring  of  1844,  for  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
With  this  party  Mr.  Foisy  traveled  to  the  Flathead  country,  and  from  thence 
to  Mr.  Spalding's  Nez  Perce  Mission  at  Lapwai.  Here  in  the  early  fall  of  1844 
he  was  engaged  by  Mr.  Spalding  to  put  in  working  order  the  little  printing 
press,  the  pioneer  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  and  on  which  he  did  the  first 
printing  for  the  Nez 'Perce  Mission,  consisting  of  school  books,  portions  of  the 
New  Testament  and  hymns,  all  in  the  Nez  Perce  language,  from  copy  by  Mr. 
Spalding.  This  was  the  first  printing  performed  by  a  practical  printer  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  north  of  the  Mexican  Republic.  The  Oregon  Specta 
tor  first  appeared  in  February,  1846,  and  Sam  Brannan's  little  proselyting 
Yerba  Bunea  Star  was  first  seen  at  the  village  of  Yerba  Bunea,  as  San  Francisco 
was  then  called,  nearly  two  years  later.  It  is  common  for  such  brilliant  little 
luminaries  like  the  Star  to  be  short-lived,  but  contrary  to  the  usual  fatal  cause 
it  is  the  only  one  of  which  I  ever  heard  that  died  of  a  surfeit  of  gold. 


MEDARE    G.    FOISY.  67 

Mr.  Foisy  reached  French  Prairie  in  December,  1844,  and  the  following  spring 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Committee  from  Champoeg  county, 
(now  Marion)  which  convened  at  Oregon  City,  June  24,  1845.  It  was  at  this 
session  that  the  amended  Organic  law  was  drawn  up  and  passed,  authorizing 
the  election  of  a  Governor  instead  of  the  old  Executive  Committee.  The  Legis 
lative  Committee  then  adjourned  for  one  month  in  order  to  submit  the  proposed 
system  of  government  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  and  which  they  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  203.  Mr.  Foisy  served  during  the  remainder  of  this  adjourned  ses 
sion  being  the  first  under  Gov.  Abernethy's  administration.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  first  annual  session  under  the  re-organized  government,  which 
convened  December  2,  1845.  With  regard  to  the  ancient  agreement  alluded  to 
at  the  beginning  of  this  writing  permit  me  to  say:  On  Sunday,  August  17,  1845, 
Mr.  Foisy  being  at  Oregon  City,  in  his  legislative  capacity,  he  and  the  writer 
took  a  stroll  on  the  bluff  east  of  the  City  of  the  Falls.  After  a  half  hour's  walk 
along  the  open  ways  among  the  stately  firs  of  the  forest,  our  pathway  led  to  a 
camp  of  the  natives,  who  were  loudly  bewailing  the-  loss  of  a  young  brave. 
''See  there  !  he  exclaimed,  "what  a  wonderful  contrast  have  we  experienced  in 
all  our  surroundings  in  this  change  of  home  from  the  Old  to  the  New  West. 
Looking  from  the  eastern  shores  of  this  continent,  who  but  a  Bryant  could  have 
so  truly  described  these  wild  surroundings  from  afar, 

"Lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  wood  where  rolls  the  Oregon — 
Yet  the  dead  are  there.'  " 

As  we  turned  from  the  sorrowing  scene,  Mr.  Foisy  continuing,  said:  ''While 
we  are  yet  within  the  sound  of  these  lamentations,  I  desire  to  make  this  solemn 
agreement  with  you  If  I  should  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  die  among  these  grand 
old  mountains  and  wild  men  of  the  forest,  I  want  you  to  write  an  obituary  and 
send  it  to  my  long  cherishing  friend,  the  St.  Louis  Republican.  But  if  you 
should  be  first  to  fall,  I  will  as  in  duty  bound  pen  the  facts  connected  with  your 
demise,  and  forward  them  to  the  Cincinnati  Gazette.'" 

After  the  close  of  the  first  annual  session  of  the  Legislature  under  the  new 
Oregon  Republic  (for  such  it  was),  Mr.  Foisy  expressed  to  the  writer  his  deter 
mination  to  return  to  St.  Louis  to  remain  two  years.  He  longed  to  renew  those 
endearing  associations  that  linked  him  to  the  friends  of  other  days.  So  in  the 
spring  of  1846,  with  the  expectation  of  going  by  the  way  of  Nicaragua,  he 
joined  a  party  going  overland  to  California,  which  he  found  to  be  a  dangerous 
road  to  travel  on  account  of  hostile  Indians,  from  Rogue  river  to  the  head  of  the 
Sacramento  valley.  The  party  had  one  man  killed,  and  several  wounded.  On 
reaching  California  his  homeward  j  mrney  was  for  the  time  abandoned,  for  here 
he  met  the  northwestern  limits  of  the  Mexican  War,  in  which  he  took  an  active 


68  MEDARE    G.    FOISY. 

part  in  the  Sacramento  valley  and  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  bay.  He 
accompanied  a  troop  sent  by  Capt.  Fremont  to  open  communication  with  Monte- 
rey,  where  Commodore  Sloat  had  previously  hoisted  the  American  flag.  But  I 
have  not  the  space  at  my  command  to  follow  him  through  these,  eventful  years 
of  his  life;  let  it  suffice  to  say  that,  as  a  soldier,  interpreter  with  the  land  and 
marine  forces  operating  on  the  southern  coast  of  California,  or  in  discharge  of 
his  duties  as  Alcalde  at  Monterey  and  his  labors  on  the  first  English  paper  pub 
lished  in  the  place,  these  duties  were  discharged  with  honor  to  himself  and 
fidelity  to  those  whom  he  served,'  Soon  after  peace  was  declared  in  February, 
1848,  Mr.  Foisy,  still  anxious  to  reach  St.  Louis  as  early  as  possible,  sailed 
from  Monterey  on  the  ship  Aneta  bound  for  Central  America;  the  vessel  putting 
into  the  harbor  of  San  Bias,  Mexico,  and  while  there  the  port  was  blockaded; 
here  he  was  detained  until  taken  off  under  protection  of  the  American  flag  by 
Capt.  Bailey,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  and  returned  to  Monterey,  where  he  found 
many  of  her  citizens  and  others  returning  from  the  newly  discovered  gold  mines, 
a  majority  of  whom  were  sick.  Mr.  Foisy  remained  in  Monterey  most  of  the  time 
until  after  the  election  of  delegates  to  forma  State  Constitution,  to  be  presented 
to  Congress  asking  admission  to  the  Union.  He  made  a  gallant  fight  for  freedom 
and  humanity  in  that  election,  which  under  the  circumstances  does  great  honor 
to  his  memory.  This  was  the  bold,  unflinching  stand  which  he  took,  as  he  had 
before  taken  in  the  Oregon  Legislature,  against  the  spread  of  an  institution  de 
signed  to  force  a  race  of  men  and  women  down  to  a  level  with  the  beasts  of  the 
field.  Mr.  Foisy  spent  the  fourth  year  of  his  California  life  at  work  in  the 
mines,  returning  to  Oregon  in  the  fall  of  1850,  bought  a  farm  near  where  Ger- 
vais  has  since  been  built.  He  married  in  1859  the  widow  of  Louis  Vondal  and 
become  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  French  Prairie  country.  He  leaves  a 
wife  and  three  daughters  well  provided  for.  Mr.  Foisy  was  reared  in  the 
Roman  faith,  but  in  middle  life  his  views  were  somewhat  modified,  choosing  to 
be  governed  by  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscious  duty,  rather  than  any 
ceremonial  forms,  whether  of  latter-day  origin,  or  prescribed  by  those  who  lived 
in  remote  and  less  enlightened  ages  of  the  world.  He  was  perhaps  not  men 
tally  more  liberally  endowed  than  are  the  average  of  men,  yet  he  fought  with 
strength  and  unyielding  courage  for  liberty  against  human  oppression,  under  all 
its  assumed  names  and  forms.  Medare  G.  Foisy,  as  known  to  the  writer  under 
the  ever  changing  vicissitudes  of  life,  was  a  frank,  true,  and  generous  man. 

What  wonderful  changes  have  been  wrought  in  the  lifetime  of  the  first  gener 
ation  of  Anglo-Americans,  who  formed  an  isolated  settlement  in  this  ending 
west.  There  is  no  parallel  to  be  found  in  this  new  world  that  will  compare 
with  the  settling  of  Oregon.  No  community  of  people,  men  and  women, 


MEDARE    G.    FOISY.  69 

whether  they  were  advanced  in  life  or  froung  in  years,  either  in  war  or  peace, 
who  have  stood  more  firmly  united  or  left  a  better  record  of  frontier  life  than 
have  the  pioneers,  who  in  the  early  years  pitched  their  tents  on  the  Pacific 
Shores.  Nobly  have  they  done  battle  in  defense  of  liberty  and  substantial 
truth,  the  factors  in  chief  that  have  broken  the  power  of  ancient  superstitions 
and  raised  our  race  above  the  cruel  barbarities  of  the  untutored  tribes,  whose 
sachems  and  prophets  claiming  miraculous  power  had,  down  through  the  ages, 
played  the  tyrant  over  a  weak  and  deluded  people. 

The  writer  knew  many  score  of  those  brave,  generous  pioneers,  when  they 
were  strong  in  health  and  full  of  hope;  yea,  while  yet  in  the  morning  starlight 
of  youth  and  early  manhood;  long  before  their  sun  of  ripened  maturity  had 
reached  its  meridian  power,  but  where  are  they  now?  The  few  who  remain 
let  us  hope  are  wisely  enjoying  the  afternoon  of  life.  How  natural  in  our  lonely, 
musings  to  cast  the  mind's  eye  back  along  the  pathways  that  lead  to  the  old 
cabin  homes,  where,  in  the  morning  of  life,  oft  have  we  joined  the  cheerful  circle 
and  together  sang,  ''Let  our  joys  be  one;"  but  when  we  ask  where  are  they 
now?  memory  whispers,  they  are  gone. 

"The  bridegroom  may  forget  the  bride, 

Was  made  his  wedded  wife  yestere'en; 
The  monarch  may  forget  the  crown, 

That  on  his  head  an  hour  has  been; 
The  mother  may  forget  the  child, 

That  smiles  so  sweetly  on  her  knee;" 
But  I'll  remember  you,  my  friends, 

True  friends  that  you  have  been  to  me. 


JOSEPH    C    GEER,   SR. 


At  twelve  o'clock  on  Saturday,  August  27,  1881,  Joseph  C.  Geer,  Senior,  died 
at  his  home  in  Clackamas  county.  The  funeral  took  place  Monday  afternoon 
at  the  family  burial  ground  near  his  farm,  and  was  attended  by  a  large  con 
course  of  friends.  Hon.  Willard  H.  Rees  delivered  the  following  address,  which 
we  deem  such  an  excellent  tribute  to  the  memory  of  deceased  that  we  copy  it 
from  the  Oregonian: 

"Friends  and  Fellow-citizens:  Again  have  we  assembled  upon  this  well- 
chosen  eminence,  made  sacred  by  these  tombs  of  departed  friends,  to  perform  a 
solemn  duty  which  the  living  owe  the  dead.  We  who  now  look  upon  this  open 
sepulchre,  behold  the  last  resting  place  of  all  that  is  mortal  of  Father  Joseph  C. 
Geer,  Sr.,  who,  at  midnight's  hour,  on  the  2yth  of  August,  1881,  surrendered 
his  life  to  the  God  of  his  fathers,  and  his  body  returns  to  the  earth  from  whence 
it  came.  Full  of'  years,  coming  down  to  us  from  the  last  century,  and  after 
having  fought  a  good  fight  for  liberty,  righteousness  and  truth,  he  expired  at  the 
old  homestead  yonder  by  the  river  side,  at  the  venerable  age  of  86  years,  6 
months  and  22  days.  It  is  rare,  indeed,  in  these  times  that  we  have  an  oppor 
tunity  of  fixing  our  eyes  upon  one  like  the  venerable  deceased,  whose  span  of 
life  linked  together  the  administration  of  all  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States. 
While  no  former  period  or  like  age  has  been  so  productive  of  great  results, 
through  scientific  investigation,  or  by  the  study  and  invention  of  means  far  the 
application  of  natural  laws,  as  were  the  years  in  which  he  lived — marking  an 
epoch  in  the  history  of  human  progress  unparalleled  in  the  past — an  epoch  in 
troducing  changes  that  have  completely  revolutionized  the  old  methods  of  labor, 
triumphed  over  space,  and  in  a  very  conclusive  manner  swept  from  the  pathway 
of  reason  and  truth  much  of  the  superstitious  mysticism  that  enslaved  the  public 
mind  in  the  ages  that  have  gone  before. 

"Mr.  Geer  was  a  native  of  Windham  county,  Conn.,  born  February  5,  1795. 
He  remained  with  his  parents  on  the  farm  until  reaching  his  i8th  year,  and  soon 
thereafter  volunteered  in  the  defense  of  his  country,  serving  in  the  late  war 
against  Great  Britain.  In  grateful  remembrance  of  the  service  of  those  who 
perilled  their  lives  in  defense  of  our  rights  and  national  honor,  Mr.  Geer's  name 


JOSEPH    C.    GEER,    SR.  71 

• 

was  a  few  years  since  placed  upon  the  pension  roll  of  the  surviving  veterans 
who  answered  their  country's  call  in  the  war  of  1812.  Leaving  the  tented  field 
when  peace  was  restored,  he  returned  to  his  parental  home,  and  at  the  age  of 
20  years  married  Mary  Johnston,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island.  In  1818  he  removed 
to  freedom's  favored  home,  the  old  northwest  territory,  located  in  Madison 
county,  Ohio,  where  for  12  years  he  was  a<successful  farmer.  Then  joining 
again  the  migratory  throng  in  its  irresistible  march  to  the  fast  receding  border 
of  civilization,  he  could  have  been  seen  in  the  fall  of  1840  admiring  the  unsur 
passed  beauties  of  a  new  found  home  on  the  broad  prairies  of  Western  Illinois. 
But  prior  to  the  building  of  the  railroads  throughout  the  great  interior  country, 
the  people  were  without  a  remunerative  market  for  their  produce,  and  farming 
was  but  little  more  than  an  irksome  routine  of  unrequited  labor.  For  this  rea 
son  he  was  not  long  satisfied  to  remain  in  a  country  so  remote  from  the  sea  while 
there  yet  remained  far  away  at  the  ending  west,  a  wild,  unsettled  land  whose 
shores  were  laved  by  the  waves  of  the  grandest  ocean  of  the  globe.  So,  in  1847 
Mr.  Geer  completed  the  overland  journey  from  ocean  to  ocean  in  the  springtime 
of  life  with  his  young  wife.  Mary,  who  sleeps  here  by  his  side.  They  had  com 
menced  together  30  years  before. 

"Our  departed  friend  was  endowed  with  a  clear,  thoughtful  mind,  having 
been  much,  devoted  to  reading,  but  had  the  misfortune  a  score  of  years  ago  to 
lose  his  sight,  yet  through  his  great  native  energy  and  power  of  self-control,  he 
bore  himself  manfully  till  the  evening's  lengthening  shadows  closed  over  the 
landscape  of  life. 

"Father  Geer  leaves  an  aged  widow,  his  third,  with  seven  sons,  four  daugh 
ters,  and  his  line  of  descendents,  all  residing  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  number  150 
souls.  Leaving  his  Atlantic  home  at  the  age  of  23,  he  spent  nearly  64  years 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  great  Northwest,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  stirring 
events  that  have  given  to  civilization  the  late  vast  wilderness  extending  from  the 
Mississippi  valley  to  the  land's  end  in  the  west." 

"Mr.  Geer  was,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term,  a  truly  religious  man.  Having 
walked  in  faithful  obedience  to  the  requirements  of  conscious  duty,  the  "Golden 
rule"  was  beautifully  exemplifiedin  his  every  relation  of  life,  as  husband,  father, 
neighbor  and  friend,  in  the  practical  observance  of  this  most  ennobling  of  life's 
duties  he  was  as  unwavering  as  the  polar  star.  He  lived  and  died  in  the  belief 
of  one  fatherhood  and  one  immortal  destiny  for  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
men.  On  this  most  charitable  faith  he  leaned  his  head  and  breathed  out  his  life 
serenely  there.  It  is  truly  a  source  of  great  comfort  to  know  that  throughout  a 
long  and  laborious  life,  he  wore  upon  an  unsullied  brow  the  insignia  of  honest 
worth,  the  brightest  jewel  in  the  crown  of  life.  Since  the  death  of  Capt.  L.  N. 


72  JOSEPH    C.    GEER,    SR. 

English,  which  occurred  in  1876,  Mr.  Geer  has  been  the  oldest  person  whose 
name  is  recorded  on  the  register  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association.  Bowed 
down  by  the  weight  of  nearly  a  century,  his  weary  head  will  henceforth  rest  on 
the  bosom  of  her  who  is  the  mother  of  us  all.  Thus  time,  like  the  flow  of  these 
limpid  waters  at  the  base  of  these  green  clad  hills,  bears  us  on  year  by  year, 
and  generation  after  generation  to  the  ocean  of  eternity,  where  'there  shall  be 
no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  cry  ing;  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain, 
for  the  former  things  are  passed  away.'  How  consoling  to  be  assured  in  heart 
and  mind  that  the  all-sufficient  laws  which  control  life,  growth  and  destiny  were 
most  wisely  fixed,  beyond  the  puny  power  of  mortal  man  to  change. 

"Farewell,  father,  patriot  and  fellow-pioneer.  Wheresoever  repose  the  souls 
of  the  departed  generations  of  earth,  there  also,  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the 
laws  of  eternal  truth,  shall  thy  spirit  abide  forevermore." 


A    PIONEER    GONE. 


A  LONG  AND  EVENTFUL  LIFE  ENDED. 


DIED.— At  his  home  near  Butteville,  Oregon,  August  28,  1881,  Joseph  Carey 
Geer,  Sr.,  aged  86  years,  6  months,  and  23  days. 

Joseph  Carey  Gcer,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Windham,  Connecticut,  February  5, 
1795.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  enlisted  in  an  artillery  company  then 
being  raised  for  the  war  of  1812,  by  Captain  Hibbard.  The  company  was  sta 
tioned  at  New  London.  His  father  was  stationed  at  the  same  place  in  another 
company,  at  the  time  of  the  burning  of  that  place. 

After  the  war  he  worked  on  the  farm  summers  and  taught  school  winters, 
until  1818.  In  the  meantime  he  married  Mary  Johnson,  and,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  I  found  after  working  hard  from  daylight  till  dark  for  over  three  years, 
I  could  never  make  anything  on  that  poor  worn  out  land.  I  concluded  to  go 
to  the  far  west,  as  Ohio  was  then  called,  and  on  the  loth  of  September,  1818, 
with  my  wife  and  two  little  tow-headed  boys,  less  than  $100  in  money,  a  few 
yards  of  fulled  cloth,  a  light  wagon  and  a  light  team,  I  bid  farewell  to  the  old 
Geer  farm  and  joined  a  company  of  about  forty,  Burnham's,  Hathaways  and 
Howards,  and  crossed  the  mountains  into  the  Mississippi  Valley,  being  the 
first  Geer  to  venture  so  far  west,  as  far  as  I  can  learn." 

He  outlived  all  that  company  of  over  forty  but  his  two  sons,  R.  C.  and  F. 
W.  Geer.  Landing  in  Ohio  he  settled  in  Union  county,  and  taught  school  two 
winters,  and  worked  by  day's  work  the  balance  of  the  time— was  such  a  good 
hand  he  could  always  get  work,  but  wages  were  only  $8  per  month  in  Ohio  at 
that  time. 

In  the  spring  of  1821,  he  leased  a  piece  of .  land  of  Gen.  McArthur,  near 
where  Woodstock  now  stands,  for  six  years.  In  1822  he  sold  that  lease  and 
took  another  on  the  same  terms,  about  three  miles  from  that,  in  Union  county, 
on  Big  Darby.  He  built  the  house,  fenced  the  land,  and  raised  two  crops;  but 
he  and  his  family  were  taken  sick  in  July  of  both  seasons,  and  remained  sick 
until  November  of  each  year,  and  in  December,  1824,  he  left  the  Darby  plains 
and  took  another  lease  of  six  years  in  Madison  county,  and  in  about  six  years 


74  A    PIONEER    GONE. 

bought  the  best  farm  in  that  neighborhood,  and  lived  on  it  twelve  years.  He 
was  a  great  lover  of  fine  stock  of  all  kinds,  and  always  kept  the  best  that 
could  be  obtained  in  the  country.  When  he  went  to  Madison  county  he  was 
$300  worse  off  than  nothing,  caused  by  sickness,  butMn  four  years  he  was 
called  pretty  well  off  in  that  country.  In  1840  he  sold  his  farm  in  Ohio  and 
with  his  children  went  to  Knox  county,  Illinois,  where  he  bought  a  farm,  built 
a  fine  house  and  barn  and  otherwise  improved  it  until  1847,  when  he  again  sold 
out,  and  came  to  Oregon. 

He  had  a  very  hard  trip  across  the  plains.  His  wife  had  been  very  sick  with 
winter  fever  in  Illinois,  and  on  the  plains  shejhad  a  severe  shock  of  palsy 
which  made  her  nearly  helpless,  and  bein^  a  very  large  woman,  it  would  have 
worn  out  an  ordinary  man  to  lift  her  in  and  out  of  the  wagon.  She  died  a  few 
weeks  after  arriving  at  Butteville.  On  June  24th,  1849,  Mr-  Geer  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Smith,  mother  of  Mrs.  Rev.  P.  S.  Knight,  of  Salem.  She  bore  him 
three  sons,  and  died  March  14,  1855.  On  June  6,  1856,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary 
Strong,  who  survives  him.  He  had  his  eyes  operated  on  by  a  quack,  who  pre 
tended  to  be  an  oculist,  for  cataract,  and  has  been  totally  blind  for  25  years. 
He  leaves  seven  sons  and  four  daughters,  viz.:  Hon.  R.  C.  Geer,  Fruit  Farm, 
Marion  county;  T.  W.  Geer  of  Clackamas  county;  J.  C.  Geer  of  Portland; 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Grim  of  Hubbard;  Isaiah  Geer  of  Chico,  Cal.;  H.  J.  Geer  of  Cove, 
Or.;  Mrs.  R.  V.  Short",  of  Clackamas  county;  Mrs.  Elizabsth  Kent  of  Port 
land;  Mrs.  John  Kouse  of  Clackamas  county;  Lucien  Geer  of  Butteville,  and 
Joel  Palmer  Geer  of  Butteville,  with  their  families,  numbering  in  all,  children, 
grandchildren,  and  down  to  great-great-grandchildren,  167. 

He  was  a  fond  husband  and  an  indulgent  father.  He  always  governed  him 
self  by  the  Golden  Rule.  In  religion,  a  believer  in  universal  salvation. 


REMINISCENCES 


OF  FORT  VANCOUVER   ON  COLUMBIA   RIVER,  OREGON,  AS  IT  STOOD  IN   1832,  AND 
SOME  ACCOUNT  OF   THE  HUDSON  BAY   COMPANY'S  FARM   THERE  AT  THAT 

PERIOD;  THEIR  MODE  OF  TRADE  WITH  THE  INDIANS,  AND  PERSONAL 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF    DOCTOR    JOHN     MCLAUGHLIN    AND 
OTHERS  BY   A  THEN  RESIDENT  OF   THAT  PLACE. 


Extract  from  a  letter  written  in  1882  from  Fort  Vancouver  to  a  firm  in  London. 


"Fort  Vancouver  is  situated  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  noble  Columbia, 
which  about  ninety  miles  below,  falls  into  the  Pacific.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
Fort  there  is  beautiful  plain,  great  part  of  which  is  under  cultivation  and  about 
sixty  miles  further  to  the  eastward  we  have  a  splendid  view  of  Mount  Hood, 
which  is  covered  with  snow  more  or  less  all  the  year  round.  To  the  north  the 
country  is  thickly  wooded,  but  now  and  then  relieved  by  pretty  small  plains, 
two  of  which  we  have  cultivated,  though  one  of  them  is  about  six  miles  distant. 
The  Fort  itself  is  surrounded  with  high  stockades  and  consists  of  a  Governor's 
house,  stores,  an  office  and  houses  for  the  gentlemen  who  conduct  the  trade. 
On  my  arrival  at  Vancouver  I  was  appointed  Indian  trader,  entered  the  Indian 
shop,  and  was  left  alone  to  deal  with  the  natives  as  best  I  could.  I  soon,  how 
ever,  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  of  their  language  to  enable  me  to  trade  with 
ease.  The  mode  of  trade  is  simple;  there  being  a  regular  tariff  comprising  all 
the  articles  in  which  the  natives  deal;  blankets  forming  a  main  item.  Liquor 
we  never  sell  them;  and  to  ammunition  they  are  confined  to  a  certain  number  of 
loads;  in  fact,  I  consider  the  Company's  manner  of  dealing  with  the  Indians 
strictly  just  and  has  gained  them  the  influence  they  possess  in  the  country;  as, 
should  a  native  commit  a  murder  on  one  of  their  people,  which  is  sometimes  the 
case,  the  company  do  not  pursue  vengeance  indiscriminately  upon  the  tribe 
of  the  criminal,  but  follow  up  the  individual  until  he  pays  the  penalty  of  his 
crime  with  his  life. 

Having  served  my  probation  to  the  Indian  trade,  about  a  twelvemonth,  I  was 
next  placed  in  charge  of  the  farm,  which  consists  at  present  of  about  seven  hun 
dred  acres  of  land  under  cultivation,  and  we  raise  in  great  quantities  peas,  bar- 


76  REMINISCENCES. 

ley,  Indian  corn,  buckwheat,  wheat,  oats  and  potatoes.  The  garden  produce 
is  apples,  peaches,  some  grapes  in  front  of  the  Governor's  house,  and  all  sorts 
of  vegetables.  There  are  a  threshing  mill,  flouring  mill  and  saw  mill,  the  two 
last  about  six  miles  above  the  Fort.  The  lumber  is  exported  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  My  duty  as  Superintendent  of  the  farm  consists  mainly  in  seeing  the 
wishes  of  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  the  establishment  carried  into  effect,  and  I 
am  therefore  almost  constantly  on  foot  or  on  horseback  during  the  day.  The 
two  tribes  of  Indians  in  our  neighbourhood  fire  called  Chinooks  and  Clikitats. 
The  Chinooks  support  themselves  by  fishing  and  tha  Clikitats  by  hunting." — 
End  of  extract. 

Doctor  John  McLaughlin,  who  was  in  charge  of  Fort  Vancouver  in  1832  and 
for  many  years  afterwards  conducted  the  whole  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
business  of  the  Columbia  District,  as  it  was  then  called,  has  since  become  a  kind 
of  celebrity  in  Oregon,  and  merits  some  desc.iption  both  of  person  and  charac 
ter  as  he  appeared  to  me  at  that  period,  1832.  The  Doctor  indeed  in  personal 
appearance  was  a  man  once  seen  not  easily  forgotten;  he  was  over  six  feet,  well 
and  powerfully  built,  with  a  commanding  countenance  and,  generally,  long 
flowing  grey  hair,  which  greatly  added  to  his  striking  appearance,  which  even 
the  Indians  noted  by  calling  the  white-headed  eagle — old  man  Doctor.  Doctor 
McLaughlin  was  born  in  Canada,  of  Scottish  ancestry,  in  what  year  I  am  not 
aware,  but  his  Grandfather  immigrated  to  Canada.  The  Doctor  although  a 
true  Canadian  used  to  tell  anecdotes  of  old  Scotland  probably  furnished  by  his 
grandfather;  one  I  can  remember  of  a  certain  Highland  Chief,  who  was  in  the 
habit  of  carrying  a  yellow  cane  and  of  drumming  the  unwilling  of  his  clan  to 
church  with  it,  so  that  it  came  to  be  called  the  religion  of  the  yellow  stick.  I 
suspect  the  Doctor  kept  this  story  in  good  remembrance  by  the  way  in  which  he 
made  the  men  attend  divine  service  at  Vancover.  Dr.  McLaughlin  was  a  man 
of  strongly  marked  characteristics  and,  like  many  generous  tempered  men  was 
somewhat  passionate,  but  as  said  of  a  celebrated  man,  Fletcher  of  Satton,  the 
passion  was  no  sooner  on  than  it  was  off,  and  the  doctor  always  regretted  any 
thing  of  that  kind  and  endeavored  to  make  up  for  it  by  kindness  to  those  whom 
he  might  have  offended.  He  assisted  very  materially  the  early  immigrants  to 
Oregon,  as  will  be  vouched  for  by  many  of  the  oldest  American  settlers.  Dr. 
McLaughlin,  take  him  all  in  all,  was  an  excellent  man,  and  his  memory  by 
those  who  knew  him  will  long  be  respected.  His  likeness  was  painted  in  a 
very  life  like  manner  by  an  American  artist,  Mr.  Stanley,  and  is,  I  believe,  still 
in  his  possession. 

Among  other  clerks  in  the  Company's  service  at  Vancouver  in  those  times 
was  rather  a  curious  compound,  Thomas  McKay,  01  Tom,  as  he  was  generally 
called,  a  half  breed  son  of  that  Mr.  Alexander  McKay,  who  came  out  in  the 


REMINISCENCES.  77 

Tomquin  to  Astoria  and  from  thence  sailed  to  Puget  Sound  and  was  cut  off  by 
the  Indians,  as  described  in  Mr.  Washington  Irving's  Astoria.  Tom  had  re 
mained  at  Astoria,  aad  so  escaped  his  father's  fate.  He  was  an  original  in  his 
way  and  amused  us  young  fellows  greatly  by  the  tales  of  his  wonderful  escapes 
and  feats  among  the  Blackteet  Indians  into  whose  country  he  had  led  many  a 
trapping  party.  Tom  with  a  rifle  was  a  dead  shot,  but  in  telling  a  story  he 
often  drew  a  long  bow  and  almost  invariably  introduced  one  with  "it  rained, 
it  rained,  and  it  blew,  it  blew,"  and  frequently  in  his  excitement  would  throw 
in  by  way  of  climax  to  his  tale,  regardless  of  all  consistency,  "and  my  G — d, 
how  it  did  snow."  I  regret  now  that  I  kept  no  note  of  Tom's  tales,  which  I 
can  recollect  were  very  amusing  and  lost  nothing  in  his  way  of  telling  them. 
He  was  very  young  when  out  in  the  Tomquin,  but  I  can  well  recollect  his  de 
tails  of  the  passage  and  loss  of  life  on  the  Columbia  bar.  He  was  a  very  good 
and  amusing  personage.  Peace  to  his  ashes. 

Another  man  of  note  at  Vancouver  in  those  early  times  and  who  with  Mr. 
Douglas,  afterward  Sir  James  Douglas,  Governor  of  British  Columbia,  succeeded 
Dr.  McLaughlin  in  charge  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  affairs  in  Oregon,  was 
Chief  Factor  Peter  Skein  Ogden,  native  of  Canada,  who  had  passed  many  years 
in  the  Indian  country.  Mr.  Ogden  bore  the  reputation  of  having  been  a  pretty 
wild  youth  before  leaving  Canada  and  carried  his  love  of  fun  and  frolic  with 
him  I  may  say  almost  to  the  grave.  One  of  his  tricks  played  at  home  was,  as  I 
have  often  been  told,  and  played,  too,  on  his  own  mother,  was  to  send  notes  to 
all  the  midwives  in  Montreal  asking  them  to  repair  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Ogden 
at  a  certain  hour,  greatly  of  course  to  the  astonishment  and  indignation  of  that 
lady.  Mr.  Ogden  possessed  considerable  ability  as  a  writer  or  literary  man  and 
wrote  some  very  interesting  sketches  of  his  adventures  in  the  Indian  country, 
which  I  perused  in  manuscript  and  partly  copied  for  him  in  1849.  I  believe 
they  were  afterwards  published,  but  I  have  never  seen  the  book. 

During  rny  earliest  years  at  Vancouver  our  intercourse  was  almost  entirely 
confined  to  the  Company's  people  when  in,  I  think,  1835,  Captain  Wyeth  of 
Boston,  arrived  with  his  party  across  the  plains;  an  excellent  man  and  duly 
appreciated  by  us  all.  When  he  returned  home  he  sent  out  a  keg  of  choice 
smoking  tobacco,  with  a  handsome  letter  to  the  gentlemen  of  Bachelor's  Hall, 
as  we  called  our  smoking  room.  The  doctor  and  he  became  great  friends  and 
corresponded  for  many  years  afterwards.  The  doctor  was  fond  of  argument, 
and  especially  on  historical  points  connected  with  the  first  Napoleon,  of  whom 
he  was  a  great  admirer,  and  often  entered  into  them  with  Captain  Wyeth,  and 
upon  one  occasion  which  I  well  remember  l.e  happened  to  be  dressing  my  hand 
which  I  had  lately  got  hurt,  and  when  in  the  height  of  debate  on  the  Peace  of 
Amiens  he  treated  my  poor  hand  so  roughly  that  I  heartily  wished  Napoleon 


78  REMINISCENCES. 

and  the  Peace  of  Amiens  far  enough.  To  show  how  attentive  the  doctor  was  to 
every  matter  appertaining  to  strangers  and  which  lie  conceived  might  involve  the 
honor  or  reputation  of  the  Company  whom  he  represented?  I  may  here  mention 
that  a  young  American  gentleman,  Mr.  Dwight  of  Salem,  Mass.,  having  crossed 
the  plains  and  been  rather  imposed  upon  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  then 
agent  at  Fort  Hall  by  having  to  leave  his  rifle  in  deposit  for  provisions  supplied 
him  there,  complained  or  rather  spoke  of  the  matter  to  me,  then  at  the  Sand 
wich  Islands.  I  wrote  and  explained  the  case  to  Dr.  McLaughlin,  who  imme 
diately  sent  orders  to  Fort  Hall  and  had  the  rifle  forwarded  to  Mr.  Dwight  free 
of  all  charge,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  returning  it  to  him. 

The  months  of  June  and  July  were  generally  a  busy  time  at  Vancouver,  when 
from  the  1st  to  the  loth  of  June,  at  which  season  the  Columbia  is  high,  the 
Brigade  of  Boats,  as  they  were  called,  descended  from  the  interior  with  the  furs 
and  carried  back  the  winter  supplies.  Then  the  men  composing  the  crews, 
principally  Canadians,  Iroquois  and  Half-breeds,  would  be  indulged,  after 
their  long  abstinence,  with  an  allowance  of  liquor,  pork  and  flour,  as  a  regale; 
then  would  come  the  tug  of  war,  with  many  bloody  noses  and  black  eyes,  but 
never  with  any  fatal  result.  After  the  departure  of  the  boats,  the  Snake  party 
of  trappers  would  arrive,  headed  by  Mr.  Work,  who  had  then  succeeded  Mr. 
Ogden,  formerly  mentioned  as  leader  of  trappers  into  the  Snake  and  Blackfeet 
countries,  often  a  perilous  undertaking,  as  during  my  time  at  Vancouver  those 
parties  have  returned  with  wounded  men,  and  left  several  killed  behind  them. 
The  mode  adopted  with  the  trappers  was  to  furnish  their  supplies  at  a  moderate 
rate,  and  allow  them  a  fair  price  for  their  furs.  A  large  beaver  skin,  so  far  as 
I  recollect,  was  eleven  shillings  sterling.  The  horses  and  traps  were  also  fur 
nished  them,  and  on  being  returned,  placed  to  their  credit.  A  good  hunter 
often  made  it  a  profitable  business,  and  many  of  those  men  were  the  first  set 
tlers  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamette,  who  when  they  began  to  raise  wheat  the 
Company  received  it,  and  gradually,  as  settlers  increased,  dropped  their  own 
farming  at  Vancouver.  All  trapping  parties  were  accompanied  by  an  officer  of 
the  H.  B.  Co.,  wlo  regulated  the  encampments,  kept  accounts,  etc.  Mr. 
Work,  an  Irishman  by  birth,  a  kind-hearted  and  generous  man,  often  amused 
us  by  his  murder  of  the  French  tongue,  but  the  men  generally  managed  to  un 
derstand  him.  On  one  occasion  Mrs.  Work,  who  also  spoke  French,  left  her 
husband  in  the  tent  in  charge  of  the  baby,  who,  becoming  rather  unruly,  tried 
the  patience  of  its  father,  who  asked  his  wife  on  her  return  where  she  had  been, 
when  she  laughingly  replied  that  she  had  been  looking  for  a  beau,  to  which 
Mr.  Work  rejoined  in  French,  si  vans  chozios  h*  yarcon  aporte  toujour  le  pdit 
avoz  vans,  and  w,hich  meant,  when  you  again  look  for  a  beau,  pray  carry  the 
baby  with  you. 


REMINISCENCES.  79 

The  business  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  is  conducted  on  a  regular  system 
throughout.  When  a  young  man  enters  the  service  as  a  clerk,  his  wages  are 
small  for  some  years,  but  he  has  no  expense  except  in  clothing.  The  salary, 
should  he  conduct  himself  well,  is  increased  from  year  to  year  until  it  reaches 
£100  sterling,  when  he  becomes  eligible  to  a  Chief  Tradership,  a  partner  n 
the  concern,  and  from  thence  a  Chief  Factor.  Their*  system  in  regard  to  the 
trade  with  the  natives  is  much  the  -same  on  the  east  as  it  was  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  only  with  this  difference — that  the  Indians  on  the 
east  side  are  allowed  outfits  like  the  trappers,  in  the  fall,  and  bring  in  their  re 
turns  of  furs  in  the  spring. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1832,  the  fever  and  ague  was  very  prevalent  at  Van 
couver,  and  at  one  time  we  had  over  40  men  laid  up  with  it,  and  great  numbers 
of  Indian  applicants  for  La  Medicine,  as  they  called  it;  and  as  there  was  then 
no  physician  at  the  Fort,  Dr.  McLoughlin  himself  had  to  officiate  in  that  ca 
pacity,  although  he  disliked  it,  as  it  greatly  interfered  with  his  other  important 
duties,  until  he  was  himself  attacked  with  the  fever,  when  he  appointed  me 
his  deputy,  and  I  well  remember  my  tramps  through  the  men's  houses  with  my 
pockets  lined  with  vials  of  quinine,  and  making  my  reports  of  the  state  of  the 
patients  to  the  Doctor.  It  proved,  therefore,  a  great  relief,  both  to  him  and  to 
me,  when  the  annual  ship  arrived  from  London,  bringing  out  two  young  med 
ical  men,  Doctors  Gardiner  and  Tolmie,  one  of  whom  was  immediately  in 
stalled  in  office  at  Vancouver,  and  the  other  despatched  to  the  northwest  coast, 
where  the  Company  had  lately  established  several  forts. 

One  rather  curious,  and,  as  it  turned  out,  laughable  reminiscence  of  my  doc- 
torship,  as  it  now  strikes  my  memory,  I  may  state  here:  One  day,  in  making 
my  rounds  to  the  numerous  patients,  I  paid  a  visit  to  a  half-breed  Kanaka  boy, 
and  handing  him  a  vial  of  quinine  mixture,  pointed  with  my  finger  to  how 
much  he  was  to  take  at  one  dose,  but  the  fellow,  mistaking,  swallowed  the 
whole  concern  at  once — eight  or  ten  doses  in  one.  I  was  a  good  deal  alarmed 
for  a  time,  but  need  not  have  been,  for  he  soon  got  well,  and  never  had  the 
ague  again  as  long  as  I  remained  at  Vancouver. 

The  Indians  in  1832  were  still  numerous,  and  used  to  assemble  near  the  Fort 
on  Sundays  and  dance  in  rings,  a  sort  of  religious  ceremony,  accompanied  by 
singing,  and  as  there  were  no  Handels  nor  Mozarts  amongst  them,  the  music 
was  anything  but  charming  to  a  delicate  ear. 

The  fever  and  ague  first  broke  out  on  the  river  in  1829,  and  as  there  hap 
pened  then  to  be  an  American  ship  in  the  Columbia,  of  which  Capt.  Dominis 
was  master,  the  Indians  superstitiously  believed  that  he  had  introduced  it.  The 
first  and  second  years  the  fever  carried  off  great  numbers  of  natives  all  along 
the  river,  and  in  fact  cleaned  ont  whole  villages;  and  there  was  then  no  quinine 


So  REMINISCENCES. 

in  the  country,  the  Doctor  being  obliged  to  use  the  dogwood  root  as  a  substi 
tute.  From  that  shock  the  Indians  never  recovered,  and  probably  it  was  better 
for  the  whites,  when  settlers  began  to  come  in,  as  in  former  times  it  was  dan 
gerous  to  ascend  and  descend  the  river  in  canoes  or  boats  without  a  strong 
crew,  well  armed.  When  administering  medicine  to  the  Indians  in  1832, 
through  the  directions  of  Dr.  McLoughlin,  I  never  thought  of  the  danger  at 
tached  to  a  doctor  or  medicine  man  amongst  them.  They  often  kill  an  unfor 
tunate  medicine  man,  as  they  called  a  doctor,  and  indeed  the  Klickitats  shot 
one  a  short  distance  below  the  Fort,  during  my  residence  there.  But  the  doc 
tor  killing  brings  to  my  mind  a  melancholy  case  in  point,  which  happened  at 
Fort  Camloops  in  1841:  Chief  Factor  Black,  of  the  H.  B.  Co.,  in  charge  of 
that  post,  and  who  had  been  over  forty  years  in  the  IndTan  country,  and  conse 
quently  well  acquainted  with  their  habits  and  superstitions,  incautiously  gave 
me  licine  to  a  sick  Indian,  who  died  soon  after.  Poor  Mr.  Black,  all  uncon 
scious  of  danger,  was  one  day  pacing  back  and  forward  in  his  room,  when  the 
brother,  I  believe,  or  some  relative  of  that  Indian,  shot  him  through  the  back. 
On  intelligence  of  this  murder  reaching  Vancouver,  the  Company,  agreeably 
to  their  usual  custom  on  such  occasions,  immediately  dispatched  a  strong  party, 
who  did  not  return  before  the  criminal  was  brought  to  justice.  I  have  no  doubt 
in  my  own  mind  but  that  the  melancholy  murder  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman  oc 
curred  in  the  same  manner.  Mr.  Ogclen,  already  mentioned,  was  the  person 

through  whose  exertions  the  captive  whites  were  redeemed  from  the  hands  of 
the  Cayuse  Indians,  on  that  sad  occasion,  he  having  gone  to  their  country  for 
that  purpose— and  for  which  he  deserved  more  credit  than  he  ever  received. 

I  have  lately  heard  of  some  published  remarks  reflecting  on  the  conduct  of 
the  H.  B.  Co.,  and  on  that  of  individuals,  in  their  services  to  the  early  Amer 
ican  Missionaries.  I  can  only  remark  from  my  own  experience,  that  while  in 
the  Company's  service  the  gentlemen  of  the  missions  were  invariablv  treated 
with  kindness  and  attention;  and  in  fact,  so  anxious  was  Dr.  McLoughlin  to 
accommodate  them  and  their  families,  that  I  can  well  recollect  some  of  the 
young  clerks  grumbling  at  their  being  turned  out  of  their  quarters,  and  crowded 
into  others,  in  order  to  better  accommodate  the  strangers. 

Another  man  of  mark  at  Vancouver,  in  my  early  days,  was  Mr.  Francis 
Ermatinger,  a  clerk  in  the  service,  a  regulai  jolly,  jovial  Cockney,  whom  we 
sometimes  styled  Bardolf,  from  the  size  and  color  of  his  nose.  He  was  full  of 
humor  and  had  a  great  fund  of  talk,  of  which  he  was  no  niggard,  and  would 
address  himself  to  the  doctor  in  all  his  humors,  when  others  took  care  to  stand 
aloof,  so  that  it  was  often  said  he  bearded  the  lion  in  his  den;  but  sometimes 
the  lion  would  give  a  growl,  and  say  that  Frank  did  nothing  but  bow,  wow, 
wow.  Frank,  however,  was  a  capital  trader,  and  was  despatched  to  the  Snake 
and  Flathead  countries  to  encounter  the  American  fur  traders.  He  was  also 
frequently  engaged  escorting  the  Missionaries,  and  from  his  constant  good 
humor  would  often  make  the  most  staid  and  long-faced  of  them  laugh  heartily, 
and  I  am  pretty  certain  that  many  of  them  to  this  day  remember  kindly  the 
frank  and  jovial  Ermatinger.  He  afterwards  retired  from  the  Company's  ser 
vice  and  joined  a  brother  in  business  ih  Canada,  where  he  died. 


TRANSACTIONS 


TENTH     ANNUAL     RE-UNION 


<n 

1882; 


TOGETHEB  WITH 


THE   OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY  HON.   F.   A.    CHENOWETH,   REMARKS   BY 
MRS.   A.   S.   DUNIWAY, 


AN  HISTORICAL  LETTER  BY  HON.  J.  QUINN  THORNTON,  LL.  D., 

AND    OTHER    MATTERS    OF    INTEREST. 


SALEM,    OKEGON  : 

E.   M.    WAITE,    STEAM  PBTNTEB   AND  BOOKBINDKB. 
1883. 


SOCIETY  AND  DIRECTOR'S  MEETINGS. 


OREGON  STATE  FAIR  GOUNDS, 
JUNE  isth,  1882. 

At  the  annual  election  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  held 
on  this  day,  the  following  officers  were  elected  to  serve  during  the 
ensuing  year  : 

President—}.   W.   Nesmith. 

Vice  President—}.   W.   Grim. 

Secretary— T.  B.   Odeneal. 

Corresponding  Secretary — W.   H.   Reese. 

Treasurer — J.   M.   Bacon. 

Directors— -E.  M.  Waite,  F.  X.  Matthieu  and  Joseph  Watt. 

Pursuant  to  a  call  of  the  President,  the  officers  and  directors  of 
the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  met  at  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  in  Salem,  on  Wednesday,  the  i4th  of  Febru 
ary,  1883,  at  2  o'clock  P.  M. 

Present— J.  W.  Nesmith,  President  ;  J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  Presi 
dent;  F.  X.  Matthieu,  Joseph  Watt  and  E.  M.  Waite,  Directors, 
and  T.  B.  Odeneal,  Secretary. 

The  object  of  the  meeting  having  been  stated  by  the  President, 
the  following  business  was  transacted  : 

It  was  resolved  that  the  eleventh  annual  re-union  of  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association  be  held  at  the  State  Fair  grounds  on  Friday, 
the  i5th  day  of  June,  1883. 

Al.  Zeiber,  Esq.,  of  Portland,'  was  elected  Grand  Marshal. 

It  was  resolved  that  Hon.  W.    Lair  Hill,  of  the  Dalles,  be 


4  SOCIETY    AND    DIRECTOR'S    MEETINGS. 

chosen  and  invited  to  deliver  the  annual  address;  and  that 
Rev.  Edward  R.  Geary,  of  Eugene  City,  be  chosen  and  requested 
to  deliver  the  occasional  address. 

John  G.  Wright,  Daniel  Clark  and  Jasper  Minto,  were  appoint 
ed  a  general  committee  of  arrangements,  to  make  all  needful  pre 
parations,  and  arrange  a  programme  for  the  celebration. 

A  Resolution  was  adopted  authorizing  E.  M.  Waite  to  print 
1000  copies  of  the  transactions  of  the  re  union  of  1882. 

It  was  resolved  that  the  President  and  Secretary  be  authorized 
to  select  and  arrange  for  publication  such  historical  matters  and 
biographical  sketches  as  they  may  deem  proper. 

Joseph  Watt  was  appointed  to  negotiate  with  the  officers  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  relative  to  the  terms  of  a 
pioneer  excursion  when  the  road  shall  be  completed. 

Medorum  Crawford  was  chosen  and  given  general  authority,  in 
conjunction  with  the  treasurer,  to  collect  dues  from  members  of 
the  Association. 

E.  M.  Waite  was  appointed  committee  on  printing. 

The  meeting  adjourned  subject  to  the  call  of  the  President. 


OPENING    ADDRESS. 

BY   HON.   MEDORUM   CRAWFORD. 

The  tenth  annual  re-union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association, 
was  held  at  the  State  Fair  grounds,  June  15,  1882,  and  was  largely 
attended.  The  procession  was  formed  by  Al.  Zieber,  Chief  Mar 
shal,  with  the  Capital  Guard  band  in  the  lead,  followed  by  the 
pioneers  under  their  different  banners.  The  procession  moved 
around  the  park  once,  and  then  entered  and  took  their  seats  near 
the  platform.  After  music  by  the  band,  prayer  was  offered  by 
Rev.  J.  L.  Parrish. 

Hon.  Medorum  Crawford,  President  of  the  Association,  then 
stepped  forward  and  delivered  the  following  opening  address: 

Pioneers  of  Oregon:  In  opening  the  exercises  of  the  day,  I  can  only  take 
time,  after  giving  you  cordial  greeting  and  expressing  my  gratification  in  meet 
ing  you  again  here,  where  so  many  pleasant  re-unions  have  been  held,  to  refer 
hastily  to  such  reminiscences  as  pioneers  are  always  pleased  to  hear  and  talk 
about. 

Just  thirty-six  years  ago  to-day  Great  Britain  relinquished  her  claim  to  Ore 
gon,  and  by  treaty  conceded  to  the  United  States  the  right*  to  the  land  which 
some  of  us  had  already  taken  possession  of  at  risks  unparalleled  in  the  history 
of  this  century.  This  is  an  anniversary  that  should  be  sacred  to  every  Oregon, 
ian,  and  especially  to  those  pioneers  who  shared  in  the  perils  of  occupation  and 
the  anxiety  concerning  the  settlement  of  the  title  to  this  then  disputed  territory. 

Nine  years  ago  a  few  of  the  early  settlers  desiring  to  perpetuate  history  and 
incidents  connected  with  the  settlement  on  the  Pacific  coast,  organized  this  soci 
ety  to  promote  social  intercourse  and  collect  from  living  witnesses  facts  worthy 
of  preservation. 

Annual  meetings  have  been  held  and  able  speakers  have  volunteered  to  de 
liver,  and  furnish  for  publication,  addresses  pertaining  to  the  general  history  of 
the  country,  and  also  the  special  history  and  incidents  of  each  immigration  from 
1842  to  1848.  These  addresses  and  proceedings  of  our  society,  together  with 


6  OPENING    ADDRESS. 

much  valuable  historical  and  biographical  information  contributed  by  the  most 
able  writers  of  the  Pacific  coast,  with  extracts  from  the  journals  of  distinguished 
members  of  the  late  Hudson's  Bay  company,  have  been  published  in  pamphlets 
suitable  for  binding,  and  altogether  will  make  a  volume  of  near  seven  hundred 
pages  of  interesting  and  valuable  information,  which  will  doubtless  furnish  the 
basis  of  the  future  history  of  Oregon. 

This  is  the  tenth  annual  reunion  of  our  Society,  and  I  am  pleased  to  see  so 
many  old  pioneers  take  interest  enough  to  congregate  on  the  occasion  which 
should,  and  I  hope  will,  long  be  the  pioneers'  holiday. 

Looking  back  over  the  forty  years  since  I  came  to  Oregon,  a  poor  immigrant 
boy  in  buckskin  garments,  I  find  many  of  my  comrades  have  fallen  out  of  the 
ranks  to  rest  by  the  wayside. 

Now  and  then  I  meet  some  old  grey -beard  like  myself,  who  still  lingers  in  the 
fight,  unwilling  to  be  carried  to  the  rear,  who  remembers  the  days  of  boiled 
wheat  and  salmon,  of  pea  coffee  and  trail-rope  tobacco,  of  wooden  plows  and 
hickory  shirts — when  the  pony  and  the  canoe  furnished  the  principal  means  of 
transportation,  an  Indian  trail  the  thoroughfare,  with  a  drift  log  or  a  dug-out 
for  a  ferryboat.  But  the  ranks  are  thinning.  Almost  every  day  we  see  the  an- 
noucement,  "Another  pioneer  gone."  A  few  years  more  and  the  earliest  pio 
neers  will  be  laid  away,  and  not  one  in  a  hundred  will  be  farther  remembered 
or  thought  of  than  "  my  father  "  or  "  my  mother  knew  him.  They  crossed  the 
plains  together  before  the  gold  mines  were  discovered  in  California." 

Crossing  the  plains,  going  to  the  mines,  and  serving  in  the  Cayuse  war  are 
especial  episodes  in  the  lives  of  the  earliest  pioneers,  who,  growing  garrulous 
in  their  old  age,  find  no  end  of  incidents,  then  regarded  as  mere  trifles,  but 
which  have  been  so  improved  by  time  and  age  as  to  become  hairbreadth 
escapes,  fearful  privations  and  deeds  of  valor, 

And,  indeed,  looking  back  and  contrasting  the  prosperity,  the  ease  and  the 
luxury  enjoyed  by  the  present  generation  with  the  poverty  and  hardships  of 
their  ancestors,  it  is  but  natural  that  the  trials  and  privations  then  encountered 
should  magnify  in  the  minds  of  those  whose  lot  it  was  to  endure  them. 

To  attempt  to  describe  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  our  country,  or 
pay  proper  tribute  to  the  multitude  of  brave  and  generous  comrades  that  have 
fallen  from  cur  ranks  to  their  final  resting  places,  would  require  more  time  and 
an  abler  pen  than  I  can  command.  Nor  is  it  profitable  to  dwell  too  much  upon 
the  vicissitudes  of  life.  Let  us  rather  contemplate  the  prosperous  present  and 
promising  future  of  our  adopted  home.  The  sun  of  heaven  shines  upon  no 

spot  of  earth  equal  to  Oregon,  and  whatever  suffering  and  privation  may  have 
been  endured  in  its  settlement  and  reclamation  from  its  native  savages,  has 
been  amply  compensated  by  the  comforts  and  blessings  now  enjoyed. 


ANNUAL   ADDRESS. 

BY   HON.   JAMES   K.    KELLY. 

At  the  close  of  the  President's  address,  and  after  music  by  the 
band,  Hon.  James  K.  Kelly,  of  Portland,  was  introduced  and 
delivered  the  following  interesting  address  on  the  early  pioneer 
life  of  Oregon,  and  important  information  relative  to  the  forma 
tion  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon: 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Pioneer  Association: — We  have 
met  together  on  this  pleasant  day  of  June — a  day  which  marks  an  epoch  that  is 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  Oregon ;  a  day  on  which  was  removed  the  great 
cloud  that  for  twenty-eight  years  hung  over  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the 
country  in  which  we  have  our  homes.  It  is  a  day  fit  for  us  to  commemorate 
while  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  shall  endure. 

We  meet  within  sight  of  the  capital  of  a  young  but  growing  and  prosperous 
State,  where  a  government  of  our  own  choice  makes,  administers  and  executes 
the  laws  of  a  free  and  happy  people.  We  are  citizens  of  a  commonwealth  where 
we  can  now  procure  all  the  necessaries,  comforts  and  luxuries  of  civilized  life. 
We  have  our  homes  in  a  land  where  liberty  and  law  prevail  instead  of  the  an 
archy  which  existed  when  the  early  pioneers  first  placed  their  footsteps  upon  the 
soil. 

Coming  together  then  as  we  do  on  occasions  like  this,  it  is.  natural  that  our 
minds  should  turn  back  to  the  days  of  trial  and  hardship  which  every  pioneer 
endured.  Memory  is  busy  with  the  past,  and  dwells  upon  the  incidents  con 
nected  with  the  great  jouney  over  the  plains  to  this  land  of  promise,  with  all  its 
attendant  dangers  and  privations,  its  sufferings  and  sorrows.  And  then,  too, 
how  different  was  the  condition  of  the  pioneers  from  what  it  is  now.  When  the 
weary  days  of  travel  were  over  ;  when  their  toilsome  journey  was  ended,  they 
found  ithemselves  dwelling,  in  a  land  without  government  or  laws  to  protect 
them  in  their  rights  or  redress  their  wrongs. 

Again  and  again  had  the  early  settlers  forwarded  their  petitions  to  Congress, 
asking  in  simple  and  touching  language  that  the  laws  and  the  protecting  care  of 
the  United  States  government  might  be  extended  over  them,  but  all  in  vain. 


8  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Until  1848  every  appeal  was  disregarded  ;  and  every  supplication  of  the  neglect 
ed  pioneer  was  unanswered,  and  died  out  as  though  it  had  been  spoken  to  the 
heedless  air.  Aroused  at  length  to  the  necessity  of  adopting  a  system  of  law  for 
their  own  protection,  the  settlers  in  the  Willamette  valley,  in  1843,  established 
what  in  history  is  known  as  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon.  And  it  is 
upon  this  subject  that  I  will  address  you  to-day ;  that  is, 

GOVERNMENT    AS    ESTABLISHED   AND    ADMINISTERED     BY    THE    PIONEERS    AND 

ITS   RESULTS. 

From  the  2Oth  day  of  October,  1818,  to  the  I5th  day  of  June,  1846,  the  vast 
country  known  as  the  Oregon  Territory  was  in  dispute.  The  title  to  it  was  claim 
ed  both  by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  by  treaty  stipulation  be 
tween  them  was  "free  and  open  to  the  vessels,  citizens  and  subjects  of  the  two 
powers."  While  it  was  thus  open  to  settlement  alike  by  both,  yet  it  is  a  fact  that 
until  within  ten  years  prior  to  the  close  of  that  joint  occupation,  the  advantages 
of  trade,  commerce  and  colonization  were  decidedly  in  favor  of  Great  Britain. 
The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  one  of  her  most  powerful  and  aggressive  corpora 
tions,  had  extended  its  sway  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Pacific  ocean  ; 
from  California  to  Alaska.  By  its  great  wealth  and  superior  skill  it  had  crush 
ed  out  all  its  rivals  in  the  fur  trade,  and  thus  acquired  unmolested  dominion  over 
the  whole  country  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Its  principal  factory  was  es 
tablished  at  Fort  Vancouver,  an  eligible  and  accessible  point  for  sea-going  ves 
sels  and  foreign  commerce,  while  it  had  its  subordinate  trading  posts  throughout 
the  vast  interior  wherever  a  successful  traffic  could  be  had  with  the  Indians  for 
their  furs,  in  exchange  for  its  goods  and  merchandise.  It  had  its  factors,  agents, 
traders,  trappers,  voyagers  and  servants  all  working  in  perfect  harmoi-ry,  to  ad 
vance  the  interests  and  increase  the  power  of  the  giant  monopoly,  and  to  destroy 
every  competitor  who  attempted  to  trade  with  the  natives  for  their  peltries  and 
furs.  Its  policy  was  one  of  uncompromising  hostility  towards  every  person  or 
company  who  interfered  with  its  traffic  or  who  questioned  its  exclusive  right  to 
trade  with  the  natives,  within  the  territory  of  Oregon.  It  had  at  the  time  the 
treaty  of  1846  was  made,  twenty-three  forts  and  trading  posts  judiciously  lo 
cated  for  trading  with  the  Indians  and  trappers  in  its  employ.  It  had  fifty-five 
officers  and  five  hundred  and  thirteen  articled  men  under  its  control,  all  work 
ing  together  to  maintain  its  supremacy  and  power. 

Besides  these  men  in  its  actual  employ,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  under 
its  control  about  fifty  Canadians,  who  had  settled  in  the  Willamette  Valley 
on  what  is  known  as  the  French  Prairie,  and  were  engaged  in  agricultural  pur_ 
suits.  These  men  had  formerly  been  articled  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  it  was  bound  under  heavy  penalties  not  to  discharge  any  of  them 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  9 

in  the  Indian  country,  but  was  under  obligations  to  return  them,  at  the  end  of 
their  services,  to  the  places  where  they  were  engaged.  And  as  is  stated  by  Dr. 
McLaughlin,  in  a  document  found  among  his  private  papers  after  his  death, 
for  this  reason  these  Canadian  Frenchmen  were  still  retained  on  the  company's 
books  as  its  servants,  although  no  service  was  exacted  from  them  and  they  were 
permitted  to  work  for  themselves.  They  were,  however,  still  under  the  control 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  still  inclined,  as  British  subjects,  to  uphold 
and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  Great  Britain  in  the  country  where  they  lived. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  all  its  servants  within  the  limits  of  Oregon 
were,  moreover,  under  the  protecting  care  of  the  British  Government.  Parlia 
ment,  at  an  early  day  after  the  joint  occupation  of  the  country  commenced,  had 
extended  the  colonial  jurisdiction  and  civil  laws  of  Canada  over  all  British 
subjects  within  the  disputed  territory.  Magistrates  were  appointed  to  adminis 
ter  and  execute  those  laws,  who  exercised  jurisdiction  in  civil  cases  where  the 
amount  in  controversy  did  not  exceed  £200  sterling  ;  and  in  criminal  cases 
the  same  magistrates  were  authorized  to  commit  persons  accused  of  crime  and 
send  them  to  Canada  for  trial. 

This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  country  under  the  treaty  of  joint  oc 
cupation  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  all  British  sub 
jects  within  the  territory. 

Let  us  now  take  a  retrospective  view  and  see  how  and  to  what  extent  the 
country  was,  occupied  by  citizens  of  the  United  States  under  the  treaty  of  joint 
occupation. 

In  the  year  1834  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee  and  his  nephew,  Rev.  David  Lee,  Cyrus 
Shepard  and  P.  L.  Edwards  were  sent  by  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Meth 
odist  Episcopal  Church  to  establish  missionary  stations  among  the  Indian  tribes 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  This  party  crossed  the  great  plains  in  company  with 
Captain  Nathaniel  Wyeth,  who  had  started  on  an  exploring  expedition  with  the 
view  of  establishing  a  permanent  trade  in  Oregon.  So  far  as  Captain  Wyeth's 
venture  was  concerned,  it  proved  in  the  end  a  failure,  as  similar  ones  had  done 
before.  The  heavy  hand  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  laid  upon  him,  as 
upon  all  rivals  in  the  fur  trade,  and  they  disappeared . 

The  missionaries  who  came  that  year  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  established  their  first  missionary  station  in  the  Willamette 
Valley,  about  ten  miles  below  where  Salem  now  stands,  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river.  Their  object  in  coming  to  Oregon  was  not  to  form  a  settlement  in 
the  country  ;  it  was  not  to  occupy  it  as  colonists,  but  to  convert  the  Indians  to 
the  Christian  faith.  Their  work  was  in  the  cause  of  their  Divine  Master ;  not 
for  secular  purposes,  or  to  accomplish  political  ends. 


10  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

In  1840  the  effective  force  of  the  mission  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  a 
number  of  missionaries  with  their  families,  who  came  by  sea  around  Cape  Horn. 
But  with  their  increase  in  number  the  character  of  the  mission  itself  soon  under 
went  somewhat  of  a  change.  It  assumed  more  the  character  of  a  religious 
community  or  association,  than  of  simple  missionaries  actuated  with  the  zeal  of 
its  founders  to  preach  the  gospel  to  heathen  Indians.  Instead  of  devoting 
themselves  exclusively  to  teach  and  Christianize  the  natives,  they  began  to  look 
upon  the  country  as  an  inviting  one  for  settlement,  for  trade,  for  commerce  and 
to  make  permanent  homes  for  themselves  and  their  children.  And  in  this  they 
acted  wisely  and  well.  They  saw  the  necessity  of  devoting  more  of  their  time 
to  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  white  settlers  than  to  the  Indians.  Schools 
were  established  and  churches  were  built  by  them,  and  thus  a  nucleus  for  a  col 
onial  settlement  was  created,  which  in  after  times  was  of  essential  benefit  to  the 
community  at  large.  This  missionary  society  was  still  governed  by  its  own 
rules  and  regulations,  which,  in  the  absence  of  established  government,  con 
duced  greatly  to  the  preservation  of  order,  not  only  among  the  missionaries 
themselves,  but  also  among  the  independent  settlers  in  the  commuuity. 

In  the  great  valley  of  the  Columbia,  east  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  other 
missionary  stations  were  established  under  the  care  and  control  of  the  American 
Board  o(  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  One  of  these  was  located  among 
the  Cayuse  Indians,  at  VVailatpu,  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley,  and  was  under 
the  supervision  of  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman  and  wife.  Another  was  among  the 
Nez  Perce  Indians,  at  Lapwai,  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev.  H.  H.  Spold- 
ing  and  wife,  and  a  third  among  the  Spokane  Indians,  was  established  a  year 
or  two  afterwards,  under  charge  of  Rev.  Gushing  Eels  and  the  Rev.  Elkanah 
Walker  and  their  wives.  All  these  missionaries  were  zealous  in  the  good  work 
which  they  had  undertaken.  Not  only  did  they  teach  the  Indians  amang  whom 
they  were  stationed  the  great  truths  of  revealed  religion,  but  instructed  them  in  the 
rudiments  of  agriculture  and  some  of  the  simple  mechanic  arts  as  well.  These 
stations  were  widely  separated  from  each  other,  and  the  missionaries  at  each  were 
necessarily  dependent  upon  the  good  faith  of  the  Indians  by  whom  they  were 
surrounded,  and  for  whose  welfare  they  devoted  their  labors  and  their  lives. 
Engaged  in  such  a  calling,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  they  would  give 
much  attention  to  the  settlement  of  the  great  question  as  to  which  nation,  the 
United  States  or  Great  Britain,  should  ultimately  acquire  the  title  to  the  coun 
try  in  which  they  lived.  They  were,  perhaps,  too  much  engaged  in  their  Mas 
ter's  work  to  give  heed  to  the  political  questions  of  the  day.  Yet  to  this  there 
was  one  notable  exception  in  Dr.  Whitman.  While  he  was  sincere  and  zealous 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  missionary  among  the  Indians,  yet  he  was  all 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  II 

alive  to  the  importance  of  securing  Oregon  as  an  American  possession  against 
the  claims  of  Great  Britain.  He  was  intensely  American  in  all  his  feelings  ;  a 
man  of  indomitable  will  and  perseverence  in  whatever  he  undertook  to  accom 
plish  ;  whom  no  danger  could  daunt,  and  no  hardship  could  deter  from  the  per 
formance  of  any  act  which  he  deemed  it  a  duty  to  discharge.  And  perhaps  to  Dr. 
Whitman,  more  than  to  any  other  man,  are  the  people  of  Oregon  indebted  that 
to-day  we  are  living  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  instead  of  the  banner  of  St. 
George. 

Besides  the  missionary  societies  to  which  I  have  referred,  there  were  in  Ore 
gon,  prior  to  the  formation  of  the  provincial  government,  a  number  of  Ameri 
can  citizens  who  were  not  connected  with  either  the  Methodist  or  the  Presbyte 
rian  missions.  Some  of  these  were  of  the  class  known  as  free  trappers.  Men 
who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  Captain  Wyeth,  Wilson  G.  Hunt  and  other  in 
dependent  fur  traders.  Some  had  come  to  Oregon  from  California,  and  some 
found  their  way  here  on  trading  vessels  that  had  occasionally  come  from  the  At 
lantic  States.  And  in  addition  to  these,  quite  a  number  came  across  the  plains 
in  the  first  immigration  of  1842. 

These  men,  after  various  wanderings,  had  come  to  the  beautiful  Willamette 
Valley  to  make  it  a  home  for  themselves  and  their  children.  And  as  they  were 
not  connected  with  either  of  the  missionary  societies,  nor  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  they  were  known  in  the  community  as  independent  settlers. 

This  was  the  condition  of  the  people  of  Oregon  prior  to  the  time  when  the 
provisional  government  was  first  organized,  in  the  year  1843.  ^°  ^ar  as  the 
American  population  were  concerned,  they  were,  through  the  inattention  and 
neglect  of  Congress,  absolutely  without  government  or  laws  of  any  kind.  It  is 
true,  as  I  stated  before,  that  the  missionaries  and  those  connected  with  them  had 
rules  and  regulations  established  by  themselves  which  governed  them  in  their 
social  intercourse  with  each  other,  and  united  them  in  a  common  cause  for  their 
mutual  protection.  But  the  independent  settlers  had  not  even  that  security 
for  their  lives  or  their  property.  By  their  own  government,  which  ought  to 
have  thrown  around  them  its  protecting  aegis,  they  were  treated  literally  as  po 
litical  outcasts,  who  had  placed  themselves  beyond  its  reach  or  its  care. 
In  this  emergency  they  had  to  rely  on  their  own  stout  hearts  and  strong  arms  to 
vindicate  their  rights  and  redress  their  wrongs. 

On  January  28,  1839,  Hon.  Lewis  F.  Linn,  one  of  the  United  States  Senators 
from  Missouri — and  always  the  devoted  friend  and  champion  of  Oregon — pre 
sented  to  the  Senate  a  petition  of  J.  L.  Whitcomb  and  thirty-five  other  settlers 
in  Oregon,  which  in  simple  and  touching  language  set  forth  the  condition  of  the 
country,  its  importance  to  the  United  States,  its  great  natural  resources,  and  the 


12  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

necessity  of  civil  government  for  its  inhabitants.     Among  other  things  in  their 
petition  they  say  : 

"But  a  good  community  will  hardly  emigrate  to  a  country  which  promises 
no  protection  to  life  and  property.  *  We  can  boast  of  no 

civil  code.  We  can  pi-omise  no  protection  but  the  ulterior  resort  of  self-defense. 
We  have  thus  briefly  shown  that  the  security  of  our  persons 
and  our  property,  the  hopes  and  destinies  of  our  children,  are  involved  in  the 
subject  of  our  petition.  We  do  not  presume  to  suggest  the  manner  in  which 
the  country  should  be  occupied  by  the  government,  nor  the  extent  to  which  our 
settlement  should  be  encouraged.  We  confide  in  the  wisdom  of  our  national 
legislators,  and  leave  the  subject  to  their  candid  deliberations." 

This  petition  was  read,  laid  on  the  table  and  neglected.  In  June,  1840, 
Senator  Linn  again  presented  a  memorial  signed  by  seventy  citizens  of  Oregon, 
praying  for  the  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  over 
that  territory. 

In  this  memorial  the  petitioners  say:  "That  they  have  no  means  of  pro 
tecting  their  own  and  the  lives  of  their  families,  other  than  self-constituted 
tribunals,  organized  and  sustained  by  the  power  of  an  ill-instructed  public 
opinion,  and  the  resort  to  force  and  arms."  And  again  they  besought  Congress 
to  extend  its  jurisdiction  and  laws  over  them. 

This  memorial,  like  the  preceding  one,  was  laid  on  the  table  and  quickly 
forgotten  by  a  majority  of  the  Senators  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  But  not  by 
all.  Senator  Linn  remained  the  tried  and  true  friend  of  Oregon  till  his  un 
timely  death.  He  had,  during  three  terms  of  Congress,  introduced  and  urged 
the  consideration  of  bills  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  jurisdiction  and  laws 
of  the  United  States  over  the  Territory  of  Oregon.  He  had  also  introduced 
and  urged  the  passage  of  bills  granting  donations  of  the  public  lands  in  Oregon 
to  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  had  settled  there.  His  speeches  in  the 
Senate,  in  advocacy  of  these  measures,  show  his  earnestness  and  zeal  in  behalf 
of  the  early  pioneers  of  Oregon. 

Senator  Linn  died  suddenly  on  the  3d  day  of  October,  1843,  in  the  forty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  by  his  death  the  pioneers  lost  their  most  steadfast 
friend,  their  most  faithful  advocate,  and  their  greatest  benefactor.  Pronounc 
ing  a  most  touching  eulogium  in  the  Senate  upon  his  dead  colleague,  Senator 
Benton  among  other  things,  said  of  Dr.  Linn  : 

"  In  the  character  and  life  of  such  a  man,  so  exhuberant  in  all  that  is  grand 
and  beautiful  in  human  nature,  it  is  difficult  to  particularize  excellencies,  or 
pick  out  any  one  quality  or  circumstance  which  could  claim  pre-eminence  over 


ANNUAL     ADDRESS.  13 

all  others.  If  I  should  attempt  it,  I  should  point  among  his  measures  for  the 
benefit  of  the  whole  Union,  to  the  Oregon  bills." 

The  Oregon  bills  to  which  Mr.  Benton  alluded,  died  with  the  Senator  who 
introduced  them.  And  eight  years  after  his  death,  the  legislative  assembly  of 
Oregon,  in  a  spirit  of  gratitude,  and  out  of  affectionate  regard  for  the  memory 
of  the  illustrious  Linn,  gave  his  name  to  one  of  the  largest  and  most  productive 
counties  in  the  Territory . 

Why  Congress  suffered  the  petitions  of  the  settlers  in  Oregon  to  lie  unheeded 
and  unanswered  ;  why  it  failed  to  protect  them  by  the  extension  of  the  laws 
over  the  Territory,  as  the  English  government  had  done  for  British  subjects, 
must,  of  course,  remain  a  matter  of  conjecture.  I  fear,  however,  it  was  the  re 
sult  of  moral  cowardice  ;  the  dread  that  any  action  of  this  kind  on  the  part  of 
our  government  would  provoke  hostilities  with  Great  Britain.  Even  as  late  as 
1846,  when  the  Oregon  question  was  under  discussion,  in  regard  to  giving  notice 
to  Great  Britain  of  our  desire  to  terminate  the  treaty  of  joint  occupation,  this 
craven  spirit  crept  into  the  debates  of  Congressmen.  For  illustration,  I  quote 
from  a  speech  made  by  Mr.  Pendleton,  of  Virginia,  as  to  the  propriety  of  ex 
tending  the  laws  of  the  United  States  over  Oregon,  in  order  to  give  protection 
to  American  citizens  who  had  settled  there.  Assailing  the  policy  of  Mr.  Folk's 
administration  in  regard  to  Oregon,  and  the  possibility  that,  if  carried  out,  it 
would  result  in  war  with  England,  Mr.  Pendleton  said: 

"  I  am  for  making  our  title  (to  Oregon)  good  by  prudent  means,  by  wise  and 
judicious  policy,  by  '  masterly  inactivity,'  if  that  be  best,  as  I  think  it  is.  The 
President  of  the  United  States  speaks  of  our  obligation  to  facilitate  emigration 
to  Oregon  and  to  protect  our  'patriotic  pioneers'  who  are  there,  and  gentlemen 
tell  us  of  the  attachment  of  these  people  to  their  dear  native  land.  Why  do 
they  leave  it,  sir?  Why  is  it  they  retire  before  civilization,  preferring  the  wild 
excitement  and  rugged  discomforts  of  the  wilderness,  to  the  repose,  the  security, 
and  the  refinements  of  civilized  life  ?  They  manifest  their  attachment  by  dis 
regarding  the  influences  that  bind  ordinary  men  to  the  place  of  their  nativity  ; 
by  snapping  recklessly  the  ties  of  blood  and  kindred  and  social  connections, 
and  calmly,  and  of  their  own  free  choice,  deserting  a  generous  soil  and  a  genial 
clime,  abandoning  their  hearths  and  the  altars  of  their  childhood  and  youth, 
to  toil  through  a  vast  and  perilous  wilderness,  where  savage  man  and  savage 
beast  meet  them  at  every  turn.  *  *  *  And  it  is  for  these  restless 
and  wayward  wanderers  that  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  Alabama  would 
have  our  government  endeavor  to  realize  the  fabulous  ubiquity  of  the  Roman 
power,  sending  its  xgis  throughout  the  world  for  their  protection. 

"Sir,  I  am  against  any  such  principle.     It  is  easier  for  these  people  to  stay 


14  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

at  home,  than  for  us  to  go  to  war.  If  they  will  go  upon  territory  the  title  to 
which  is  unsettled,  let  them  go  at  their  own  risk.  A  few  men  have  no  right  to 
involve  millions  in  war.  It  is  not  the  policy  of  our  government  to  be  running 
over  the  world  looking  after  citizens  whose  allegiance  is  manifested  only  by  acts 
of  expatriation." 

These  were  sentiments  uttered  in  debate  by  a  distinguished  member  of  Con 
gress,  towards  the  Oregon  pioneers,  as  late  as  January,  1846.  Sentiments 
prompted  by  a  fear  of  England's  wrath  and  a  dread  of  England's  power,  if  our 
government  should  attempt  to  assert  the  right  to  protect  its  citizens  in  the  dispu 
ted  territory.  To  a  much  greater  extent  did  this  feeling  prevail  in  Congress  prior 
to  the  year  1843.  And  it  was  for  these  reasons,  I  fear,  that  a  majority  of  that 
body  allowed  the  petitions  of  the  early  settlers,  presented  to  the  Senate  by  Dr. 
Linn,  to  lie  on  the  table  unheeded  and  unanswered. 

Wearied  and  disappointed  at  length  by  the  neglect  of  Congress  to  give  them 
that  protection  for  which  they  petitioned,  the  people  of  Oregon  resolved  to  es 
tablish  a  temporary  government  for  themselves.  The  increasing  immigation 
across  the  plains  required  that  this  should  be  done,  in  order  that  anarchy  might 
not  exist  among  the  settlers,  and  in  order  that  life  and  property  might  be  pro 
tected. 

The  first  attempt  to  organize  a  temporary  government  by  the  American  set 
tlers  was  made  in  1841.  On  the  iyth  of  February  of  that  year,  a  meeting  of 
some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Willamette  Valley  was  held  at  the  Methodist 
mission  house,  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  about  the  propriety  of  preparing 
laws,  and  electing  officers  to  execute  them,  in  order  to  preserve  peace  and  good 
order  among  the  people.  The  Rev.  Jason  Lee  was  chosen  chairman,  and  Rev. 
Gustavus  Hines  secretary.  After  transacting  some  preliminary  business  the 
meeting  adjourned  to  meet  the  next  day.  On  the  i8th  of  February  Rev.  David 
Leslie  was  elected  chairman,  and  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines  and  Sydney  Smith  were 
chosen  secretaries.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  frame  a  constitution  and 
*  draft  a  code  of  laws.  It  consisted  of  the  following  persons :  Rev.  F.  £J. 
Blanchet,  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines,  David  Donpierre,  Mr.  Char- 
levon,  Robert  Moore,  J.  L.  Parrish,  Etienne  Lucie  and  William  Johnson. 

The  meeting  then  appointed  Ira  L.  Babcock  Supreme  Judge,  with  probate 
powers  ;  George  W.  Le  Breton  Clerk  of  the  Court,  and  William  Johnson  High 
Sheriff.  The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  ist  day  of  June,  to  receive 
the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  and  code  of  laws. 

WThen  that  day  came  it  appeared  that  no  meeting  of  the  committee  had  been 
held,  and  consequently  no  report  had  been  prepared. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  15 

Rev.  F.  N.  Blanchet  requested  to  be  excused  from  serving  on  the  committee. 
His  request  was  granted,  and  Dr.  W.  J.  Bailey  was  chosen  in  his  stead. 

The  committee  was  instructed  to  meet  on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  and  to 
make  their  report  to  an  adjourned  meeting  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October. 
They  were  also  further  instructed  to  consult  with  Commodore  Wilkes,  of  the 
American  squadron,  then  in  Oregon,  and  Dr.  John  McLaughlin,  chief  factor  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  with  regard  to  the  propriety  of  forming  a  constitu 
tion  and  code  of  laws  for  the  community. 

This  meeting  also  rescinded  its  action  taken  on  the  i8th  of  February  in  re 
gard  to  the  appointment  of  officers,  and  then  adjourned  to  meet  again  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  October,  to  receive  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  to 
prepare  the  constitution  and  code  of  laws.  But  that  committee  never  met  to 
fulfill  its  duty,  nor  did  the  meeting  ever  assemble  again.  The  whole  thing 
amounted  to  nothing.  It  was  an  entire,  pitiful  failure.  The  disappointment 
among  the  people,  especially  among  the  independent  settlers,  was  very  great. 
Some  of  them  attributed  the  result  to  the  influences  of  the  Hudson  Bay  people. 
Some  to  the  advice  of  Commodore  Wilkes,  given  to  the  committee  to  refrain 
from  organizing  an  independent  government  in  Oregon;  while  some  of  them 
were  ill-natured  enough  to  say  that  there  were  too  many  preachers  connected 
with  the  affair;  and  too  many  of  them  were  aspirants  for  the  office  of  Governor, 
for  the  project  to  succeed.  Certain  it  is  that  the  projectors  of  the  proposed 
government  were  entitled  to  no  credit  for  what  they  did;  and  they  certainly  re 
ceived  none  from  the  people. 

Although  these  meetings,  gotten  up  by  the  missionaries  for.  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  temporary  government,  proved  an  utter  failure,  and  the  settlers 
were  sorely  disappointed  at  the  result,  yet  they  were  by  no  means  discouraged 
or  despondent,  and  resolved  to  make  another  effort  to  accomplish  that  in  which 
the  missionary  meeting  had  failed. 

This  time  the  independent  settlers—  I  mean  those  disconnected  with  the 
missions  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company — were  determined  to  take  the  matter 
into  their  own  hands.  Among  the  most  active  of  these  was  Wm.  H.  Gray, 
now  a  resident  of  Clatsop  county.  And  perhaps  to  him,  more  than  to  any 
other  one,  belongs  the  credit  of  the  formation  of  the  Provisional  Government. 
He  had  come  to  Oregon  in  1836  with  Dr.  Whitman's  party  of  missionaries,  but 
having  severed  his  connection  with  them,  came  to  the  Willamette  Valley  in 
1842,  and  made  his  home  there. 

It  was  at  his  house  that  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  the  citizens  was  called  on 
the  2d  day  of  February,  1843,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  taking  measures  to 
protect  the  herds  of  the  settlers  from  the  depredations  of  wild  animals,  but 


l6  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

actually  the  object  of  the  meeting  was  more  for  the  purpose  of  concerting 
measures  for  the  formation  of  some  kind  of  civil  government,  than  the  protec 
tion  of  herds  from  the  ravages  of  wolves  and  other  wild  animals.  At  this  meet 
ing  a  committee  of  six  was  appointed  to  give  notice  to  the  people  that  a  general 
meeting  would  be  held  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Gervais  on  the  first  Monday  in 
March,  "in  order  to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  adopting  some 
measures  for  the  protection  of  our  herds,  6°c.,  in  this  country" — in  the  "&c." 
lay  the  hidden  object  of  the  call;  but  it  was  not  then  intended  to  disclose  it, 
lest  opposition  to  the  proposed  meeting  should  be  aroused.  The  committee  ap 
pointed  to  give  the  notice  to  the  people  consisted  of  Messrs.  Gray,  Beers,  Ger 
vais,  Wilson,  Barnaby  and  Pierce. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  March,  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  adopted  at  the 
previous  meeting,  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  Willamette  Valley 
was  held  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Gervais.  James  A.  O'Neil,  who  had  come  to 
Oregon  in  1834  with  Capt.  Wyeth's  party,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  under 
stood  what  was  the  real  object  of  the  meeting. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  setting  forth  the  necessity  of  taking  immediate 
measures  to  provide  for  the  destruction  of  wolves,  bears  and  panthers  and  such 
other  animals  as  are  known  to  be  destructive  to  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  hogs. 
Specific  sums  of  money  were  offered  to  all  persons  who  who  would  destroy 
them,  and  subscriptions  of  money  or  property  were  authorized  to  be  collected 
to  pay  for  their  destruction. 

The  ostensible  object  for  which  the  meeting  was  called  having  thus  been  dis 
posed  of,  the  real  purpose  was  disclosed  by  the  following  proceedings  : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  pro 
priety  of  taking  measures  for  the  civil  and  military  protection  of  this  colony. 

Resolved,  That  said  committee  consist  of  twelve  persons. 

Messrs.  Dr.  Babcock,  Dr.  White,  O'Neil,  Shortess,  Newell,  Lucie,  Gervais, 
Hubbard,  McKay,  Gray,  Smith  and  Gay  were  appointed  said  committee.  The 
meeting  then  adjourned. 

The  committee  so  appointed  first  met  at  the  Willamette  Falls,  to  discuss  such 
measures  as  were  deemed  important,  to  be  presented  in  a  report  to  a  general 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Willamette  Valley.  They  consulted  with 
leading  citizens  and  endeavored  to  harmonize  such  conflicting  views  as  existed 
among  them,  concerning  the  propriety  of  establishing  a  temporary  government 
of  the  people.  Having  sufficiently  considered  the  matter,  a  general  meeting 
was  called  to  take  place  at  Champoeg  on  the  second  day  of  May. 

In  the  meantime  the  people  had  become  much  interested  in  the  question  as 
to  the  propriety  of  the  proposed  government.  The  American  settlers  were 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  1 7 

nearly  all  in  favor  of  the  project,  while  it  was  known  that  the  Canadians  who 
had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  who  were  still  British 
subjects,  were  decidedly  opposed  to  the  measure. 

At  length  the  second  day  of  May,  1843,  arrived,  when  the  general  meeting 
of  the  people  was  to  be  held  at  Champoeg,  a  day  that  was  to  be  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  Oregon;  a  day  on  which  was  to  be  decided  the  great  question 
whether  the  American  settlers  were  to  have  civil  government  established  for 
the  protection  of  their  rights,  or  whether  every  man  in  the  community  was  to 
continue  to  be  a  law  unto  himself. 

Dr.  1.  L.  Babcock  was  chosen  the  Chairman,  and  Messrs.  Gray,  LeBreton 
and  Wilson,  Secretaries  of  the  meeting,  which  was  held  in  an  open  field.  Both 
parties  were  well  drilled,  active  and  alert,  and  when  the  committee  of  twelve 
mide  their  report,  it  was  read,  and  a  motion  was  made  to  accept  it.  A  vote 
having  been  taken,  it  was  declared  by  the  Chairman  to  be  lost.  Much  excite 
ment  and  confusion  existed  at  this  unexpected  result.  A  division  was  immedi 
ately  called,  those  in  favor  of  the  objects  of  the  meeting  arranging  themselves 
on  the  right,  and  those  opposed  on  the  left,  and  upon  a  count  being  had,  it  was 
ascertained  that  there  were  fifty-two  in  favor  of  receiving  the  report  of  the  com 
mittee  and  fifty  against  it;  at  least  this  was  the  count  as  declared  by  Gray  and 
LeBreton,  who  exercised  the  important  privilege  of  tellers  on  this  memorable 
occasion.  A  shout  of  triumph  on  part  of  American  settlers,  led  off  by  Joe 
Meek,  carried  dismay  into  the  ranks  of  their  opponents.  The  greater  part  of 
them  left  the  meeting  and  returned  to  their  homes,  taking  no  further  part  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  day. 

The  meeting  then  took  up  the  report  of  the  committee  and  adopted  it  article 
by  article,  thereby  authorizing  the  following  officers  to  be  elected: 

A  Supreme  Judge,  with  probate  powers;  a  Clerk  of  the  Court,  a  Sheriff, 
three  Magistrates,  three  Constables,  a  Treasurer,  a  Major  and  three  Captains. 

The  persons  to  fill  these  various  offices  were  then  chosen,  but  it  was  provided 
that  they  should  not  act  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties  until  a  code  of  laws 
was  made  and  adopted. 

The  most  important  proceedings,  however,  was  the  adoption  of  the  commit 
tee's  report,  which  read  as  follows: 

"That  a  committee  of  nine  persons  be  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  a 
code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  this  community,  to  be  presented  to  a  pub 
lic  meeting  to  be  hereafter  called  by  them  on  the  fifth  day  of  July  next  for  their 
acceptance." 

In  this  important  resolution  lay  the  germ  of  the  future  Provisional  Govern 
ment  of  Oregon. 
9 


l8  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

This  committee,  known  in  the  early  history  of  the  Territory  as  the  Legisla 
tive  Committee,  was  chosen  by  ballot,  and  as  more  responsible  duties  developed 
upon  the  gentlemen  composing  it  than  had  been  given  to  any  other  committee 
by  the  people  of  Oregon,  I  give  their  names  in  full.  They  were: 

David  Hill,  Robert  Shortess,  Robert  Newell,  Alanson  Beers,  Thomas  J.  Hub- 
bard,  Wm.  H.  Gray,  Thomas  A.  O'Neil,  Robert  Moore  and  William  P.  Doug 
herty. 

The  meeting  adopted  some  further  resolutions  to  the  effect: 

That  the  Legislative  Committee  be  required  to  make  their  report  on  the  fifth 
day  of  July  next,  at  Champoeg. 

That  the  services  of  the  Legislative  Commiteee  be  paid  for  at  $i  25  per  day, 
and  that  the  money  be  raised  by  subscription,  and 

That  the  Legislative  Committee  should  not  sit  more  than  six  days. 

On  the  i6th  of  May,  two  weeks  after  the  time  they  were  chosen,  the  Legisla 
tive  Committee  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties  imposed 
upon  them  by  the  people,  and  in  six  days,  the  time  alloted  to  them,  their  work 
was  done  and  ready  to  be  submitted  to  the  citizens  at  the  public  meeting  to  be 
held  at  Champoeg.  And  for  their  labors  they  charged  nothing. 

Again,  as  the  Oregon  archives  show,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Territory  met  on 
the  5th  day  of  July,  1843,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  to  hear  the  report  of  the 
Legislative  Committee. 

That  report  was  presented  by  Mr.  Robert  Moore,  the  Chairman,  read  article 
by  article,  and  discussed  by  the  people,  and  with  some  slight  amendments,  the 
whole  of  it  was  adopted  and  become  the  organic  law  of  Oregon  Territory.  And 
thus,  within  five  months  and  three  days  after  the  first  meeting  at  Mr.  Gray's 
house,  the  Provisional  Government  became  an  established  fact. 

The  organic  law  thus  adopted  divided  the  Territory  into  four  districts,  and 
authorized  the  election  of  all  officers,  civil  and  military,  to  be  elected  by  the 
qualified  electors  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  May,  1844,  and  on  the  same  day 
annually  thereafter. 

It  provided  that  every  free  male  descendent  of  a  white  man,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  then  residing  in  the  Territory,  or  who  should 
thereafter  become  a  resident  for  six  months,  should  be  a  voter. 

The  executive  power  was  vested  in  a  committee  of  three  persons,  to  be 
elected  annually. 

The  legislative  power  was  vested  in  one  body  composed  of  nine  persons,  to  be 
chosen  annually  by  the  qualified  electors. 

The  judicial  power  was  vested  in  a  Supreme  Court  consisting  of  a  Supreme 
Judge  and  two  Justices  of  the  Peace,  a  Probate  Judge  and  Justices  of  the  Peace. 

A  Treasurer  was  authorized  to  be  elected,  who  should  receive  all  sums  of 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  19 

money  or  orders  which  might  be  subscribed  by  the  people  for  defraying  the  ex 
penses  of  the  government. 

It  provided  a  military  code,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  militia  should  be 
organized.  And,  what  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  settlers,  it  pro-, 
vided  for  the  occupation  of  the  public  lands. 

It  declared  that  no  individual  should  be  allowed  to  hold  a  claim  of  more 
than  one  mile  square,  or  640  acres,  in  a  square  or  oblong  form,  according  to  the 
natural  situation  of  the  premises  ;  and  that  no  individual  should  be  allowed  to 
hold  more  than  one  claim  at  the  same  time. 

And  finally  it  adopted  for  the  government  of  the  people  certain  enumerated 
laws  of  Iowa,  passed  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  that  Territory  in  1838-9. 
These,  thus  briefly  stated,  were  the  salient  features  of  the  new  government 
adopted  by  the  people  on  the  5th  day  of  July,  1843. 

To  carry  into  effect  these  laws,  the  people  then  assembled  elected  the  Execu 
tive  Committee  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  gentlemen  composing  it  were  David 
Hill,  Alanson  Beers  and  Joseph  Gale.  A.  E.  Wilson  had  been  chosen  Supreme 
Judge;  G.  W.  LeBreton,  Clerk;  Joseph  L.  Meek,  Sheriff,  and  W.  H.  Wilson, 
Treasurer. 

And  now  on  the  5th  day  of  July,  1843,  Civil  Government  was  first  organized, 
and  went  into  successful  operation  in  the  Territory  of  Oregon. 

On  the  second  Tuesday  of  May,  1844,  the  first  election  was  held  under  the 
organic  law  of  Oregon  Territory.  William  J.  Bailey,  Osborn  Russell  and  Peter 
G.  Stewart  were  elected  the  Executive  Committee.  The  Legislative  Committee 
then  chosen  consisted  of  the  following  gentlemen:  From  Tuality  district,  Peter 
H.  Burnett,  David  Hill,  M.  M.  McCarver  and  Matthias  Gilmore;  from  Clacka- 
mas  district,  A.  L.  Lovejoy;  from  Champoeg  district,  Daniel  Waldo,  Thomas 
D.  Keizer  and  Robert  Newell. 

On  the  i8th  day  of  June  following  their  election,  the  Legislative  Committee 
convened  at  the  Willamette  Falls,  and  was  organized  by  the  election  of  M.  M. 
McCarver  as  speaker. 

The  legislation,  during  this  year,  was  chiefly  of  a  local  nature  such  as  per 
tained  to  the  wants  of  the  community,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  refer  specially  to 
the  business  which  was  transacted  during  the  session. 

On  the. 24th  of  June,  1845,  tne  second  Legislative  Committee  convened  at 
Oregon  City,  and  was  composed  of  the  following  members  :  From  Clackamas 
county,  H.  A.  G.  Lee,  W.  H.  Gray  and  Hiram  Straight;  from  Champoeg 
county.  Robert  Newell,  J.  M.  Garrison,  M.  G.  Foisy  and  Barton  Lee;  from 
Yamhill  county,  Jesse  Applegate;  from  Taulity  county,  M.  M.  McCarver,  J.  W. 


2O  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

Smith  and  David  Hill;  trom  Clatsop  county,  John  McClure.  It  was  organized 
by  the  election  of  M.  M.  McCarver,  speaker. 

The  Legislative  Committee  during  this  session  was  chiefly  occupied  in  the 
preparation  of  an  amended  organic  law  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  of  the 
territory  for  their  adoption.  This  measure  had  been  strongly  recommended  by 
Messrs.  Russell  and  Stewart  of  the  Executive  Committee,  at  the  preceding  ses 
sion,  and  owing  to  the  great  increase  in  the  population  since  the  adoption  of 
the  first  organic  law  on  the  5th  of  July,  1843,  an^  tne  increased  wealth  and 
ability  to  maintain  the  government,  seemed  to  require  that  its  powers  should  be 
enlarged. 

A  committee,  or  rather  a  sub-committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Lee,  Newell, 
Applegate,  Smith  and  McClure  was  appointed  to  prepare  the  amended  organic 
law.  This  was  done  chiefly  by  Jesse  Applegate,  reported  to  the  committee  and 
unanimously  adopted  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  submitted  to  the  people  to  be  voted 
upon,  on  the  26th  of  July,  1845. 

On  that  day  it  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  203  votes,  and  thus  became  the 
organic  laws  of  the  territory,  and  remained  such  until  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment  was  superseded  by  the  Territorial  Government  established  by  the  United 
States. 

So  well  known  to  all,  are  the  provisions  of  the  organic  law  adopted  on  the 
26th  of  July,  1845,  ar"d  information  concerning  it  is  so  easily  to  be  obtained 
that  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  say  more  than  this — that  the  powers,  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  department  of  the  Pro 
visional  Government  were  more  clearly  and  orderly  set  forth  than  in  the  organic 
law,  adopted  on  the  5th  of  July,  1843.  I  ma7  add,  however,  that  one  of  the 
principal  changes  made  was  that  which  vested  the  executive  power  in  one  per 
son  instead  of  three,  and  fixing  his  term  of  orifice  at  two  years. 

I  know  it  is  wearisome  to  an  audience  to  listen  to  the  dry  details  of  legisla- 
lation,  and  yet  I  have  thought  it  proper,  even  though  considered  irksome,  to 
give  the  names  and  transactions  of  those  who  organized  the  Provisional  Gov 
ernment  in  1843,  and  those  who  remodeled  that  government  in  1845.  They 
were  the  great  lawgivers  who  established  civil  government  in  Oregon,  when  our 
National  Government  neglected  to  provide  for  the  welfare  and  safety  of  the 
people.  It  is  for  this  they  deserve  honorable  mention,  that  their  names  may 
not  be  forgotten  by  the  pioneers. 

Hereafter  I  shall  not  refer  specially  to  the  legislative  proceedings  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  nor  to  the  names  of  those  who  were  actors  in  it. 

I  will  state,  however,  that  after  the  organic  law  was  amended  or  remodeled, 
in  1845,  George  Abernethy  was  elected  Governor  by  the  people  in  1846,  and 


ANNUAL     ADDRESS.  21 

re-elected  in  1848,  and  remained  such  until  the  Provisional  Government  ceased 
to  exist.  He  administered  the  affairs  of  the  Provisional  Government  during  the 
time  he  was  in  office  faithfully  and  well,  and  died  in  the  city  of  Portland  on 
the  third  day  of  May,  1877,  beloved  and  respected  by  the  entire  community  in 
which  he  lived  so  long. 

The  establishment  of  civil  government  by  the  American  settlers  in  Oregon, 
and  the  great  increase  of  population  from  the  Western  States  which  followed, 
virtually  settled  the  question  of  our  right  to  the  country,  and  won  back  for  the 
United  States  the  title  to  the  undisputed  territory,  which  their  diplomacy  with 
England  had  well  nigh  lost.  The  attention  of  the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States  was  now  directed  to  the  little  republic  which  the  American  pioneers  had 
established  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  which  was  prosperous,  contented 
and  happy.  No  one  of  our  public  men  now  thought  of  surrendering  this  com 
munity  to  the  control  of  Great  Britain.  A  great  political  party,  at  its  national 
convention  held  in  Baltimore,  declared  our  title  to  Oregon  to  be  clear  and  un 
questioned,  and  under  the  battle  cry  of  "  fifty -four,  forty  or  fight,"  achieved  a 
victory,  the  result  of  which  was  of  far-reaching  importance  to  the  settlers  of 
Oregon. 

The  brilliant  and  eventful  administration  of  James  K.  Polk  came  into  power 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1845,  and  soon  afterwards  the  President  in  a  message  to 
Congress,  called  the  attention  of  that  body  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Oregon, 
and  recommended  that  notice  be  given  to  the  British  government  of  the  desire 
of  the  United  States  to  terminate  the  treaty  of  joint  occupation.  That  lethargy 
and  indifference  which  had  hitherto  prevailed  in  Congress  in  regard  to  its  duty 
of  extending  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  settlers  here, 
was  gone.  Protracted  discussions  in  both  branches  followed  the  presentation  of 
the  President's  message,  and  at  length  he  was  authorized  by  Congress  to  give 
the  necessary  notice  to  Great  Britain  to  terminate  the  treaty  of  1818  under  which 
the  Oregon  territory  was  jointly  occupied  by  both  powers.  The  notice  was 
given,  and  negotiations  were  then  commenced  at  Washington  by  the  representa 
tives  of  the  two  governments,  which  eventually  resulted  in  making  the  treaty 
of  June  15,  1846,  whereby  the  long  disputed  question  of  joint  occupation  was 
settled  at  last.  The  boundary  line  thus  established  was  the  forty-ninth  parallel 
of  north  latitude.  Mr.  Benton  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Senate  upon  the 
ratification  of  this  treaty,  stated  that : 

"It  is  a  marvellously  proper  line.  *  *  Mr.  Jefferson  offered  this  line 

in  1807;  Mr.  Monroe  made  the  same  offer  in  1818,  and  again  in  1824;  Mr. 
Adams  offered  it  in  1826;  Mr.  Tyler  in  1842  and  Mr.  Polk  in  1845." 

How  comes  it  that  the  boundary  line  which  our  government  had  so  repeatedly 


22  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

offered,  and  which  has  been  as  often  rejected,  was  acceded  to  at  last  ?  The 
true  solution  is  this:  The  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  American  settlers, 
and  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  civil  government  by  them,  was  far  more 
powerful  and  effective  than  all  our  diplomacy  had  been. 

The  treaty  had  been  concluded  amid  the  excitements  of  war.  Gen.  Taylor's 
army  had  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  a  few  days  before,  and  very  naturally  the 
attention  of  Congress  was  wholly  given  to  the  subject  of  raising  and  equipping 
armies  to  be  sent  to  Mexico,  and  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war  to  a  successful 
close.  This,  doubtless,  is  the  reason  why  Congress  did  not  extend  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  over  Oregon,  until  two  years  after  the  treaty  was  made.  Nor 
was  there  any  just  cause  to  complain  that  the  people  here  were  then  treated 
with  neglect.  Congressmen  well  knew  that  we  had  a  government  of  our  own 
choice,  and  could  wait  until  the  country  was  at  peace.  And  yet  the  people 
here  were  anxious  that  Congress  should  pass  an  act  extending  a  Territorial  Gov 
ernment  over  them  because  of  threatened  troubles  with  the  Indians  in  Eastern 
Oregon.  In  the  spring  of  1847,  Dr.  Whitman  had  been  in  the  Willamette  val 
ley  and  expressed  anxiety  concerning  his  own  situation  and  that  of  his  family, 
at  Wailatpu,  in  their  defenseless  condition.  It  was  his  desire  that  some  promi 
nent  and  influential  citizen  should  be  sent  by  the  authorities  of  the  Provisional 
Government  to  Washington,  to  make  known  to  the  President  and  Congress,  the 
exposed  condition  of  our  people,  and  ask  for  the  necessary  legislation  to  protect 
them  from  threatened  danger.  And  it  was  owing  to  these  representations  of  Dr. 
Whitman,  that  Governor  Abernethy  suggested  the  propriety  of  Hon.  T.  Quinn 
Thornton,  then  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Provisional  Government, 
going  to  Washington  for  that  purpose.  Accordingly,  in  the  fall  of  that  year, 
Judge  Thornton  resigned  his  office,  and  with  a  letter  from  Governor  Abernethy 
to  President  Polk,  started  on  a  long  and  somewhat  eventful  voyage  around  Cape 
Horn,  and  landed  in  Boston  on  the  2d  of  May,  1848,  and  at  once  proceeded  to 
Washington  to  enter  upon  his  duties,  not  as  a  delegate  from  Oregon  to  Congress, 
but  rather  in  the  capacity  of  an  ambassador  from  the  little  republic  of  the  Pro 
visional  Government,  to  the  National  Government  at  Washington. 

Through  the  kindly  influence  of  the  President  and  leading  Senators  and 
Representatives,  Judge  Thornton  was  enabled  to  do  as  much  for  the  people  as 
if  he  had  been  an  accredited  Delegate  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  on  the  I4th  day  of  August,  1848,  Congress  passed 
the  Act  creating  the  Territorial  Government  of  Oregon,  which  fully  extended 
the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  territory.  One  of  the 
provisions  of  the  Act  was,  that  it  recognized  the  validity  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
c  rnment  and  the  laws  passed  by  it,  and  declared  that  they  should  remain  in 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  23 

force  until  altered  or  repealed;  and  the  officers  of  the  government  were  author 
ized  to  exercise  and  perform  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  until  their 
successors  should  be  elected  and  qualified. 

Judge  Thornton  also  prepared  a  bill  granting  donations  of  lands  to  settlers  in 
Oregon,  which  was  substantially  the  same  as  that  which,  two  years  afterwards, 
was  passed  and  known  as  the  Donation  Land  Law,  excepting  that  it  did  not 
contain  the  nth  section  of  the  Act  of  September  27,  1850.  This  bill,  owing 
to  the  want  of  time,  failed  to  become  a  law. 

It  is  necessary  now  to  revert  to  events  transpiring  in  Oregon.  The  Provisional 
Government  which  had  been  tried  in  times  of  peace,  and  not  been  found  want 
ing,  was  now  to  be  tried  by  the  severe  ordeal  of  war.  The  dangers  appre 
hended  by  Dr.  Whitman  in  the  spring,  while  he  was  in  this  valley,  were,  alas  ! 
too  well  founded.  He  and  his  family,  and  a  number  of  others  at  Wailaptu, 
were  murdered  in  cold  blood  by  the  Indians,  to  whom  he  had  always  been  a 
benefactor  and  friend.  The  massacre  took  place  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1847,  and  the  sad  intelligence  was  received  in  Oregon  City  while  the  Legisla 
tive  Assembly  was  in  session.  The  Governor  and  Legislature  at  once  took 
steps  to  send  an  armed  force  of  volunteers  to  punish  the  murderers,  and  in  thir 
teen  days  after  the  information  was  received,  the  little  army  was  on  its  way  to 
chastise  the  Indians.  After  a  march  of  more  than  three  hundred  miles,  in  mid 
winter,  it  met,  fought  and  subdued  the  hostile  tribe,  and  restored  peace  to  the 
settlement. 

The  administration  of  President  Polk  was  now  approaching  its  close.  Great 
events  had  crowded  each  other  throughout  its  course.  Mexico  was  conquered 
by  the  brilliant  achievements  of  our  armies.  A  treaty  of  peace  had  been  made 
by  which  California,  Nevada,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Colorado  and  Utah  had 
been  added  to  our  national  domain.  The  title  to  Oregon  had  been  settled,  and 
a  territorial  government  extended  over  it.  A  gallant  soldier  of  that  war  had 
been  appointed  by  the  President  to  be  its  first  Territorial  Governor,  and  it  was 
his  desire  that  General  Lane  should  organize  the  government  during  his  own 
administration . 

The  Provisional  Government  was  now  near  its  end.  The  purposes  for  which 
it  had  been  organized,  and  the  time  of  its  duration,  are  set  forth  in  its  preamble 
in  these  words: 

We,  the  people  of  Oregon  Territory,  for  purposes  of  mutual  protection,  iyid 
to  secure  peace  and  prosperity  among  ourselves,  agree  to  adopt  the  follow 
ing  laws  and  regulations  until  such  time  as  the  United  States  of  America  ex 
tend  their  jurisdiction  over  us." 

For  more  than  five  years  U  had  exercised  its  powers  for  the  public  good.     It 


24  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

had  secured  peace  and  prosperity  among  the  people.  During  its  existence  it 
had  constructed  public  roads,  bridges  and  ferries;  it  had  organized  counties;  it 
had  regulated  and  defined  the  extent  of  land  claims;  it  had  established  post- 
offices;  it  had  authorized  the  coinage  of  money,  and  regulated  the  value  thereof; 
it  had  levied  war  and  concluded  peace;  it  had  made  treaties  with  Indian  tribes, 
and,  in  fact,  had  done  nearly  all  acts  and  things  that  an  independent  State  may 
of  right  do.  All  these  things  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon  had  done 
by  its  own  unaided  power,  and  without  any  expense  whatever  to  the  Nationol 
Government.  It  fulfilled  its  own  legend — A/is  volat  propriis.  And  on  the  3d 
day  of  March,  1849,  Governor  Abernethy,  after  an  honest  and  faithful  adminis 
tration,  turned  over  its  records  and  archives  to  Governor  Lane,  and  the  Pro 
visional  Government  of  Oregon  ceased  to  be 

Is  it  any  wonder  then  that  the  early  pioneers  look  back  upon  the  government 
which  they  had  organized  with  feelings  of  pride  and  affectionate  regard? 

I  have  stated  that  Judge  Thornton,  while  in  Washington,  in  1848,  had  pre 
pared  a  bill  which  had  been  presented  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  grant 
ing  donations  of  the  public  lands  to  the  settlers  in  Oregon.  The  bill  failed  to  be 
come  a  law  at  that  session  of  Congress,  not  from  any  opposition  to  its  merits, 
but  simply  for  want  of  time  to  enact  it.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  have  been  always 
conceded  by  members  of  Congress,  from  the  time  Senator  Linn  introduced  his 
bills  for  that  purpose  down  to  the  time  the  law  was  enacted,  that  the  settlers 
who  did  so  much  towards  securing  our  title  to  the  country,  should  be  entitled 
to  donations  of  the  land,  which,  by  their  settlements,  they  had  earned. 

When  the  Provisional  Government  was  organized,  on  the  5th  day  of  July, 
1843,  it  provided  that  any  person  taking  a  land  claim,  should  be  allowed  to 
hold  a  tract  "of  640  acres,  in  a  square  or  oblong  form  according  to  the  natural 
situation  of  the  premises."  By  this  law  the  claim  could  be  taken  without  the 
boundaries  running  north  and  south,  east  and  west.  When  the  organic  law  was 
remodeled,  in  1845,  li  provided  that  thereafter  the  boundary  lines  of  all  land 
claims  should  conform,  as  near  as  may  be,  to  the  cardinal  points.  So,  when 
looking  upon  the  maps,  we  see  a  square  or  oblong  donation  land  claim  contain 
ing  640  acres,  with  boundaries  which  do  not  run  according  to  the  cardinal  points, 
but  as  the  claimant  chose  to  establish  them,  we  know  that  such  claim  was  taken 
before  July  5,  1845.  ^ ne  claims  so  located  mark  the  homes  of  the  earliest 
pioneers. 

Hon.  Samuel  R.  Thurston  was  the  first  delegate  to  Congress,  elected  after 
the  Territorial  government  law  was  passed,  and  procured  the  passage  of  that 
just  and  beneficent  act,  known  as  the  "Oregon  donation  land  law,"  which  was 
approved  on  the  27th  day  of  September,  1850. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  25 

It  recognized  the  settlements  made  under  the  law  of  the  Provisional  Govern 
ment,  and  permitted  the  boundaries  of  claims  to  remain  just  as  were  originally 
taken  by  the  claimants. 

One  of  the  most  equitable  provisions  of  the  Donation  Law  was,  that  Con 
gress,  in  making  grants  of  lands  to  settlers,  made  no  distinction  between  hus 
band  and  wife,  man  and  woman,  where  such  settlers  were  residents  of  Oregon,  or 
should  become  such  on  or  before  the  first  of  December,  1850.  Many  words  of 
commendation  have  been  spoken  of  the  men  who  were  pioneers  of  Oregon,  but 
all  too  little  has  been  said  in  praise  of  the  pioneer  women,  who  shared  with 
their  husbands,  all  the  toils  and  hardships,  all  the  privations  and  dangers,  all 
the  sufferings  and  sorrows,  of  that  dreary  two  thousand  miles'  journey  from 
their  old  homes  to  their  new  ones  here.  And  when  that  journey  was  over  at 
last,  the  hard  life  of  the  pioneer  women  had  only  begun.  Living  with  their 
husbands  and  children,  in  their  rude  log  cabins,  far  away  from  the  society  of 
kindred  and  friends,  the  poor  women's  daily  toil  went  on  for  years,  with  but 
few  of  the  necessaries  and  none  of  the  comforts  of  civilized  life.  Surely  the 
pioneer  women  were  as  much  entitled  to  grants  of  land  as  their  husbands  were. 

Mr.  Thurston,  our  first  delegate  in  Congress,  the  pioneer  representative  of 
Oregon,  procured  the  passage  of  the  Donation  Land  Law,  so  as  to  give  to  the 
husband  and  the  wife  an  equal  share  in  the  land  which  they  had  jointly  earned. 
It  was  the  first  law  ever  enacted  by  Congress,  which  placed  both  sexes  on  a  per 
fect  equality  in  this  respect,  and  marked  a  new  era  in  women's  rights. 

And  it  was  in  this  same  spirit  of  justice  and  equality  that  the  pioneers  of  Ore 
gon  formed  the  Constitution  of  our  State,  seven  years  after  the  Donation  Law  was 
passed,  when  they  declared: 

"That  the  property  and  pecuniary  rights  of  every  married  woman  at  the 
time  of  marriage,  or  afterwards  acquired  by  gift,  devise  or  inheritance,  shall 
not  be  subject  to  the  debts  or  contracts  of  the  husband." 

And  in  all  subsequent  legislation  by  the  people  of  Oregon,  the  same  percep 
tions  of  right  and  justice  towards  both  sexes  have  prevailed  in  regard  to  their 
property.  They  have  been  maintained  in  the  same  spirit  of  equality  as  that  in 
which  the  Donation  Law  was  passed. 

And  in  connection  with  this,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  refer  briefly  to  an  amend^ 
ment  proposed  to  be  made  to  the  Constitution  of  Oregon.  I  mean  the  one  to 
confer  upon  women  the  right  of  suffrage. 

Whenever  this  right  or  privilege,  whichever  we  may  call  it,  was  asserted  by 
them  it  was  treated  with  ridicule,  and  sometimes  answered  only  by  ribald  jests. 


26  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

But  it  has  got  beyond  that  now.  Thoughtful  men  are  seriously  considering  the 
effects  it  may  have  upon  political  and  social  affairs.  In  the  end  I  believe 
women  will  obtain  the  right  to  vote  at  all  elections.  They  are  working  with 
earnestness  and  zeal  in  the  cause  which  they  have  at  heart.  They  are  pressing 
forward,  not  going  back.  Vestigia  nulla  retrorswn  is  their  motto. 

The  property  of  women  is  taxed  to  support  the  government  the  same  as  the 
property  of  men,  and  they  can  claim  with  justice  that  they  ought  to  have  a 
voice  in  choosing  those  who  impose  the  burden  of  taxation  upon  them. 

As  I  said  before,  I  believe  they  will  succeed  in  the  end  in  obtaining  the  right 
to  vote  at  elections,  and  I  hope  they  may.  Surely  the  votes  of  intelligent 
women  will  not  have  a  tendency  to  corrupt  and  degrade  the  right  of  suffrage, 
but  to  purify  and  exalt  it  rather. 

I  return  from  this  digression  to  the  subject  I  was  considering,  to  the  donation 
land  law  of  Oregon. 

Just  and  generous  as  that  law  was  to  the  people  of  Oregon,  yet  there  was  one 
blot  upon  it.  I  refer  to  the  provision  contained  in  the  nth  section  of  the  act 
by  which  the  donation  claim  of  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  known  as  the  Oregon 
City  claim,  was  taken  from  him  and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  to  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  the  endowment  of  a  university. 
It  was  an  act  of  injustice  to  one  of  the  best  friends  and  greatest  benefactors 
which  the  early  immigrants  ever  had.  I  do  not  propose  to  speak  of  the  many 
estimable  and  noble  qualities  of  Dr.  McLoughlin  here.  They  have  been  dwelt 
upon  by  others  who  have  heretofore  addressed  the  Pioneer  Association,  and 
especially  by  Mr.  Rees  in  1879.  I  concur  in  everything  he  said  in  praise  of  Dr. 
McLoughlin . 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  know  him  well  during  the  last  six  years  of  his  life, 
years  which  were  embittered  by  what  he  considered  an  act  of  ingratitude  after 
he  had  done  so  many  acts  of  personal  kindness  to  the  early  immigrants  in  their 
time  of  need.  That  Dr.  McLoughlin  was  unjustly  treated  in  this  matter,  few, 
if  any,  will  deny.  And  I  am  very  sure  that  a  large  majority  of  the  people,  in 
Oregon,  at  that  time,  condemned  the  act  which  took  away  his  property,  and 
tended  to  becloud  his  fame.  And  yet  no  act  was  ever  done  by  the  Territorial 
Government  to  assert  its  right  to  the  Oregon  City  claim  during  the  life  of  Dr. 
McLoughlin;  and  in  1862,  five  years  after  his  death,  the  State  of  Oregon  con 
firmed  the  title  to  his  devises  upon  the  payment  of  the  merely  nominal  consid 
eration  of  $  1,000  into  the  university  fund. 

And  so  five  years  after  he  was  laid  in  his  grave  an  act  of  tardy  justice  was 
done  at  last  to  the  memory  of  the  grand  old  pioneer. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

Mr.  President,  many  of  us  have  seen  Oregon  grow  up  from  a  wilderness  in- 
habitated  by  a  feeble  band  of  missionaries  and  adventurous  trappers,  without 
any  laws  for  their  protection,  to  be  a  prosperous  State  with  all  the  comforts  of 
civilized  life.  This  prosperous  commonwealth  whose  foundations  were  laid  by 
the  pioneers  amid  sore  trials  and  dangers,  will  soon  be  known  no  more  to  us 
forever.  Since  the  last  meeting  of  this  Association  many  connected  with  it, 
have  dropped  by  the  wayside  never  to  unite  with  us  again.  Year  by  year  our 
ranks  are  thinned,  and  the  gray  hairs  and  stooping  forms  of  those  who  remain 
tell  us  all  too  plainly  that  our  days  are  far  spent,  and  that  we  are  on  the  sunset 
declivity  of  life.  To  our  children  and  to  our  children's  children,  we  will  soon 
leave  the  heritage  secured  to  them  by  their  fathers;  and  our  hope  is  that  when 
we  go  hence  the  names  and  the  memory  of  the  pioneers  may  not  be  wholly  for 
gotten  by  those  who  come  after  them. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 


BY   HON.    F.   A.    CHENOWETH. 


After  a  recess  of  .one  hour,  Mrs.  Duniway  appeared  and  read 
the  Occasional  Address  on  the  emigration  of  1849,  prepared  by 
Judge  F.  A.  Chenoweth,  of  Corvallis,  Judge  Chenoweth  being 
confined  to  his  home  by  sickness: 

The  year  1849  was  eventful  as  a  period  of  intense  excitement,  on  account  of 
the  rich  discoveries  of  gold  in  California.  It  is  true  the  rich  deposits  of  gold 
in  some  parts  of  the  State  had  been  discovered  in  1848,  and  the  latter  part  of 
1847;  but  communication  at  that  time  was  slow,  and  little  was  known  of  Cali 
fornia — to  what  country  it  belonged;  whether  its  natives  were  hostile,  or  of  the 
means  of  reaching  that  distant  and  unknown  land — or  whether  the  remarkable 
and  astounding  reports  of  the  gold  discoveries  were  true. 

At  first  these  reports  were  listened  to  like  the  reports  of  the  discovery  of 
perpetual  motion,  or  angels'  visits,  or  the  elixir  fountain.  But  by  and  by  a 
solitary  traveler  from  the  Eldorado  returned,  bearing  specimens  of  the  shining 
ore,  or  samples  of  the  gold-bearing  quartz.  At  that  time  a  man  who  had  met, 
face  to  face,  a  live  Californian,  was  a  distinguished  character;  and  the  man 
whose  eyes  were  permitted  to  fasten  and  feast  upon  the  glittering  sand,  "was 
privileged  above  the  common  walks  of  life."  Large  prices  were  paid  for  small 
pinches  of  the  glittering  sand,  or  a  peck  of  the  auriferous  rock — to  be  had  and 
held  a  veritable  messenger  from  the  heavenly  land. 

All  this  consumed  time,  and  it  was  not  until  late  in  1848  that  the  richness  of 
the  gold  deposits  became  fully  and  satisfactorily  confirmed. 

A  month  to  six  weeks  was  then  the  shortest  possible  time  to  hear  from  that 
country;  as  then,  neither  the  rattling  stage,  the  pony  express,  the  iron  horse,  or 
the  tamed,  obedient  lightning,  were  known,  or  believed  to  be  among  the  possi 
bilities,  for  communication  across  this  desert  land.  The  richness  and  extent 
of  the  gold  deposits  being  established  and  confirmed,  the  excitement  became  in 
tense  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Then,  how  to  reach  the  land 
of  hope  became  the  all-absorbing  question.  Those  of  the  Atlantic  who  were 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  29 

possessed  of  money  or  credit,    had  two  chances — such    as    they  were.     One 
was  by  sea  and  the  Isthmus  of  Darien;  the  other  was  "the  plains  across." 

The  sea  voyage  at  that  time  was  neither  certain  or  comfortable.  All  kinds 
of  vessels  were  gathered  up  and  placed  on  the  line,  and  herds  of  men  without 
regard  to  comfort  or  safety,  drifted  down  the  coast  and  were  thrown  upon  the 
isthmus  to  scramble  for  transportation  to  the  Pacific  shores  at  fabulous  prices  and 
then  run  the  desperate  chance  of  some  kind  of  conveyance  to  San  Francisco. 

All  kinds  of  vessels  except  comfortable  steamers  were  employed  to  transport 
the  eager  adventurers  from  Panama  to  San  Francisco.  Old  rotten  hulks  were 
employed  for  the  purpose,  and  while  they  could  promise  neither  safety,  comfort 
or  speed,  they  made  it  all  right  by  charging  five  times  the  usual  price  for  trans 
portation. 

The  other  mode  of  travel  was  the  land,  with  its  accompanying  annoyances — 
sage-brush  and  Indians. 

The  seething  mass  of  anxious  adventurers  was  a  multitude  that  no  man  could 
number.  This  burning,  insatiable  desire  to  reach  California  assumed  the  form 
of  an  epidemic.  It  was  not  bounded  by  the  Atlantic  and  western  border.  This 
yellow  fever  prevailed  wherever  humanity  existed.  But  between  them  and  the 
gold  a  great  gulf  was  fixed.  The  frowning  winter,  the  desolate  plains;  the  utter 
want  of  transportation  across  the  unknown,  untried  wilderness,  were  all  that 
prevented  men,  women  and  children  from  a  stampede  that  would  have  depopu 
lated  and  left  vacant  and  tenantless,  the  happy  homes  of  America.  The  ties  of 
home  and  sweet  domestic  bliss  were  now  engaged  in  fierce  and  deadly  conflict 
with  the  lion  powers  of  Avarice.  The  old  and  the  young,  the  rich  and  the  poor 
all  were  victims  of  the  prevailing  malady. 

It  was  now  the  dead  of  winter.  No  steps  towards  the  golden  sunset  could  be 
taken  until  the  vernal  zephyrs  should  call  to  life  the  tender  vegelation.  The 
shivering,  ice  bound  earth  must  first  be  clothed  and  warmed  with  living  coats  of 
green. 

What  a  fearful  suspense  it  was  to  lie  down  at  night  and  know  that  great 
heaps  of  gold  were  lying  loose  upon  the  plains  of  California,  liable  to  be  picked 
up  by  some  stranger  more  fortunate  than  yourself.  To  think  that  from  four  to 
six  months  must  elapse  before  you  could  be  made  happy  amid  the  golden  sands 
was  agony  untold.  There  was  great  struggling  among  the  large  numbers  of 
respectable  men  of  youth  and  health,  but  destitute  of  means,  who  desired  to  fit 
themselves  out  for  the  voyage.  Many  turns  were  made.  The  old  and  wealthy, 
the  halt  and  the  blind — those  with  whom  migration  was  impossible — formed 
partnership  with  the  young  and  impecunious.  None  could  forego  the  prospect 
of  an  indefinite  amount  of  gain.  They  must  have  a  finger  in  the  pie.  To  be 


30  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

there  in  person  was  impossible,  but  to  be  there  by  representation  was  possible. 
The  great  thing  to  be  accomplished  was  to  have  some  one  on  the  spot  to  fill  up 
the  empty  sacks  and  carry  back  the  precious  treasure.  As  to  finding — no  one 
could  go  amiss. 

The  principal  fruit  of  most  of  these  compacts  was  bitter  disappointment. 
With  many  no  returns  were  ever  made.  Some  died  on  the  way,  or  perished 
through  exposure  in  the  mines;  while  others  engaged  in  wild  speculations  and 
their  substance  passed  off  by  insensible  perspiration.  A  few  clung  to  their 
property  and  their  contracts,  and  made  money,  and  did  well  for  themselves  and 
their  patrons. 

One  incident  to  this  great  excitement  was  the  great  and  unprecedented  rise  of 
certain  property.  Mules  of  suitable  size  and  age  were  in  great  demand  at 
double  their  usual  prices.  Strong,  light  wagons  were  subject  to  the  same  rule. 
Cows,  of  mature  age,  and  well  formed  for  traveling  and  giving  milk,  commanded 
fabulous  prices.  An  idea  prevailed  that  a  large  number  of  milk  cows  made  the 
most  desirable  team  for  the  plains.  They  were  valuable  for  the  milk  they  gave 
on  the  road,  as  well  as  their  excellent  traveling  qualities. 

Active  preparations  were  kept  up  during  the  winter,  and  when  at  length  win 
ter  broke,  the  swarming  legions  appeared  at  all  the  chief  points  of  embarkation. 
The  busy  frontier  teemed  with  life  and  activity.  At  that  time  the  west  and 
northwest  of  Iowa  and  Missouri  were  a  portion  of  the  unsettled  wilderness.  The 
wild  Indian  and  the  buffalo  yet  held  undisputed  sway.  A  rude  flat-boat  pro 
pelled  by  oars  was  all  the  means  of  crossing  the  Missouri  river.  An  Indian 
agency  and  a  rude  mission  were  all  there  were  at  Omaha.  Except  the  moun 
tain  trader,  there  was  not  a  single  habitation  between  Omaha  and  Oregon. 
However  the  Mormons  had  made  a  small  beginning  at  Salt  Lake,  but  not  on  the 
road  to  Oregon.  Independence  and  Omaha  were  the  chief  starting  points.  Per 
sons  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  Canada  and  Europe,  did  not 
consider  they  had  started  until  they  reached  one  or  the  other  of  these  places. 

In  reaching  these  frontier  places,  the  people  traveled  by  all  conceivable  modes, 
whether  by  land  or  water.  Many,  according  to  the  distance  they  had  to  make, 
started  early,  and  with  short  and  easy  marches  with  their  teams  by  day,  and 
lodging  at  hotels  or  private  reiidences  at  night,  leisurely  consuming  winter, 
contrived  to  reach  one  or  the  other  of  these  frontier  places  in  time  to  start  with 
the  early  spring  travel,  or  as  soon  as  with  safety  they  could  throw  themselves 
upon  the  howling  wilderness,  abandon  shelter  and  take  exclusively  to  camp 
life. 

Here  a  new  life  opened  upon  them.  The  wife  and  little  ones,  as  well  as  the 
hardy  husband,  were  now  to  live  upon  what  was  in  the  wagon  for  five  or  six 
months.  The  concave  of  heaven  was  their  roof.  But  few  men  had  tents. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  31 

Sleeping  in  the  open  air  or  in  the  wagon  was  the  ultimatum  from  now  on.     In 
early  spring  there  was  more  or  less  cold  and  wet  weather. 

These  new  and  untried  exposures  put  to  severe  test  the  tender  forms  of  wife  and 
little  ones.  But  the  greatest  test  of  endurance  was  in  baking  in  the  unclouded 
sun  during  the  warm  days  of  summer,  with  this  light  shining  from  5  A.  M.  to  7  P. 
M.,  without  shrub  or  tree,  and  can  only  be  fairly  estimated  by  being  tried. 

Grass  was  all  the  animals  had  to  subsist  upon.  Being  worked  during  the  day 
they  must  have  an  opportunity  to  graze  at  night.  This  required  a  portion  of 
the  men  to  stand  guard  to  prevent  the  animals  from  straying  or  being  stampeded 
by  the  Indians. 

The  comfort  of  fires  in  wet  weather  was  out  of  the  question.  The  only  fuel 
for  cooking  was  buffalo  chips.  The  bards  of  the  prairie  in  immortal  verse  have 
explained  what  buffalo  chips  are;  and  these  explanations  are  as  familiar  as 
household  words.  Buffalo  chips  in  dry  weather  would  make  sufficient  heat  to 
boil  coffee  and  fry  bacon.  Wet  weather  brought  the  absence  of  coffee  and  utter 
want  of  fire,  and  reduced  the  pilgrim  to  a  nibble  at  hard  cracker  and  perhaps  a 
drink  of  milk.  On  this  meager  fare  the  shivering  crowd  must  quietly  wait  for 
sunny  weather. 

Companies  of  twenty  to  thirty  wagons  often  organized  for  mutual  protection 
and  assistance,  and  elected  a  captain  with  subordinate  officers.  These  organ 
izations  were  often  gotten  up  in  the  most  elaborate  manner,  with  laws  and  the 
most  solemn  compacts,  attended  with  usual  penalties.  AH  this  looked  well  on 
paper  but  the  sad  want  of  adhesive  qualities  soon  became  apparent.  Movements 
were  too  slow  for  some  and  too  fast  for  others.  Men  on  the  plains  remembered 
the  divine  right  of  revolution.  They  also  seemed  to  understand  that  successful 
revolution  was  not  treason.  In  most  instances  revolts  were  successful,  and  the 
greater  number  of  these  organizations  experienced  rapid  disintegration.  Life 
upon  the  plains  evolved  some  remarkable  traits  of  character;  so  much  so  that 
but  for  the  situation,  those  traits  would  have  been  all  the  same  as  if  they  had 
never  been.  Men  noted  for  meek  and  quiet  temper,  suddenly  discovered  great 
explosive  material  in  their  composition.  Ladies  of  pure  and  unmixed  gentle 
ness,  became  more  or  less  noisy.  Men  of  piety  sometimes  indulged  in  the  lux 
ury  of  profanity. 

Perhaps  no  process  in  nature  or  condition  of  society,  could  do  more  to  strip 
off  every  mask  or  cover  of  society,  and  make  perfectly  plain  and  transparent  the 
real  character  of  both  men  and  women.  It  was  a  perfect  leveler  of  all  grades 
and  distinctions.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  met  on  a  common  dust  and  alkali 
plain,  and  often  recognized  each  other  without  the  form  of  introduction  or  any 
regard  for  previous  condition  of  servitude.  Men  of  well  established  piety,  who 


32  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

always  commenced  the  day  with  the  song  of  praise  to  God  and  family  prayer, 
had  all  this  changed  to  a  service  in  harmony  with  the  wolf,  the  Indian  and  other 
wild  surroundings.  It  would  be  hardly  proper  here  to  enquire  whether  this  new 
surrounding  made  men  worse,  or  whether  it  simply  brought  to  view  the  real  in 
wardness  of  the  man. 

One  great  lesson  that  ought  not  to  be  lost  was  effectually  taught  upon  the 
plains.  It  taught  how  very  few  and  simple  are  the  real  wants  of  life.  Most 
persons  started  with  many  articles  not  at  all  necessary  to  support  life;  and  the 
deep  study  soon  became,  not  what  we  have  or  what  we  can  get,  but  what  can 
we  do  without?  The  severe  toil  of  loaded  teams,  and  labor  of  taking  care  of  a 
large  amount  of  property  not  absolutely  necessary,  began  to  have  relief  by 
throwing  away  this  or  that  article  so  carefully  stored  for  an  emergency.  These 
abandoned  articles  became  more  common  as  you  got  far  out  on  the  plains. 
Boxes  of  clothing,  bacon,  tool-chests,  many  things  of  great  value,  and  often  ex 
tra  wagons  were  left  by  the  wayside,  and  with  the  actual  necessities  of  life  and 
the  two  teams  hitched  on  to  one  wagon-  when  they  had  two — the  resolute  emi 
grant  could  make  better  time  with  less  labor  and  exhaustion  to  both  man  and 
beast.  The  most  important  question  on  the  plains  was  the  question  of  endurance. 

This  applied  with  great  force  to  man  and  beast.  There  were  many  exam 
ples  of  heroic  endurance  among  the  women  of  1849. 

Women  often  walked  and  drove  stock  and  teams  dnring  the  day,  after  cook 
ing  breakfast  and  caring  for  children  at  all  hours  of  the  night  and  day;  arising 
at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  retiring — if  at  all — when  all  the  work  was 
done  and  all  others  were  gone  to  rest.  From  these  ever-faithful  mothers  very 
few  complaints  were  heard. 

This  mode  of  life  lasted  from  early  spring  until  late  in  the  autumn,  and  often 
ended  in  the  deep  snows  of  winter. 

But  the  incidents  of  hardship  which  I  have  noticed  were  the  merest  trifles 
compared  to  the  terrible  calamity  that  marked  with  sadness  and  trailed  in 
deep  desolation  over  that  ill-fated  emigration. 

Very  soon  after  the  assembled  throng  took  up  its  march  over  the  plains  the 
terrible  wave  of  cholera  struck  them  in  a  way  to  carry  the  utmost  terror  and 
dismay  into  all  parts  of  the  moving  mass. 

The  number  of  the  fatally-stricken  after  the  smoke  and  dust  were  cleared 
away  was  not  numerically  so  frightful  as  appeared  to  those  who  were  in  the 
midst  of  it.  But  the  name  of  cholera  in  a  multitude — unorganized  and  un 
numbered—is  like  a  leak  in  the  bottom  of  a  ship  whose  decks  are  thronged 
with  passengers.  The  disturbed  waters  of  the  ocean,  the  angry  elements  of 
Nature,  when  aroused  to  fury,  are  but  faint  illustrations  of  the  terror-stricken 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  33 

mass  of  hnmanity,  when  in  their  midst  are  falling  with  great  rapidity  their  com 
rades — the  strong,  the  young  and  the  old — the  strength  and  vigor  of  youth 
melting  away  before  an  unseen  foe.  All  this  filled  our  ranks  with  the  utmost 
terror  and  gloom.  This  terrible  malady  seemed  to  spend  its  most  deadly  force 
on  the  flat  prairie  east  of  and  about  Fort  Laramie. 

One  of  the  appalling  effects  of  this  disease  was  to  cause  the  most  devoted 
friends  to  desert,  in  case  of  attack,  the  fallen  one.  Many  a  stout  and  powerful 
man  fought  the  last  battle  alone  upon  the  prairie.  When  the  rough  hand  of  the 
cholera  was  laid  upon  families  they  rarely  had  either  the  assistance  or  the  sym 
pathy  of  their  neighbors  or  traveling  companions. 

There  was  one  feature  mixed  with  all  this  terror  that  afforded  some  degree 
of  relief,  and  that  was  that  there  was  no  case  of  lingering  suffering.  When  at 
tacked,  a  single  day  ordinarily  ended  the  strife  in  death  or  recovery. 

A  vast  amount  of  wagons,  with  beds  and  blankets,  were  left  by  the  roadside, 
whom  no  man,  not  even  an  Indian,  would  approach  or  touch  through  fear  of 
the  unknown,  unseen  destroyer. 

While  there  were  sad  instances  or  comrades  deserting  comrades  in  this  hour 
of  extreme  trial,  I  cannot  pass  this  point  of  my  story  without  stating  that  there 
were  many  instances  of  heroic  devotion  to  the  sick,  when  such  attention  was 
regarded  as  almost  equivalent  to  the  offering  up  of  the  well  and  healthy  for  the 
mere  hope  of  saving  the  sick  and  dying. 

The  State  of  Oregon  is  indebted  to  the  scourge  of  cholera  for  a  diversion  of 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  emigrants  of  1849  from  the  California  road  to  that 
of  the  trail  to  Oregon.  It  was  only  in  the  dense  crowd  that  this  disease  ap 
peared  to  find  food  for  subsistence. 

Altogether  the  number  that  came  to  Oregon  overland  was  not  large. 

That  year  the  rifle  regiment  under  Col.  Loring  came  to  Oregon  across  the 
plains. 

Hon.  M.  P.  Deady  came  with  the  troops  that  year.  He  was  then  a  young 
man  unknown  to  politics  or  official  position.  As  to  how  he  has  grown  with 
Oregon's  growth,  and  strengthened  with  her  strength,  you  are  all  perfectly 
familiar. 

There  was  quite  an  immigration  that  fall  and  winter  from  California.  Miners 
flush  with  gold  and  famishing  for  fresh  vegetable  food,  made  our  little  villages 
active. 

Oregon  City  was  then  the  chief  town  of  importance,  though  there  was  talk  of 
a  town  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Willamette  among  the  brush  where  Portland 
now  stands. 

Many  old  residents  of  the  Willamette  Valley  returned  that  year  from  Cal- 
3 


34  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

ifornia,  most  of  whom  with  gold  as  the  reward  of  their  enterprise,  and  the  price 
of  leaving  their  homes  in  this  valley  for  the  allurements  of  the  mines. 

At  that  time  the  troops  occupied  Oregon  City  and  made  it  look  more  like  a 
military  camp  than  a  city  of  civilians.  A  portion  of  troops  also  occupied  Fort 
Vancouver. 

General  Joseph  Lane,  the  Marion  of  the  Mexican  war,  was  then  Governor  of  the 
territory  of  Oregon. 

At  that  time  money  was  plenty.  Goods  of  most  kind  were  brought  in  by 
ships  from  the  East,  and  indeed  from  all  ports  of  the  world.  The  few  farmers 
that  had  got  their  places  under  way  could  fix  their  own  prices.  Hogs,  beef 
cattle  and  poultry  were  worth  what  people  asked  for  them. 

It  was  here,  commencing  with  1849  and  ending  with  1856,  that  flush  times 
and  high  prices  begot  such  extravagance  and  sloth  in  many  of  the  people  then 
residents  in  Oregon,  and  those  that  came  about  that  time,  that  led  to  their  fu 
ture  ruin  and  bankruptcy. 

For  fear  of  tiresome  prolixity,  I  have  passed  over  many  incidents  of  deep  and 
thrilling  interest,  a  tithe  of  which  cannot  be  .told  in  a  lecture.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  from  various  causes  I  arrived  in  Oregon  late,  in  company  with  some  thirty 
employes  of  the  government,  connected  with  the  Quartermaster's  .Department. 
We  arrived  at  the  Grand  Ronde  late  in  November,  with  some  fifteen  wagons, 
and  good,  strong  and  powerful  oxen  and  horses.  While  in  the  valley  the  snow 
fell  to  the  depth  of  three  feet,  and  on  the  Blue  mountains  it  was  five  feet  deep. 
The  road  over  the  mountains,  which  at  that  time  was  difficult  in  good  weather, 
was  now  utterly  impassable  with  wagons.  Our  only  alternative  was  to  leave 
wagons,  teams  and  other  property,  and  make  our  way  across  on  foot,  which  we 
did ;  abandoning  our  boots  and  using  moccasins,  which  were  much  better  for 
walking  in  the  snow.  Those  wagons,  oxen  and  horses  "  went  to  that  home 
whence  no  ox  or  horse  ever  retui'ns." 

After  three  days  hard  toiling  through  snow,  we  reached  the  camp  of  the  chief 
band  of  Cayuse  Indians.  They  received  us  kindly  ;  warmed  us  by  their  fires; 
fed  us  with  dried  meats  and  berries  ;  lodged  us  in  their  wigwams  and  hired  us 
their  fleet  horses  to  ride  to  The  Dalles. 

We  hurried  forward  expecting  to  descend  the  Columbia  river  in  canoes.  But 
the  river  became  closed  by  ice  before  we  arrived,  and  we  were  detained  about 
twenty  days  at  the  Dalles  until  a  Chinook  wind  cleared  the  river  about  the  2Oth 
of  December. 

There  was  nothing  at  The  Dalles  but  the  deserted  mission  building  that  had 
stood  tenantless  from  the  time  of  the  murder  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  party,  where 
we  took  shelter. 


OCCASIONAL   ADDRESS.  35 

A  mile  below  was  the  Catholic  mission  occupied  by  Bishop  Blanchet  and 
Father  Rosseau. 

On  learning  that  we  were  there,  these  Fathers  brought  their  fat  oxen  and 
made  us  welcome  to  plenty  of  good  beef  as  long  as  we  stayed.  We  all  had 
more  or  less  money,  and  could  have  paid  for  these  animals,  but  the  good  Bishop 
refused  to  accept  a  cent,  saying  that  the  animals  were  not  for  sale,  and  that 
money  would  not  buy  them;  that  they  were  there  to  serve  God  by  doing  good 
to  his  needy  children.  Of  course  we  felt  more  gratitude  than  words  can  ex 
press.  I  afterwards  formed  quite  an  extended  acquaintance  with  the  Bishop, 
and  found  that  such  acts  were  the  spontaneous  outgrowth  of  his  large  heart  and 
manly  soul. 


ADDRESS. 


BY   MRS.  A.  S.  DUNIWAY. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Judge  Chenoweth's  address,  Mrs.  Duni- 
way  said  that  as  permission  had  been  kindly  granted  by  the  Pres 
ident,  she  would  now  attempt  to  represent  the  pioneer  women 
of  Oregon,  a  duty  accepted  the  more  cheerfully  because  she  had 
already  demonstrated  the  fact  in  reading  Judge  Chenoweth's  ad 
dress  that  a  woman  could  sometimes  represent  a  man.  She  pro 
ceeded  as  follows:  , 

Mr,  President:  \  have  here  a  copy  of  the  "Transactions  of  the  Ninth  An 
nual  Reunion  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,"  published  last  year,  in  which 
I  find  the  following  testimonial  from  the  pen  of  Hon.  Jesse  Applegate  to  the 
memory  of  his  faithful  wife,  who  came  with  him  to  Oregon  among  the  first  of 
the  pioneer  women  who  crossed  the  plains  in  wagons,  and  who  died  in  April, 
1881.  Mr.  Applegate  says:  "  She  was  a  safe  counsellor,  for  her  untaught  in- 
instincts  were  truer  and  safer  rules  of  conduct  than  my  better  informed 
judgment.  Had  I  oftener  followed  her  advice,  her  pilgramage  on  earth  might 
have  been  longer  and  happier;  at  least,  her  strong  desire  to  make  all  happy 
around  her,  would  not  have  been  cramped  by  extreme  penury." 

Mr.  President,  we  see  before  us  the  serried  ranks  of  women  who  survive  Cyn 
thia  Applegate,  who,  like  her,  have  bravely  fought  the  pioneer  battle  of  life; 
who,  unlike  her  and  many  others,  as  noble  and  self  sacrificing  as  she  and  they,  yet 
live  to  bear  their  part  of  life's  burdens — some  of  whom  survive  their  lamented 
husbands  and  are  left  to 

"Walk  the  road  of  life  alone." 

I  was  glad,  when  in  concluding  his  able  and  elaborate  address,  the  distin 
guished  ex-Senator  who  preceded  me  made  favorable  mention  of  the  progress 
already  made  in  Oregon,  in  relation  to  the  recognition  of  the  equal  rights  of 
women,  and  I  deem  it  most  appropriate  to  supplement  his  timely  words  of  en 
couragement  with  a  woman's  feeble  words  of  exhortation. 

Think,  gentlemen,  of  the  many  pioneer  women  of  Oregon,  who  like  Mrs.  Ap- 


ADDRESS.  37 

plegate,  have  gone  down  to  their  graves  in  deep  penury,  "whose  untaught  in 
stincts  were  truer  and  safer  rules  of  conduct  than  the  better  informed  judgments 
of  men."  It  was  a  tardy  recognition  of  a  noble  woman's  worth  that  brought 
forth  the  deep  wail  of  regret  that  I  have  quoted.  But  no  tongue  or  pen  can 
depict  the  hopeless  anguish  that  wrung  the  heart  of  the  bereaved  husband  who 
frankly  confessed,  in  his  hour  ot  desolation,  that  "her  life  might  have  been 
longer  and  happier"  if  she  had  always  been  equally  free  and  independent  with 
himself.  There  was,  there  is,  no  kindler,  manlier  man  than  Jesse  Applegate; 
and  if,  with  his  great  scul  and  manly  goodness  of  heart,  he  has  been  so  unjust 
to  the  best  and  dearest  friend  God  ever  gives  to  man,  what  shall  we  say  of  the 
lives  of  many — alas,  how  many — other  women,  with  husbands  less  noble  than 
he,  whose  toil  has  brought  them  no  recompense,  very  little  appreciation  and  far 
less  of  liberty? 

The  distinguished  gentleman  who  preceded  me,  alluded  briefly  to  the  memory 
of  Samuel  R.  Thurston,  Oregon  Territory's  first  Representative  in  Congress, 
who  succeeded  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  Donation  Land  Act  in  the  year 
1850,  thereby  placing  this  commonwealth  on  record  as  the  very  first  in  all  our 
proud  confederacy  to  recognize  the  inalienable  right  of  woman  to  ownership  in 
fee  simple  of  other  lands  than  those  that  might  or  might  not  have  been  be 
queathed  to  her  before  marriage  by  gift,  devise  or  inheritance. 

The  Oregon  pioneers  were  a  noble  race  of  freemen.  The  spirit  of  enterprise 
that  impelled  them  to  seek  these  shores  was  a  bold  and  free  spirit;  and  the 
patient  heroism  of  the  women  who  accompanied  them  was  an  example  as  inspir 
ing  as  salutary.  There  are  lessons  of  liberty  in  the  rock-ribbed  mountains  that 
pierce  our  blue  horizon  with  their  snow-crowned  heads  and  laugh  to  scorn  the 
warring  elements  of  the  earth  and  air;  lessons  of  freedom  in  the  broad  prairies  that 
roll  away  into  illimitable  distances;  in  the  gigantic  forests  that  rear  their  hydra 
heads  to  the  very  zenith  and  touch  the  horizon  with  extended  arms;  lessons  of 
truth,  equality  and  justice  in  the  very  air  we  breathe,  and  lessons  of  irresistible 
progress  in  the  mighty  waters  that  surge  with  irresistible  power  through  the 
overshadowing  bluffs  where  rolls  the  Oregon. 

It  is  not  strange  that  noble  men  living  in  such  a  country  should  have  early 
learned  to  preach  and  practice  the  grand  gospel  of  equal  rights.  And  when 
the  full  history  of  the  Oregon  pioneers  shall  take  its  proper  place  among  proud 
annals  of  the  nation,  the  fact  that  equal  property  rights  for  women  were  among 
the  very  first  of  its  recorded  statutes  while  it  was  yet  a  Territory,  will  be  recog 
nized  in  its  true  significance. 

Men  of  Oregon,  the  fact  that  you  have  taken  the  lead  in  the  past  in  recogniz 
ing  woman's  equal  claim  with  yourselves  to  a  share  in  the  landed  domain  of  the 


38  ADDRESS. 

commonwealth,  coupled  with  the  significant  truth  that  you  have  already  granted 
your  wives  and  mothers  partial  political  recognition  through  legislative  assem 
blies,  emboldens  us  to  hope,  and  encourages  us  to  believe  that  you  will  go  yet 
further;  that  you  will  not  stop  short  of  the  final  recognition  of  our  free  and 
equal  right  with  yourselves  to  a  full  voice  in  the  government  which  we  are 
taxed  to  maintain  and  to  whose  laws  we  are  held  amenable.  We  know  the  n- 
coming  Legislature  will  proudly  ratify  our  proposed  amendment  to  the  State 
Constitution.  Thoughtful,  intelligent  men  everywhere  admit  that  our  cause  is 
just;  and  no  man  with  brains  enough  to  vote  at  all  will  deny  that  women  will 
be  enfranchised.  But  we  do  not  forget  that,  after  the  Legislature  has  for  the 
second  time  spoken — after  the  picked  men  of  all  parties  have  carried  our  work 
as  far  as  they  can  constitutionally  go,  it  will  then  be  submitted,  not  to  the 
people — would  to  God  it  might  be — but  to  one-half  of  the  people,  to  the  voters 
of  Oregon,  by  whose  hat  the  wives  and  the  mothers  of  the  men  of  Oregon  must 
stand  or  fall.  We  are  not  afraid  of  the  votes  of  wise  men,  moral  men,  intelli 
gent,  liberty-loving,  progressive  men;  but  we  know,  alas  !  that  every  ignorant, 
vicious,  drunken,  law-breaking  or  tyrannical  man  has  a  vote  which  counts  at 
the  polls  as  surely  as  the  vote  of  a  thinker,  statesman  and  philanthropist. 
Women  cannot  reach  the  prejudiced,  ignorant  and  vicious  voting  elements  to 
educate  and  enlighten  them.  Such  men  consider  themselves  superior  to  these 
Oregon  pioneers — these  wives  and  mothers  of  orderly  and  law-abiding  citizens — 
and  we  must  look  to  the  leading  men  of  the  State,  like  those  around  rne,  for 
protection  from  the  proscriptive  ballots  of  the  lawless,  ignorant  and  wicked 
hordes  who  presume  to  dictate  our  destiny. 

Gentlemen,  did  you  ever  know  a  wife -beater  who  was  a  woman  suffragist  ? 
Did  you  ever  see  a  man  who  is  inferior  to  his  wife  in  intellect  who  believed 
that  wife  ought  to  vote  ?  Every  besotted  and  degraded  man,  every  ignoramus 
who  will  sell  his  vote  for  a  drink  of  whisky  or  a  two-and-a-half  piece;  every 
tramp  and  every  fugitive  from  justice  will  vote  against  woman  suffrage  every  time. 

But  the  women  of  Oregon  have  faith  in  the  enlightened  manhood  of  ttrs 
proud  young  State.  We  believe  you  all  echo  the  sentiments  expressed  by  my 
friend,  Senator  Kelly,  and  that  you  will  make  the  movement  for  woman's  full 
and  free  enfranchisement  so  popular  that  it  will  be  able  to  stem  the  current  of 
opposition,  and  thus  place  Oregon  in  the  lead  in  the  great  galaxy  of  States  that 
will  gladly  follow  her  grand  example. 

A  word  now  to  the  ladies  present.  I  am  told  that  a  few  of  you  may  yet  be 
found  who  say  you  have  "all  the  rights  you  want."  I  know  what  you  say  that 
for.  You  don't  believe  it;  but  you  foolishly  fancy  that  men  will  apt  laud  you 
for  it.  I  don't  blame  you  for  liking  men,  and  honorably  coveting  their  good 


ADDRESS.  39 

opinion.  I  like  men  myself — much  better  than  I  like  women.  But,  let  me  tell 
you  that  while  it  may  tickle  their  vanity — and  they  are  just  a  trifle  vain — to 
hear  you  make  such  silly  speeches,  they  will  say  of  you,  when  your  backs  ate 
turned,  "What  a  pity  Miss  or  Mrs.  So-and-so  is  not  as  intelligent  as  Mrs.  Such- 
and  such,  who  wants  to  vote  !"  Let  me  tell  you  further,  ladies,  that  every  ore 
of  you  who  strives  to  hinder  your  own  enfranchisement  by  such  ridiculous  in 
sincerity  of  speech,  will  attempt  to  be  among  the  very  first  at  the  ballot-box  as 
soon  as  the  gates  that  lead  to  the  temple  of  liberty  are  opened  wide  for  you  by 
the  grand  good  men  who  pity,  even  if  they  praise,  your  lack  of  patriotism.  .  I 
have  seen  this  experiment  tried.  I  saw  how  it  worked  at  our  last  school  elec 
tion  in  Portland,  when  many  scores  of  ladies  voted  eagerly  and  gladly,  not  or  e 
in  ten  of  whom  had  ever  thanked — and  most  of  them  had  censured— your  hum 
ble  speaker  for  knocking  that  the  gates  might  be  opened  unto  them.  Ladier, 
if  there  be  those  among  you  who  have  made  that  silly  declaration  sometime?, 
you  won't  make  it  again,  will  you  ? 

In  conclusion,  men  of  Oregon,  who  have  so  patiently  heeded  my  earnest  ut 
terance,  let  me  exhort  you  to  be  vigilant  in  our  cause.  We  trust  you,  we  con 
fide  in  you,  we  depend  upon  you  to  grant  us  the  great  boon  of  political  repre- 
senta^ion  under  the  laws  of  a  country  at  whose  tribunals  we  are  tried,  to  whose 
governmental  expenses  we  pay  tribute.  Surely  you  are  not  afraid  to  trust  the 
mothers,  wives  and  daughters  of  the  pioneers  with  the  same  boon  of  liberty  that 
you  so  highly  prize  for  yourselves?  Would  a  wife  like  Cynthia  Applegate  abuse 
the  ballot?  Have  we  not  always  been  your  best  friends?  Grant  us  equal  rights 
with  you  before  the  law,  good  men  and  brethren,  and  we  will  do  you  good  and 
and  not  evil,  all  the  days  of  our  lives. 

Thanking  you,  Mr.  President,  for  the  honor  conferred  upon  the  pioneer  women 
of  Oregon,  in  thus  permitting  our  plea  to  be  heard,  I  bow  and  subside,  possessed 
of  an  abiding  faith  in  the  near  approach  of  the  good  time  coming,  when  the 
women  of  Oregon  will  become,  as  they  of  right  ought  now  to  be,  free  and  inde 
pendent. 

In  the  evening,  the  camp  fire  was  lighted,  around  which  gathered 
those  who  crossed  the  plains  in  an  early  day  and  founded  our 
present  flourishing  State.  Many  incidents  of  the  days  gone  by 
were  told,  and  much  enjoyed  by  the  old,  gray- haired  founders  of 
Oregon. 

The  exercises  were  pleasantly  concluded  with  a  grand  ball  at 
the  pavilion,  which  was  largely  attended.  The  music,  by  Var- 
ney  and  Bray's  string  band,  was  excellent. 


HISTORICAL    LETTER. 


BY  HON.  J.  QT7INN  THORNTON,  LL.  D.,  D.  C.  L. 


BEING  A  COPY  OF  A  LETTEK  IK  EEPLY  TO  ONE  FBOM  EEV.  GEO,  H.  ATKINSON,  D.  D. 

SALEM,  March  31,  1882. 
Rev.  Geo.  H.  Atkinson,  D.  D.: 

DEAK  SIR:  In  compliance  with  your  request  as  made  in  your  letter  just 
received,  I  write  to  you,  giving  the  facts  which  enter  into  the  history  of  ray 
connection  with  the  Act  of  Congress  of  August  14,  1848,  for  organizing  a 
Territorial  Government  in  Oregon,  and  especially  those  facts  which  relate  to 
to  the  provision  contained  in  the  20th  Section  of  that  law,  by  which  Con 
gress  appropriates  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  section  of  each  township  of 
the  public  lands  for  the  support  of  "schools  in  said  Territory,  and  in  the 
States  and  Territories  hereafter  to  be  created  out  of  the  same." 

The  information  for  which  you  ask  I  will  impart  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  do 
so ;  and  yet  my  efforts  in  this  direction  will  be  embarrassed  by  several  cir 
cumstances.  Among  these  as  especially  potential,  is  the  fact  that  being  sent 
to  Washington  by  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon,  I  did  not  stand  in 
such  official  relations  to  Congress  as  gave  me  a  place  in  the  House  of  Kepre- 
sentatives  with  the  right  to  either  propose  measures  or  to  even  speak  upon 
the  subject  of  such  as  might  be  introduced  by  others.  I  was  therefore  con 
strained  to  act  through  others  on  all  subjects  upon  which.  I  desired  Con 
gressional  action.  Hence,  my  name  never  appears  except  as  a  memorialist, 
May  20th,  1848,  (Congressional  Globe,  p.  1030.)  This  was  offered  by  Mr. 
Benton,  and  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed.  This  memorial  is 
herewith  sent  and  may  be  considered  a  part  of  this  letter,  since  it  contains 
official  evidence  on  the  main  questions  to  which  you  desire  answers. 

Another  memorial  of  mine,  much  later  in  the  session,  was  offered  by  Mr. 
Douglas,  and  was  referred  to  the  Committeee  on  Military  Affairs.  But  this 
not  being  important  to  the  object  you  have  in  your  mind,  will  receive  no  fur 
ther  attention. 

Another  circumstance  which  embarrasses  me  in  an  attempt  to  furnish  you 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  41 

the  information  you  seek,  is  the  burning  of  my  office  in  Oregon  City,  Novem 
ber  19,  1851,  which  destroyed,  as  I  then  thought,  all  my  .memoranda  made 
while  in  Washington  City.  In  consequence  of  this  fire,  I  have  been  com 
pelled,  until  a  recent  period,  to  rely  upon  my  memory  only  as  to  very  many 
facts  possessing  an  historical  value,  when  I  either  wrote  or  spoke  upon  any 
subject  pertaining  to  my  mission  to  Washington.  This  betrayed  me  into 
the  error  of  saying  that  I  prepared  the  bill  which  afterward  became  a  law 
for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government  in  Oregon.  But  on  the  occasion  of 
removing  my  library,  papers  and  office  furniture  into  another  place,  my  at 
tention  was  drawn  to  an  old  box  of  papers  that  had  evidently  come  together 
in  haste,  and  had  settled  down  among  things  which  had  never  been  neigh 
bors  before.  With  these  I  found  the  copy  of  a  letter  written  at  Washington 
in  which  I  said  among  other  things  that  I  had  prepared  a  memorial  to  Con 
gress,  which  had  been  presented  by  Mr.  Benton,  May  25th,  and  that  it  had 
been  ordered  to  lie  upon  the  table  and  be  printed.  That  I  had  also  prepared 
a  bill  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government,  and  another  for  granting 
lands  to  actual  settlers.  But  that  on  further  reflection  it  was  deemed  best 
to  seek  to  so  amend  the  bills  already  pending  as  to  incorporate  into  them 
whatever  there  was  in  my  bills  that  had  not  been  provided  for  in  the  bills 
which,  being  then  on  the  calendar,  would  be  reached  sooner  than  any  which 
might  be  introduced  later  in  the  session. 

Soon  after  my  memory  was  refreshed  in  the  manner  I  have  indicated,  I 
addressed  a  letter  to  H.  H.  Gilfrey,  Esq.,  at  Washington,  desiring  him  to 
send  to  me  such  official  documents  as  would  enable  me  to  correct  any  errors 
into  which  the  loss  of  my  papers  had  led  me  when  speaking  of  events  that 
had  happened  more  than  thirty-three  years  ago.  But  he  was  not  able  to 
obtain  any  thing  except  the  accompanying  memorial.  By  means  of  this  and 
of  the  18th  volume  of  the  Congressional  Globe,  which  after  months  of  in 
quiry  I  found  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  library  in  this  place,  I  believe  that  I  can 
accurately  state  the  prominent  facts  which  enter  into  the  history  of  my  con 
nection  with  the  law  in  question,  and  especially  that  part  of  it  which  gives 
the  thirty-sixth  section  in  addition  to  the  sixteenth,  of  each  township  of  the 
public  land  for  the  support  of  common  schools. 

But  I  must  premise  here  that  the  Congressional  Globe,  to  which  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  refer,  is  the  18th  volume  ;  and  that  when  a  day  of  the 
month  shall  be  named  by  me  the  year  will  be  1848. 

At  page  789  of  the  Globe  is  the  following  under  date  of  May  25th,  in  the 
Senate: 
"Mr.  Benton  presented  a  petition  from  J.  Quinn  Thornton  praying  for  the 


42  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

establishment  of  a  Provisional  Government  in  the  Territory  of  Oregon." 
"Mr.  Benton  said  that  this  petition  contained  matter  of  much  interest, 
and  he  would  therefore  move  that  it  be  presented,  which  motion  was  agreed 
to." 

By  turning  to  page  11  of  this  memorial  (found  in  volume  of  Senate  Docu 
ments,  1st  session  30th  Congress,)  is  the  following,  under  head  of 

"GROUNDS  FOB  EDUCATIONAL  PURPOSES": 

''Your  memorialist  humbly  prays  that  your  honorable  body  would  make 
suitable  provision  for  educational  purposes  by  setting  apart  for  that  object 
the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  each  township." 

Immediately  after  my  arrival  in  Washington,  I  very  fully  communicated 
to  prominent  members  of  Congress  my  opinions  on  the  various  subjects  upon 
which  it  was  my  intention  to  seek  Congressional  legislation.  Among  the 
gentlemen  whose  influence  I  thus  sought  to  win  over  to  the  side  of  my 
general  policy,  and  to  whom  I  communicated  my  desire  that  the  previously 
mentioned  sections  of  land  be  reserved  for  the  purpose  of  being  applied  to 
schools,  was  Mr.  Rockwell,  of  Connecticut.  He  expressed  a  doubt  whether 
Congress  would  do  more  than  grant  the  sixteenth  section,  as  already  pro 
vided  for  in  the  bill  then  pending  in  the  House;  and  he  further  expressed 
the  opinion  that  this  would  be  granted  because  such  had  been  the  policy 
when  providing  for  the  organization  of  territorial  governments.  I  reminded 
him  that  a  bill  was  then  pending  in  the  House  of  Representatives  for  admit 
ting  Wisconsin  into  the  Union,  and  at  length  prevailed  upon  him  to  propose 
such  an  amendment  to  the  bill  as  would  serve  to  bring  clearly  into  view  the 
sense  of  the  House  upon  the  principle  ot  the  provision  I  desired  to  have  in 
corporated  into  the  Oregon  bill.  To  this  end,  I  suggested  that  he  seek  to 
have  the  Wisconsin  bill  so  amended  as  to  set  apart  the  thirty-sixth  section  of 
the  public  lands  for  the  support  of  public  schools.  I  did  this  because  I  be 
lieved  that  the  Wisconsin  bill  so  amended  would  be  a  precedent  that  would 
probably  exercise  a  controlling  influence  in  getting  the  Oregon  Dill  amended 
as  I  desired. 

In  pursuance  of  my  suggestion,  Mr.  Rockwell  moved,  May  10th,  to  amend 
the  Wisconsin  bill  by  adding  to  one  of  the  sections  the  following: 

"In  addition  to  the  land  hereby  appropriated,  sections  numbered  thirty- 
six  in  each  township  of  the  public  lauds  of  the  United  States  in  said  State 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  in  support  of  common  schools." 
[Globe,  p.  753.] 

By  the  Enabling  Act  of  August  6,  1846,  the  sixteenth  section  of  each 
township  of  the  public  lands  had  been  so  appropriated.  Mr.  Vinton 


HISTORICAL   LETTER.  43 

opposed  it  because  it  was,  as  he  affirmed  unequal,  and  would  not  be  satisfac 
tory  to  the  States  that  had  received  only  the  sixteenth  section  for  educa 
tional  purposes,  as  had  already  bef  n  granted  to  Wisconsin  by  the  said  "En 
abling  Act." 

"Why,"  Mr.  Vinton  asked,  "make  this  provision  for  Wisconsin  and  deny 
the  same  to  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio  and  other  States?" 

"Mr.  Thompson,  of  Mississippi,  then  objected  to  the  proposed  amend 
ment  as  irrelevant  and  therefore  out  of  order." 

"The  chair  sustained  the  objection." 

Mr.  Eockwell  appealed  from  the  decision  of  the  Chair,  but  it  was  sus 
tained  by  the  House.  [Globe,  p.  753.] 

I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  very  important  and  significant  fact 
that  at  the  time  (May  10th,  1848),  at  which  Mr.  Kockwell  proposed  to  amend 
the  Wisconsin  bill  in  the  manner  I  have  indicated  [Globe,  p.  749]  he  said 
that  the  new  States  had  gotten  no  more  than  one  section  in  each  township 
for  educational  purposes. 

"  He  thought  all  our  new  States  ought  to  have  larger  grants  toward  this 
object  than  they  enjoyed  under  our  present  land  system."  "In  the  Oregon 
Bill"  [then  pending  in  the  House]  "one  section  out  of  each  township 
had  been  set  apart  to  this  use."  [Globe,  749.] 

The  italicising  of  this  word  "  one  "  is  my  own,  and  is  so  emphasized  be 
cause  this  word  conclusively  proves  that  on  the  10th  May,  1848,  the  Oregon 
bill,  as  reported  to  the  House  by  Hon.  Caleb  Smith,  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Territories,  provided  for  giving  no  more  than  the  sixteenth  section 
as  had  been  continuously  done  from  the  time  at  which  the  late  Nathan 
Dane,  LL.  D.,  had  succeeded  in  getting  Congress  to  establish  the  policy  of  set 
ting  apart  the  sixteenth  section  of  each  township  for  the  support  of  schools. 

As  we  passed  out  of  the  Hall  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Eockwell  said  to 
me  that  the  spirit  of  hostility  which  had  been  manifested  (and  which  the 
report  of  the  Globe  only  imperfectly  shows)  had  not  surprised  him;  and  he 
repeated  his  expression  of  the  opinion  that  I  would  fail  to  get  the  Oregon  bill 
so  amended  as  to  set  apart  two  sections  in  each  township  of  the  public  lands 
for  schools,  instead  of  one  as  already  provided  for  in  the  Oregon  bill.  But 
I  replied  that  I  was  not  discouraged  by  the  result  of  the  late  effort  to  amend 
the  Wisconsin  bill,  and  that  I  hoped  to  win  over  Mr.  Vinton  before  the  Or 
egon  bill  would  come  to  a  vote. 

On  the  first  of  August,  the  House,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  Indi 
ana,  resolved  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  State  of  the 
Union,  and  resumed  consideration  of  the  bill  to  establish  the  Territorial 
Government  of  Oregon.  [Globe,  1017.] 


44  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

In  the  second  column  of  page  1,020  it  appears  that; 

"Several  verbal  amendments  were  moved  and  agreed  to." 

In  the  third  column  of  the  same  page  it  appears  that: 

"Verbal  amendments  were  also  made  to  the  16th  and  llth  and  12th  sec 
tions  at  the  suggestion  of  various  gentlemen." 

Again:  "Certain  verbal  amendments  to  the  section  were  proposed  by  Mr. 
Mullin,  some  of  which  were  agreed  to  and  others  rejected." 

Such  verbal  amendments  were  not  infrequently  made  and  reported  in  this 
general  way;  and  on  this  occasion,  as  on  like  occasions  on  other  bills,  it  is 
probable  that  the  Oregon  bill  was  amended  as  I  desired,  for  I  nowhere  find 
in  the  history  of  the  debates  on  this  bill  any  more  definite  information  as  to 
who  proposed  the  amendment  for  me.  My  impression  is  that  it  was  Mr. 
Rockwell.  But  this  impression  as  to  what  happened  thirty-four  years  ago 
may  be  no  more  than  an  inference  from  the  relations  existing  between  us. 
That  even  much  dropped  out  of  my  memory  through  the  many  intervening 
years  that  have  swept  away  a  whole  generation^of  mankind,  is  probable  and 
ought  not  to  surprise  any  one.  But  if  you  will  turn  to  my  book  entitled, 
"Oregon,  and  California  in  1848,"  vol.  2,  p.  48,  published  by  Harper  and 
Brothers  very  soon  after  the  Act  of  August  14,  1848,  became  a  law,  contain 
ing  the  said  provision  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  you  will  find  the 
following  language: 

"The  subjects  which  have  been  treated  of  at  length  in  the  preceding 
chapter  were  thought  materially  to  affect  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the 
people  of  Oiegon.  They  are  briefly  the  following:"  Then  these  subjects 
are  named  under  several  heads,  the  9th  being  : 

"Grants  of  land  for  educational  purposes." 

What  particular  lands  "for  educational  purposes"  will  be  seen  at  page  25 
of  the  same  book,  where  I  say  : 

"So  likewise  it  was  deemed  important  to  obtain,  if  possible,  a  grant  of  the 
sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  each  township  for  educational  pur 
poses." 

On  page  11  of  my  Memorial  of  May  25th,  and  published  in  Senate  Mis 
cellaneous  Documents,  1st  session,  30th  Congress,  I  say: 

"Your  memorialist  respectfully  prays  that  your  honorable  body  would 
make  suitable  provision  for  educational  purposes  by  setting  apart  for  that 
object  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  each  township." 

This  quotation  is  repeated  here  because  I  deem  it  advisable  that  it  shall 
appear  in  this  connection  also  as  illustrating  and  making  the  main  point 
more  clear. 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  45 

The  bill  to  which  my  remarks  have  up  to  this  point  been  confined  is  that 
which  was  reported  by  Mr.  Smith  of  Indiana,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Territories,  February  9,  1848,  [Congressional  Globe,  322]  and  known  I 
believe  as  House  Bill,  No.  201.  But  on  the  10th  of  the  preceding  month, 
Mr.  Douglas  had  asked  leave  of  the  Senate  to  bring  in  a  bill  establishing  a 
Territorial  Government  in  Oregon,  which  was  read  a  first  and  second  time 
and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Territories.  [Globe,  p.  136.]  To  this 
bill  I  now  desire  to  call  your  attention  for  the  purpose  of  grouping  the  facts 
constituting  the  outlines  of  the  history  of  another  bill  which  succeeded  the 
Douglas  Senate  bill  as  a  Compromise  bill,  which  by  means  of  my  personal 
labors  with  the  Special  Committee  having  charge  of  it,  was  so  framed  that  it 
contained  a  provision  which  goes  very  far  to  prove  that  to  me  are  the  friends 
of  common  schools  indebted  for  the  thirty-sixth  section  of  each  township  of 
the  public  lands  being  addad  to  the  sixteenth  for  the  support  of  common 
schools. 

On  the  13th  July,  the  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Douglas  was  referred,  to 
gether  with  so  much  of  the  President's  Message  as  related  to  New  Mexico 
and  California,  to  a  select  committee  consisting  of  Clayton,  Bright,  Calhoun, 
Clarke,  Phelps,  Dickinson  and  Underwood.  I  soon  had  a  protracted  inter 
view  with  Mr.  Clayton,  the  Chairman,  in  which  I  most  earnestly  presented 
my  reasons  for  urging  Congress  to  grant  the  two  named  sections  of  each 
township  of  the  public  lands  for  educational  purposes.  Believing  that  I  had 
favorably  impressed  Mr.  Calhoun  also,  I  subsequently  conversed  with  the 
other  members  of  the  committee.  A  majority  finally  agreed  that  in  report 
ing  a  bill  for  organizing  a  Territorial  Government  in  each  of  the  Territories 
of  Oregon,  New  Mexico  and  California  they  would  make  provision  for  setting 
apart  the  two  named  sections  for  the  support  of  common  schools  in  Oregon 
without  making  a  like  grant  for  the  other  two  territories.  And  I  did  not  deem, 
it  expedient  to  press  the  subject  upon  the  committee  beyond  what  seemed  to 
relate  to  Oregon,  the  interests  of  which  I  feared  might  receive  harm  by  my 
volunteering  to  champion  those  of  New  Mexico  and  California.  And  I  the 
more  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  what  seemed  to  be  a  necessity,  by  reflecting 
that  if  I  succeeded  in  getting  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  each 
township  of  the  public  lands  set  apart  for  educational  purposes  in  Oregon, 
other  territories  and  new  States  would,  in  virtue  of  this  as  a  legislative  pre 
cedent,  finally  obtain  like  grants. 

On  the  26th  July,  the  bill  passed  the  Senate  [Globe,  p.  1002]  with  a  pro 
vision  for  giving  the  sixteenth  and  thirtieth  sections  of  each  township  of  the 
public  lands  in  Oregon  for  the  support  of  common  schools  within  its  bound- 


46  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

aries,  without  a  like  provision  for  either  of  the  other  territories,  because 
probably,  there  was  no  one  to  represent  their  interests  and  to  personally 
press  their  claims. 

Why  the  committee  took  the  thirtieth  section  instead  of  the  thirty-sixth 
for  which  I  had  asked  in  my  memorial,  I  never  sought  to  know,  because  it 
made  no  practical  difference  in  the  value  of  the  grant. 

The  bill  thus  reported  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  and  went  down  to  the 
House  July  28th,  and,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Stevens,  of  Georgia,  was  laid  on 
the  table.  [Globe,  1007.] 

A  brief  resume  will,  I  believe,  prove  the  following  facts: 

1st.  In  my  work  entitled  "  Oregon  and  California  in  1818,  vol.  2,  page 
45,  published  by  Harper  &  Brothers  in  1848,  soon  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  Congress  that  passed  the  law,  I  say  in  explanation  of  the  objects  I  had 
in  accepting  the  mission  to  Washington — 

"So  likewise  it  was  deem  ad  important  to  obtain,  if  possible,  a  grant  of 
the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  section  of  each  township  for  educational  pur 
poses." 

My  work  has  passed  through  several  large  editions;  it  has  been  before  the 
public  for  thirty-three  years,  and  it  is  in  very  many  of  the  public  libraries  in 
the  United  States;  and  yet  the  claim  that  I  caused  the  grant  in  question  to 
be  incorporated  in  the  Act  of  August  14th,  1848,  Section  20,  has  never 
been  challenged,  although  many  thousand  copies  of  the  book  were  sold 
within  a  few  months  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress  that  passed  the 
law. 

2d.  In  the  third  chapter,  p.  49,  I  say  that  among  the  reasons  for  my  go 
ing  to  Washington,  was  that  of  obtaining 

"  Grants  of  land  for  educational  purposes." 

3d.  The  debates  on  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Wisconsin  [Globe,  749- 
752,  May  10th]  show  the  following  facts: 

A.  That  up  to  that  time  it  had  been  the  policy  of  Congress  to  grant  the 
sixteenth  section  to  the  territories  and  new  States — but  no  more  than  the  six 
teenth. 

B.  That  on  the  16th  May,  1848,  Congress  would  not  grant  more  than  the 
sixteenth  section  because  of  an  alleged  inequality.     [See  the  debate  on  the 
bill  for  the  admission  of  Wisconsin.] 

C.  That  on  the  said  16th  May,  the  Oregon  bill  contained  only  the  usual 
provision  for  setting  apart  the  sixteenth  section  of  each  township  of  the  pub 
lic  lands  for  schools. 

4th.  My  memorial  to  Congress,  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate  May  25th, 
fifteen  days  after  the  debate  on  the  Wisconsin  Bill,  shows  on  page  11  that  I 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  47 

prayed  Congress  to  set  apart  two  sections,  which  the  same  book  shows  was 
among  the  objects  I  had  in  view  when  I  accepted  the  mission  to  Washing 
ton.  In  my  memorial  I  say: 

"Your  memorialist  respectfully  prays  that  your  honorable  body  would 
njake  suitable  provision  for  educational  purposes  by  setting  apart  the  six 
teenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  each  township." 

5.  The  compromise  on  Senate  bill  which  displaced  and  succeeded  the 
Douglas  Senate  bill  contained  a  section  (18)  granting  two  sections  in  each 
township  for  school  purposes  in  Oregon,  but  none  to  either  New  Mexico  or 
California. 

6.  The  Congressional  debates  show  that  in  every  session  of  Congress,  as 
these  debates  are  reported,  that  the  making  of  verbal  amendments  is  a  thing 
frequently  done;  and  the  Congressional  Globe,  p.  1020,  shows  that  this  was 
done  in  the  House,  August  1st,  during  the  debates  on  the  Oregon  bill,  to 
which 

"Several  amendment  were  made  and  agreed  to." 
And,  again,  on  the  same  page  : 

"Verbal  amendments  were  also  made  to  the  10th,  llth  and  12th  sections 
at  the  suggestion  of  various  gentlemen." 

I  believe  that  the  foregoing  and  indisputable  facts,  make  it  well-nigh  cer 
tain  that  it  was  during  this  debate  that  some  one  verbally  moved  to  amend 
section  20  of  the  bill  by  adding  the  words  "and  thirty-six"  after  the  word 
"sixteen"  in  the  third  line  of  the  section. 

On  the  14th  August,  the  House  bill  became  a  law,  with  two  sections  of 
land  granted  for  educational  purposes  instead  of  "one"  as  ever  before;  and 
this  was  done  two  months  and  a  half  after  the  Senate  had  ordered  the  print 
ing  of  my  memorial  containing  the  first  prayer  for  such  a  grant. 

I  hardly  need  to  say  that  I  regarded  the  securing  of  this  grant  by  the  pass 
ing  of  the  bill  as  the  supreme  moment  of  my  life,  and  that  my  heart  was 
full  to  overflowing  with  gratitude  to  God,  whose  guiding  providence  had  en 
abled  me  to  reach  a  position  from  which  I  could  look  back  and  see  that, 
whatever  the  future  of  my  personal  history  might  be,  the  past,  at  least,  was 
safe  in  the  magnitude  of  the  good  secured  to  unborn  millions. 

In  reply  to  your  question  as  to  how  far  this  grant  contained  in  the  20th 
section  of  the  Act  of  August  14,  1848,  has  influenced  subsequent  Congres 
sional  legislation,  I  will  reply  by  a  simple  reference  to  dates,  etc.,  of  the 
laws  which  followed  the  one  last  named  as  their  precedent. 

2.     Minnesota,  March  3d,  1849,  sec.  8. 


48  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

3.  New  Mexico,  September  9,  1850,  Ch.  47,  Sec.  15,  Vol.  9,  of  the  U.  S. 
Statutes  at  large,  p.  452. 

4.  Utah,  September  9,  1850,  Ch.  51,  Sec.  15,  Vol.  9,  p.  457. 

5.  Washington  Territory,  March  2,  1853,  Ch.  90,  Sec.  20,  Vol.  10,  p.  179. 

6.  Kansas,  May  30,  1854,  Sec.  16. 

7.  California  was  admitted  into  the  Union,  September  9,  1850,  at  which 
time  no  one  appears  to  have  given  any  thought  to  a  land  grant  for  the  sup 
port  of  schools.     But  an  Act  was  passed  September  28,  1856,  declaring  that 
"All  laws  which  are  not  locally  inapplicable  shall  have  the  same  force  and 
effect  within  the  said  State  of  California,  as  elsewhere  within  tne  United 
States."     It  is  probable  that  this  has  been  construed  as  embracing  the  grant 
in  question. 

8.  Colorado,  February  28,  1861,  Sec.  T4,  and  the  Act  of  March  3,  1875, 
Sec.  7. 

9.  Nevada,  March  2,  1861,  Sec.  14,  Ch.  26,  Vol.  13,  p.  91. 

10.  Idaho,  March  3,  1863,  Ch.  10,  Sec.  14,  Vol.  12,  p.  814. 

11.  Montana,  March  26,  1864,  Ch.  26,  Sec.  14,  Vol.  13,  p.  91. 

12.  Nebraska,  April  19,  1864,  Sec.  7. 

13.  Wyoming,  July  25,  1868,  Ch.  235,  Sec.  14,  Vol.  15,  p.  183. 

On  the  subject  of  the  effect  of  this  grant  as  a  legislative  precedent,  you  was 
pleased  to  say,  in  your  address  before  the  Pioneer  Association  at  Portland, 
June  15,  1880: 

"It  opened  the  way  for  a  grant  of  28,823,040  acres  of  land  as  a  permanent 
fund  for  education,  instead  of  half  that  amount,  in  the  nine  States  including 
Oregon  admitted  to  the  Union  since  1848.  It  opened  the  way  for  a  grant  of 
30,879,360  acres  for  public  education  in  the  eight  territories  not  including 
Alaska  yet  to  be  admitted  instead  of  half  as  many  acres.  This  magnificent 
donation  of  about  60,000,000  acres  vested  and  forever  inalienable,  as  a  fund 
for  the  education  of  youth,  and  committed  as  a  sacred  trust  to  eighteen  or 
twenty  new  States  now  existing  or  yet  to  be,  was  a  guarantee  of  knowledge 
to  all  future  generations." 

I  will  not  withhold  the  expression  of  the  pleasure  I  feel  in  thus  knowing 
that  there  are  at  leagt  a  chosen  few  who  comprehend  and  appreciate  the 
value  of  the  land  which  the  law  of  August  14,  1848,  sets  apart  for  the  sup 
port  of  common  schools.  And  I  cannot  doubt  that  you  will  feel  interested 
in  learning  that  in  recognition  of  my  well  meant  efforts  in  this  matter,  I  was 
made  a  corresponding  member  of  the  American  Institute;  that  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  was  conferred  upon  me  by  one  university;  that  of  D.  C.  L.  by  another; 
and  that  of  LL.  D.  by  two  others. 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  49 

The  Congressional  Globe  shows,  page  1024,  that  on  the  1st  August  the 
following  proceedings  were  had  in  the  House: 

"In  the  20th  Section,  Mr.  Hunt  said  he  had  been  directed  by  the  Com 
mittee  on  Commerce  to  move  amendments  read  as  follows,"  &c. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  encumber  these  pages  with  the  exact  verbi 
age  of  the  several  amendments.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  all  of  them,  with 
very  slight  changes,  became  a  part  of  the  law  for  organizing  a  Territorial 
government;  that  they  now  stand  as  sections  23,  24,  25,  26  and  27  of  the 
Act,  and  that  they  were  drafted  by  me,  and  at  my  request  made  to  Mr.  Hunt, 
as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce,  by  him  first  submitted  to  his 
committee,  and  afterward  (August  1st)  offered  in  Committee  of  the  Whole 
House. 

My  memorial  presented  by  Mr.  Benton  in  the  Senate  over  two  months 
before,  most  earnestly  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  every  subject  pro 
vided  for  by  the  amendments.  [See  Memorial,  pp.  12-17.] 

On  page  12,  I  say:  "Your  memorialist  would  further  represent  that  the 
failure  to  extend  the  revenue  laws  of  the  United  States  over  Oregon,  to 
establish  a  port  of  entry  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  and  to  appoint 
a  Collector,  have  operated  injuriously." 

On  page  13,  I  saj  : 

"Your  memorialist  prays  your  honorable  body  to  adopt  some  measures  for 
facilitating  the  arrival  and  departure  of  vessels  trading  into  the  Columbia 
river." 

On  page  13,  I  also  ask  for  an  appropriation  for  pilots. 

On  page  17,  I  say : 

"Whatever  may  be  the  extent  of  the  obstruction  to  the  entrance  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  it  is  certain  that  pilots,  lights,  buoys  and  a  steam 
tugboat  would  make  it,  for  vessels  that  can  pass  the  bar,  one  of  the  finest  har 
bors  in  the  world." 

On  page  18,  I  say,  that 

"Lighthouses,  beacons,  buoys  and  breakwaters  or  sheltered  anchorages 
have  uniformly  received  the  attention  of  your  honorable  body  as  affecting 
the  commerce  and  general  welfare  of  the  country  and  the  revenue  of  the 
Government." 

I  had  called  the  attention  of  Mr.  Smith,  of  Indiana,  to  the  propriety  and 
even  necessity  for  making  provision  in  the  bill  for  appropriating  a  reason 
able  sum  for  my  services  and  to  meet  expenses  incurred  by  me.  By  refer 
ring  to  my  memorial,  p.  7,  you  will  see  that  I  say,  when  speaking  of  myself 
in  the  third  person : 
4 


50  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

"And  he  was  therefore  urged  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  seat  of  the 
National  Government  and  to  rely  upon  your  magnanimity  and  sense  of  jus 
tice  for  a  compensation  in  some  manner  for  his  time  and  the  money  he  might 
expend  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  him  by  entering  upon 
the  mission." 

I  had  left  Oregon  early  in  the  autumn  of  1847,  and  arriving  in  Washing 
ton,  prepared  my  memorial  before  the  arrival  of  Joseph  L.  Meek,  who  had 
been  sent  overland  as  a  bearer  of  dispatches  respecting  the  Whitman  massa 
cre,  which  was  perpetrated  some  time  after  my  departure  from  Oregon. 
Before  Meek  reached  Washington,  I  had  called  the  attention  of  Mr.  Smith, 
of  Indiana,  to  the  subject  of  making  an  appropriation  suggested  in  the  fore 
going  extract  from  my  memorial.  When  Meek  arrived,  it  was  at  once  ob 
vious  that  he  should  be  provided  for  in  any  appropriation  which  might  be 
made  for  me.  In  accordance  with  this  view  of  the  subject,  Mr.  Smith,  on 
the  1st  August,  when  the  House  was  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  moved  a 
new  section  by  which  $10,000  was  appropriated  "in  payment  for  the  services 
and  expenses  of  such  persons  as  have  been  engaged  by  the  Provisional  Gov 
ernment  of  Oregon  in  conveying  communications  to  and  from  the  United 
States."  This  stands  as  Section  13  of  the  law  of  August  14,  1848. 

At  every  session  of  Congress  since  the  treaty  of  June  15,  1846,  it  had  be 
fore  it  one  or  more  bills  having  for  their  object  the  establishment  of  a  terri 
torial  government  in  Oregon.  But  there  being  no  one  at  Washington  espe 
cially  charged  with  the  duty  of  representing  the  interests  of  Oregon,  the  pro- 
slavery  element,  which  had  always  domineered  Congress  and  controlled  the 
government  in  all  its  departments,  continued  from  session  to  session,  to  ob 
struct  any  action  favorable  to  Oregon;  and  this  was  the  policy  the  leading 
statesmen  of  the  South  had  adopted  as  their  guide;  in  giving  shape  to  their  ac 
tion  it  became  necessary  to  provide  governments  for  the  inhabitants  of  two  ter 
ritories  when  at  least  one  of  them  should  have  slavery  as  a  counterpoise  to 
freedom  in  the  other. 

Any  one  who  will  thoughtfully  read  the  debates  on  the  Oregon  bill,  as 
reported  in  the  supplement  to  the  Congressional  Globe,  will  rise  from  that 
reading  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  great  battle  which  really  set 
tled  the  future  of  American  slavery  was  fought  during  the  first  session  of 
the  30th  Congress  on  the  field  of  the  Oregon  bill.  And  I  hope  our  thirty 
years  of  intimate,  friendly  relations  will  shield  me  from  any  imputation  of 
vanity  and  egotism,  when  I  express  to  you  the  opinion  that  the  Oregon  bill 
would  have  failed,  as  had  all  previous  bills,  to  become  a  law,  but  for  untiring 
personal  labors  with  members  of  Congress.  No  evening,  save  that  of  the 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  51 

Sabbath,  passed  in  which  I  did  not  spend  at  least  an  hour  with  some  mem 
ber  of  Congress  whose  opinions  I  sought  to  mould  to  the  shape  of  my  own; 
and  sometimes  when  I  seemed  to  be  nigh  losing  courage,  I  gathered  new 
strength  and  energy  from  the  thought  that  He  who  holds  in  his  hands  the 
hearts  of  all  men,  can  use  even  the  most  humble  instrument  in  the  accom 
plishment  of  great  good. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  &c., 

J.  QUINN  THORNTON. 

The  following  is   the    memorial  referred  to  in  the  foregoing 
letter  : 

30TH  CONGRESS,  [SENATE.]  MISCELLANEOUS. 

1st  Session.  No.   143. 


MEMORIAL 

OF 

J.    QUINN    THORNTON, 

PRAYING 

7  he  establishment  of  a   Territorial  Government  in  Oregon,  and  for   appro 
priations  for  various  purposes. 

MAY  25,  1848. 
Ordered  to  lie  on  the  table,  and  be  printed. 


7o  t/ie  Honorable^  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  : 

Your  memoralist,  a  citizen  of  Oregon  Territory,  respectfully  asks  your  hon 
orable  body  that  he  may  be  permitted  to  call  your  attention  to  the  rise,  progress 
and  present  condition  of  the  Territorial  Government  of  that  interesting  and  im 
portant  country,  and  to  the  circumstances  surrounding  its  inhabitants.  This 
your  memoralist  respectfully  asks  permission  to  do,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
able  to  call  your  attention  to  the  pressing  necessities  and  wants  of  the  people. 
[Historical  notice  of  the  colonization  of  Oregon.] 

With  a  title  to  Oregon  the  government  of  the  United  States  became  involved 
in  a  protracted  and  intricate  diplomatic  controversy  with  the  government  of 
Great  Britain  respecting  it.  Through  how  many  years  of  doubtful  negotiation 
the  correspondence  proceeded,  and  how  often  the  two  nations  were  believed  to 
be  upon  the  eve  of  a  rupture,  are  now  subjects  which  have  become  a  part  of  the 
history  of  both  countries.  At  length,  while  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of 


52  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

State  was  laboriously  engaged  with  his  pen  in  a  masterly  vindication  of  our  title 
to  Oregon,  the  hardy  and  enterprising  emigrant,  unaccustomed  to  the  forms  and 
distinctions  ot  diplomacy  and  the  laws  and  usuages  of  nations  relating  to  such 
questions,  resolved  upon  terminating  the  dispute  in  his  own  way,  and  according 
to  his  own  views  of  right  and  wrong,  by  means  of  his  rifle,  ax,  and  ox  goad. 
It  may  not  become  your  memorialist  to  express  even  an  opinion  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  influence  which  was  thus  exerted  upon  the  negotiations  which  finally  re 
sulted  in  the  settlement  of  the  controversy  by  the  establishment  of  the  Oregon 
treaty,  signed  at  Washington  June  15,  1846,  and  ratified  at  London  July  lyth, 
of  the  same  year.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  during  the  pendency  of  the  nego 
tiations  our  citizens  were  forming  prosperous 'settlements  in  the  rich  and  beau 
tiful  valley  of  the  Willamette,  and  were  thus  giving  strength  to  our  title  resting 
upon  occupancy.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  strength  of  the  American  title 
resting  upon  dis-  (PAGE  i.) 

covery,  exploration,  cession,  and  contiguity,  an  actual  possession  of  the  country 
by  an  agricultural  people  was  wanting  to  render  that  title  clear  and  indisput 
able.  Nothing  was  complete  without  this,  and  this  the  immigrants  into  Oregon 
gave  to  the  nation  with  a  firm  reliance  upbn  its  sense  of  justice,  for  such  liberal 
grants  of  land  as  would  in  part  at  least  remunerate  them  for  their  pecuniary  sac 
rifices  and  exhausting  toil  in  performing  the  journey.  In  exchanging  their  for 
mer  places  of  residence  for  a  habitation  in  the  wilderness  between  three  and 
four  thousand  miles  distant  from  the  capital  of  that  country  to  which  they  were 
still  attached  by  the  ties  of  duty,  not  less  than  those  of  admiration,  kindred, 
and  affection,  they  not  only  proposed  to  improve  their  condition  by  providing 
homes  for  themselves  and  for  their  offspring,  but  they  believed  that  they  would 
thus  assist  in  bringing  to  an  honorable  and  satisfactory  termination  a  protracted 
and  harassing  dispute.  And  if,  impressed  with  the  solemn  conviction  that  ter 
ritorial  disputes  have  at  all  times  been  found  a  fertile  source  of  national  hostility, 
and  that  most  of  the  wars  that  has  desolated  the  earth  have  thus  originated, 
they  have  in  any  degree  been  instrumental  in  averting  strife  between  two  great 
nations,  the  language,  laws,  and  commercial  interests  of  which  should  unite  in 
a  lasting  peace,  they  ought  not  to  be  made  to  feel  that  even  their  most  pressing 
wants  are  neglected  or  forgotten. 

The  immigrants  also  flattered  themselves  that  in  forming  settlements  upon  the 
distant  shores  of  the  Pacific,  that  they  would  be  made  the  honored  instruments, 
in  the  hands  of  the  Great  Ruler  of  nations,  for  establishing  the  institutions  of 
Christianity,  civilization  and  liberty,  in 

"  the  continuous  woods 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  Sound 
Save  its  own  flashings. " 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  53 

Without  intending  to  expatriate  themselves  from  their  country,  or  to  renounce 
their  citizenship  in  the  land  of  their  nativity  for  a  home  in  Oregon,  they  cheer 
fully  exposed  themselves  in  small  parties  to  the  dangers  and  perils  of  a  long  and 
exhausting  journey  of  many  months,  through  hostile  Indian  tribes,  and  over  arid 
deserts  and  bleak  mountains.  Having  arrived  at  the  end  of  their  journey,  with 
their  little  fortunes  wrecked  by  the  difficulties  of  the  way,  and  with  their  bodies 
broken  down  by  the  fatigues  of  their  long  continued  travel,  they  were  at  once 
exposed,  not  to  the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  the  settlement  of  all 
new  countries,  but  to  those  which  were  peculiar  to  their  isolated  condition  ;  cut 
off  as  they  were  from  the  society  and  sympathies  of  civilized  life,  far  distant 
from  the  inhabited  borders  of  their  native  land,  between  which  and  them  there 
was  a  vast  region  traversed  by  roving  tribes  of  Indians,,  whose  hands  are  against 
every  man,  and  whose  pedatory  habits  are  the  source  of  continued  annoyance 
and  danger. 

The  thievish  propensities  of  the  savages  of  the  country,  also,  in  which  the  im 
migrants  settled,  were  likewise  a  cause  of  unceasing  irritation  and  disquietude, 
and  especially  so  since  they  were  without  an  arm  of  the  national  defense  to  pro 
tect  them,  and  without  the  weapons  and  ammunition  necessary  to  enable  them 
to  protect  themselves.  In  their  immediate  vicinity,  too,  were  the  subjects  of  a 
Princess,  claiming  the  right  to  exercise  a  sovereign  jurisdiction  over  the  country, 
and  possessing  the  power  to  crush  the  rising  colony  in  its  infancy,  either  by  the 
force  of  arms,  or  by  refusing  to  sell  to  them  the  supplies  necessary  to  their  exis 
tence.  If  political  considerations  prevented  the  former,  and  benevolence  and 
good  will  a  ^PAGE  2.) 

resort  to  the  latter  expedient,  the  immigrants  nevertheless  felt  that  they  were 
in  the  power  of  a  people  whose  interests  were  inimical  to  their  own. 

In  addition  to  these  embarrassing  and  untoward  circumstances,  while  the  sub 
jects  of  the  British  empire  were  covered  by  the  protecting  asgis  of  its  laws,  the 
American  immigrants,  although  from  year  to  year  they  hoped  to  see  the  parter- 
nal  care  of  their  government  extended  over  them,  were  from  time  to  time 
doomed  to  bitter  disappointment,  and  to  realize  that  they  were  without  just 
and  equitable  laws  to  govern  them,  and  to  feel  that  they  occupied  the  extraordi 
nary  and  in  every  way  anomalous  position  of  a  people  who,  without  having  either 
renounced  their  country,  or  been  renounced  by  it,  were  nevertheless  without  one. 

We  love  to  dwell  with  something  more  than  even  classic  reverence  upon  the 
story  of  our  pilgrim  fathers,  who,  landing  upon  the  bleak  coast  of  New  Eng 
land,  established  a  State,  without  a  king,  more  lasting  than  the  rock  upon 
which  they  disembarked.  The  heart  of  the  patriot,  too,  swells  with  emotions 
of  a  just  and  honorable  pride,  and  with  gratitude  to  a  watchful  and  guiding 


54  HISTORICAL   LETTER. 

Providence,  as  he  reads  the  history  of  the  colonization  of  Jamestown,  and  ob 
serves  so  many  instances  of  self-sacrifice,  and  of  hardships  and  privations,  borne 
with  a  high  degree  of  the  most  heroic  fortitude.  But  your  memorialist  trusts 
that  he  may  be  permitted  to  express  the  opinion  that  all  history,  both  ancient 
and  modern,  may  be  challenged  to  furnish  an  instance  of  colonization  so  replete 
with  difficulties  met  and  overcome,  so  fraught  with  circumstances  of  discourage 
ments  sustained  and  submitted  to,  as  those  which  characterized  the  settlement 
of  the  beautiful  and  fertile  valley  of  the  Willamette.  Distant  from  the  land  of 
their  nativity,  surrounded  by  restless  tribes  of  Indians,  who  clamorously  and 
insolently  demanded  of  the  immigrants  pay  for  lands  which  the  immigrants  had 
neither  the  means  nor  the  right  to  purchase;  still  ardently  desiring  to  have  their 
names  and  their  destiny  connected  with  that  of  the  republic;  and  yet,  often 
pierced  to  the  heart  by  the  thought,  which  would  sometimes,  unbidden,  obtrude 
itself  upon  the  mind,  that  they  were  the  victims  of  their  country's  neglect  and 
injustice;  and  suffering  all  the  inconveniences  and  embarrassments  which  are 
necessarily  felt  by  a  resident  and  civilized  community  without  a  system  of  laws 
for  the  conservation  of  peace  and  order,  they  were  at  length  compelled  to  organ 
ize  and  put  in  operation  a  provisional  form  of  government. 

In  performing  this  arduous  and  difficult  labor,  so  necessary  to  the  removal  of 
a  suspense  that  rendered  the  people  discontented  and  unhappy,  and  of  an  un 
certainty  that  discouraged  their  efforts,  and  depressed  their  energies,  they  had 
to  meet  and  remove  obstacles  to  the  administration  of  a  temporary  system  of 
government  which  are  unknown  in  establishing  one  of  a  permanent  form;  yet, 
fully  impressed  with  the  solemn  conviction  that  it  was  better  to  unite  the  sinews 
of  government  in  the  hands  of  even  a  single  despot  and  tyrant  than  to  encoun 
ter  the  anarchy  and  confusion  of  a  multitude  without  law,  they  addressed  them 
selves  to  the  task,  difficult  as  it  was,  feeling  that  they  merited  the  respectful 
consideration  of  your  honorable  body,  and  that  at  least  they  would  no  longer 
be  wanting  in  duty  to  themselves. 

The  first  effort  which  was  made  with  a  view  to  the  organization  of  a  civil 
government  in  Oregon  was  made  at  Champoeg,  which  at  that  time  was  the  seat 
of  the  principal  settlement  in  the  Willamette  valley.  This  was  on  the  seventh 
of  February,  1841,  when,  as  the  record  shows,  "a  (PAGE  3.) 

meeting  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  was  held"  "for  the  purpose  of  consulting 
upon  the  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  for  the  formation  of  laws,  and  the  election 
of  officers  to  execute  the  same."  The  late  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  at  that  time  the 
superintendent  of  the  Methodist  mission  among  the  Indians  of  Oregon,  was 
called  to.the  chair.  He  advised  the  selection  of  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  55 

draughting  "a  constitution  and  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the  settle 
ments  south  of  the  Columbia  river." 

The  names  of  persons  regarded  by  the  meeting  as  suitable  were  recommended 
to  the  people  at  large  for  governor,  and  for  all  other  necessary  officers.  A  reso 
lution  was  also  passed  "that  all  settlers  north  of  the  Columbia  river,  not  con 
nected  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  be  admitted  to  the  protection  of  our 
laws,  on  making  application  to  that  effect."  On  the  iSth  of  the  same  month, 
persons  were  elected  to  fill  the  various  offices,  and  they  were  instructed  "to  act 
according  to  the  laws  of  New  York,"  until  other  laws  were  adopted.  They 
did  not,  however,  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  At  a  meeting  held 
on  the  first  of  July,  of  the  same  year,  the  committee  which  had  been  appointed 
at  the  meeting  of  February  7th  to  draught  a  constitution  and  laws  were  in 
structed  to  confer  with  Capt.  Wilkes,  U.  S.  N.,  and  John  McLaughlin,  Esq. 
After  th\.s  conference  it  was  decided  by  a  majority  to  be  inexpedient,  at  that 
time,  to  proceed  with  the  contemplated  organization,  and  that  the  moral  sense 
of  right  and  wrong,  by  which  the  people  had  up  to  that  time  been  held  together 
as  a  community,  was  sufficient.  The  real  cause,  however,  of  this  diversity  of 
expression  did  not,  perhaps,  arise  so  much  from  the  conviction  that  a  civil  gov 
ernment  was  unnecessary  as  from  a  sense  of  an  inability  to  pay  the  officers  a 
just  compensation.  The  people  were  few  in  number,  greatly  reduced  in  their 
pecuniary  circumstances,  occupying  portions  of  the  country  remote  from  each 
other;  engaged  in  felling  forests,  cultivating  fields,  and  in  other  ways  giving 
their  utmost  attention  to  supplying  the  pressing  wants  of  themselves  and  their 
families.  They  were,  too,  without  either  books  (excepting  one  copy  of  the 
Iowa  Statutes),  to  which  to  refer  for  assistance  in  framing  their  laws,  or  a  press 
upon  which  to  print  them  when  framed. 

The  difficulties  and  inconveniences  incident  to  the  peculiar  condition  of  the 
the  colonists  being  more  sensibly  felt,  and  all  realizing,  at  length,  that  some 
thing  more  efficient  than  a  moral  sense  was  requisite  to  the  suppression  of  wrong 
and  the  maintenance  of  right,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  held  on  the  first 
Monday  of  March,  1842,  to  consider  "the  propriety  of  taking  some  measures 
for  the  civil  and  military  protection  of  the  colony,"  and  for  the  purpose  of  tak 
ing  "into  consideration"  "measures  for  the  protection"  of  the  herds  against 
wolves  and  panthers.  At  this  meeting  civil  and  military  officers  were  elected, 
the  latter  being  instructed  to  form  one  or  more  companies  of  mounted  riflemen. 
A  legislative  committee,  consisting  of  nine  persons,  was  also  appointed  to 
draught  a  constitution  and  code  of  laws,  with  instructions  to  report  at  Cham- 
poeg  on  the  fifth  of  July.  This  committee  having  finished  the  task  assigned  to 
it  reported  a  constitution  establishing  a  provisional  government,  with  a  triumvi 
rate  executive  styled  "the  Executive  Committee." 


56  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

The  laws  reported  by  this  committee,  although  subsequently  amended,  prove 
that  while  they  were  not  faultless,  yet  that  the  "legislative  committee"  had  not 
proceeded  rashly  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  civil  (PAGE  4.) 

superstructure.     The  great  and  only  very  material  error  committed  was  in  the 
peculiar  form  given  to  the  Executive. 

The  deliberations  of  the  committee  seem  to  have  been  characterized  by  dig 
nity,  moderation,  and  a  respectful  deference  to  each  other's  opinion.  Their 
previous  habits  had  not  fitted  them  for  debate;  they  received  no  compensation, 
and  the  condition  of  their  domestic  interests  made  it  necessary  for  them  to  hasten 
away  from  the  log  cabin  in  which  they  legislated,  and  to  return  to  their  respect 
ive  farms.  Receiving  no  per  diem  allowance  for  their  services,  and  the  com 
munity  which  they  represented  being  small  and  possessing  but  little  political 
consideration,  neither  lucre  nor  glory  allured  to  office,  and  they  were  therefore 
not  under  the  influence  of  the  seductions  of  either  interest  or  ambition,  prompt 
ing  them  to  consume  time  in  making  speeches  for  effect  upon  a  constituency 
that  felt  itself  obliged  to  men  of  integrity  and  capacity  who  would  accept  of 
office.  It  is  not  wonderful,  therefore,  that  "the  legislative  committee"  ad 
dressed  itself  to  its  labor  with  energy  and  in  good  faith. 

The  following  extract  from  the  laws  passed  at  that  session  will  show  the 
method  proposed  for  defraying  the  expense  of  sustaining  the  provisional  govern 
ment  during  the  fiscal  year  commencing  July  5th,  1843,  and  ending  June  i8th, 
1844:  "That  subscription  papers,  as  follows,  be  put  in  circulation  to  collect 
funds  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  this  government. 

"We,  the  undersigned,  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  pay  annually  to  the  treas 
urer  of  Oregon  Territory  the  sum  affixed  to  our  respective  names,  for  the  purpose 
of  defraying  the  expenses  of  government;  Provided,  That  in  all  cases  each  in 
dividual  subscriber  may  at  any  time  withdraw  his  name  from  the  said  sub 
scription  upon  paying  up  all  arrearages,  and  notifying  the  treasurer  of  the  colony 
of  such  desire  to  withdraw." 

The  large  immigration  that  came  into  the  country  in  the  autumn  of  1843  as' 
sisted  in  effecting  alterations  in  the  face  of  the  country,  and  in  subsequent  legis 
lation.  The  organic  law  was  regarded  as  being  in  some  respects  defective,  and 
the  land  law  was  objectionable  in  some  of  its  provisions. 

In  May,  1844,  the  people  elected  a  second  "executive  committee"  and  a 
second  "legislative  committee."  About  that  time  the  public  records  began  to 
assume  a  connected  form. 

On  the  i8th  June,  1844,  "the  legislative  committee,"  having  assembled  at 
the  falls  of  the  Willamette,  and  received  the  first  message  of  "the  executive 
committee,"  proceeded  to  reconstruct  the  government.  The  executive  power 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  57 

was  united  in  a  single  band,  the  legislative  powers  were  regulated  and  denned, 
a  judiciary  system  was  established,  and  an  act  was  passed,  the  object  of  which" 
was  to  create  a  revenue  equal  to  the  wants  of  an  economical  administration  of 
the  government. 

The  organic  law  thus  passed  by  the  legislative  committee  was  adopted  by  the 
people,  and  is  the  present  basis  of  the  municipal  regulations  of  the  people  of 
Oregon.  Your  memorialist  having  been  informed  that  your  honorable  body  is 
already  in  possession  of  a  copy  of  this  organic  law,  deems  it  unnecessary  to 
make  a  more  particular  reference  to  it. 

The  second  legislative  committee  having  reorganized  the  government,  and 
performed  much  labor  during  a  session  of  nine  days,  adjourned  June  2Oth. 

The  legislative  committee  again  assembled  at  Oregon  City  December  i6th, 
and  continued  in  session  eight  days.  Much  important  business  was  (PAGE  5.) 

transacted ;  but  as  the  laws  enacted  do  not  particularly  relate  to  the  present 
wants  of  the  people,  so  far  as  these  would  probably  be  affected  by  the  action  of 
your  honorable  body,  your  memorialist  does  not  believe  it  to  be  necessary  to 
refer  to  them  with  more  minuteness.  It  may  not,  however,  be  improper  to 
state,  in  this  connection,  that  a  few  persons,  respectable  for  their  character  and 
influence  in  Oregon,  discussed  about  this  time  the  question  of  the  expediency 
and  necessity  of  an  independent  instead  of  a  provisional  government.  It  was 
said  that  the  geographical  position  cf  the  country  being  such  as  to  place  it  at  so 
great  a  distance  from  the  seat  of  the  national  government  as  to  make  it  almost 
impossible  to  present  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  people,  rendered  the  measure 
not  only  expedient,  but  necessary.  The  real  cause,  however,  for  this  move 
ment,  was  the  discontent  and  even  resentment  felt  in  consequence  of  their  seem 
ing  to  have  been  left  without  protection,  and  in  a  state  indicating  abandonment 
by  their  country.  They  could  not  realize  the  difficulties  with  which  the  nego 
tiations  upon  the  subject  of  the  title  were  beset,  and  hence  they  were  not  in  a 
condition  to  appreciate  the  motives  of  the  general  government  for  the  delay  ; 
but  happily  for  them  and  the  people  of  Oregon,  the  proposition  was  not  favor 
ably  received.  The  people  very  generally  looked  forward  with  honest  pride 
and  hope  to  the  time  when  the  flag  of  their  country  would  again  wave  above 
them,  a  visible  sign  that  they  had  not  been  forgotten  in  their  distant  homes. 

In  the  spring  of  1845,  n*s  Excellency  George  Abernethy  was  elected  the  first 
governor  of  Oregon. 

The  appearance  upon  the  Columbia  of  the  United  States  schooner  Shark,  in 
1846,  cheered  the  hearts  of  our  citizens  in  that  distant  territory;  and  upon  the 
stars  and  stripes  being  displayed,  they  were  greeted  by  the  spontaneous  shouts 
of  our  people,  whose  minds  were  filled  with  a  thousand  glorious  memories 


58  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

which  clustered  about  the  emblem  of  their  country's  nationality.  An  ensign 
and  union-jack  being  among  the  few  articles  preserved  from  the  unfortunate 
wreck  of  that  vessel,  these  were,  with  peculiar  appropriateness,  presented  to  the 
provisional  government  of  Oregon,  through  his  Excellency  George  Abernethy, 
by  Lieut.  Niel  M.  Howison,  the  late  commander  of  the  Shark.  This  was  em 
phatically  the  first  flag  of  the  United  States  that  waved  over  the  undisputed  and 
purely  American  territory  of  Oregon,  for  it  was  about  the  22d  of  February, 
1847,  that  a  confirmation  of  the  news  of  the  Oregon  treaty  was  received.  Pow 
der  sufficient  for  a  national  salute  having  with  great  difficulty  been  procured, 
the  flag  of  our  country  was  flung  to  the  breeze  on  the  anniversary  of  the  birth 
day  of  Washington,  and  at  midday  a  national  salute  was  fired  from  an  old  rusty 
and  dismounted  gun,  which  had  been  given  to  us  by  a  merchantman. 

Every  reasonable  obstruction  to  the  extension  of  the  laws  and  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States  over  Oregon,  arising  out  of  the  pendency  of  negotiations  upon 
the  title,  having  been  removed  by  the  Oregon  treaty,  our  citizens  expected,  and 
they  had  a  right  to  expect,  that  they  would  no  longer  be  permitted  to  occupy 
their  anomalous  and  extraordinary  position.  They  could  not  believe  that  any 
local  causes  would  be  permitted  to  operate  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  receiving 
that  protection  which  was  not  a  favor  to  be  granted,  but  a  right,  which  was  not  the 
less  a  right  because  of  the  circumstance  of  that  weakness  which  has  rendered  it 
necessary  for  them  to  beset  your  honorable  body  again  and  again  with  memor 
ials,  which  up  to  this  time  are  unheeded.  It  was  with  grief  and  astonishment, 
therefore,  (PAGE  6.) 

that  the  people  were  informed  by  the  immigrants  who  arrived  in  September, 
1847,  that  your  honorable  body  had  adjourned  without  having  done  anything  to 
relieve  them  from  their  peculiarly  embarrassing,  and,  considered  with  reference 
to  the  Indians,  even  dangerous  position.  Your  memoralist  refers  to  it  as  a  pe 
culiarly  embarrassing  position,  because  the  Provisional  Government  having  a 
right  to  expect  that  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  would  be  ex 
tended  over  Oregon,  it  could  not  legislate  efficiently  and  usefully  so  long  as  it 
was  believed  that  a  few  brief  months  would  bring  in  a  new  government,  and 
perhaps  entirely  new  measures  and  laws.  A  multitude  of  evils,  which  no  one 
who  has  not  lived  in  the  country  can  understand  or  appreciate,  sprung  out  of 
this  uncertainty.  Had  the  general  government  of  the  United  States  informed 
the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon  that  nothing  would  be  done  within  the 
next  ten  years,  then,  while  the  people  would  without  doubt  have  expressed  their 
profound  regret,  yet  they  would  at  least  have  been  relieved  from  that  uncertainty 
and  doubt  which  had  previously  so  greatly  paralyzed  their  efforts.  They  would  im 
mediately  have  commenced  a  useful  and  permanent  system  of  legislation  ;  and 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  59 

at  the  termination  of  the  ten  years,  Oregon  would  have  been  ready  to  enter  the 
American  constellation  as  one  of  the  very  brightest  stars  in  it.  As  it  was,  how 
ever,  the  intelligence  was  received  with  the  profoundest  sorrow,  and  a  universal 
gloom  pervaded  the  community  as  the  conviction  forced  itself  upon  the  mind, 
that  they  were  again  left  to  the  serious  inconveniences  arising  out  of  their  ex 
traordinary  position,  and  to  the  perilous  circumstances  in  which  they  were  in 
volved  by  being  without  arms  and  ammunition  in  the  midst  of  savages  clamor 
ously  demanding  pay  for  their  lands,  and  not  unfrequently  committing  the  most 
serious  injuries  by  seizing  property  and  by  taking  life,  in  consequence  of  the 
people  having  neither  the  ability  nor  the  right  to  buy. 

[For  an  act  establishing  a  Territorial  government  in  Oregon.] 
A  number  of  individuals  from  different  portions  of  the  Willamette  valley  at 
length  met  in  Yamhill  county,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  me 
morial  praying  for  the  passage  of  a  law  establishing  a  Territorial  government  in 
Oregon.  That  memorial  was  addressed  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  and 
placed  in  the  letter-bag  of  the  barque  Whiton,  then  in  the  Willamette,  and 
about  to  sail.  Some  time  afterwards  it  was  proposed  to  elect  a  delegate  to 
Congress.  This  was  at  length  decided  to  be  impracticable,  because,  1st,  we 
had  no  law  authorizing  such  an  election  ;  2d,  because,  if  we  had,  there  was  not 
then  time  to  give  the  notice,  and  do  it  before  the  only  vessel  would  sail  that 
could  convey  the  delegate  to  the  United  Stares;  3d,  because  Congress  not  hav 
ing  passed  a  law  establishing  a  territorial  government,  there  was  no  law  of  the 
United  States  under  which  a  delegate  could  demand  to  be  received;  and,  4th, 
it  was  not  deemed  expedient  to  elect  a  delegate  with  the  expectation  that  a  seat 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  would  be  yielded  to  him  from  courtesy  and  the 
necessity  of  the  case.  Under  the  circumstances,  therefore,  the  question  was 
solemnly  asked — Can  nothing  be  done  ?  To  your  memorialist  it  was  said,  that 
his  position  as  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  Territory  would  probably 
cause  your  honorable  body  to  confide  in  his  representations  and  statements,  and 
he  was  therefore  urged  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  seat  of  the  national  gov 
ernment,  and  to  rely  upon  your  magnanimity  and  sense  of  justice  for  a  compen 
sation,  in  some  manner,  for  his  time,  and  the  money  which  he  might  expend  in 
the  discharge  of  (PAGE  7.) 

the  duties  imposed  upon  him  by  his  entering  upon  the  mission.  I  need  not  say 
that  there  was  not  a  dollar  in  the  treasury  to  meet  these  expenses.  Your  me- 
moralist  having  received  a  letter  from  the  Governor  of  Oregon  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  stating  the  nature  and  objects  of  the  mission,  and,  for  rea 
sons  already  mentioned,  written  not  as  an  official  but  as  a  private  letter,  your 
memorialist  proceeded  without  delay  on  board  the  barque  Whiton,  to  St.  Jose, 


60  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

Lower  California,  from  which  port  he  was  conveyed  to  Boston  on  board  the 
United  States  sloop-of-war  Portsmouth.  With  these  explanations  as  to  the  po 
sition  which  he  occupies,  your  memorialist  prays  your  honorable  body  for  the 
immediate  passage  of  a  law  establishing  a  Territorial  government  in  Oregon. 

Your  memorialist  believes,  when  your  honorable  body  shall  have  been  made 
acquainted  with  the  embarrassing  circumstances  in  which  your  fellow-citizens 
of  Oregon  are  situated,  that,  although  you  have  done  nothing  for  them  up  to 
this  time,  yet  you  will  not — nay,  you  cannot — be  guilty  of  the  monstrous  injus 
tice  of  permitting  an  omission  to  extend  to  them  the  protection  of  the  laws  of 
their  native  country  to  mark  another  year.  You  have  hitherto  permitted  this 
unhappy  omission  because  of  the  impossibility  of  your  knowing  the  real  condi 
tion  and  wants  of  your  brethren  in  that  distant  land.  But  now  that  you  may 
obtain  this  information  through  one  who  has  been  an  observer  of  the  wants  and 
condition  of  the  country,  he  is  sure  that  you  will  do  that  which  will  show  how 
unreasonable  were  the  allegations  which  some  of  the  desponding  immigrants 
have  made,  of  cold  indifference,  and  even  of  a  criminal  neglect. 

Your  memorialist  is  also  encouraged  to  hope  for  prompt  and  efficient  action 
upon  this  subject,  from  a  consideration  of  the  additional  fact  that  the  Oregon 
treaty  has  removed  every  obstacle  which  could  be  referred  to  as  a  reason  for 
not  granting  to  the  colonists  of  Oregon  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  their  coun- 
try,  and  the  means  of  defence  against  the  Indian  tribes.  And  your  memorialist 
would  respectfully  suggest,  that  it  would  ill-comport  with  the  character  of  a 
great  nation  to  urge,  that  protection  could  not  be  afforded  to  a  people  whose 
duty  and  allegiance  have  been  tested  by  almost  every  variety  of  circumstance. 
Surely  it  will  not  be  said  that  because  the  people  of  Oregon  have  done  well  in 
establishing  a  government  in  the  administration  of  which  internal  order  has  been 
maintained  to  an  extent  equal  to  that  of  any  State  of  the  Union,  that  therefore 
they  may  be  neglected,  and  exposed  to  the  brutal  outrages  of  ruthless  savages 
upon  their  borders  and  in  their  midst.  This  would  be  making  their  well  doing 
a  misfortune,  by  withholding  their  rights.  The  continued  expectation  that  their 
government  will  be  superseded,  prevents  them  from  doing  for  themselves  what 
their  exigencies  demand,  and  that  which  they  might  otherwise  do.  They  are, 
therefore,  weary  of  a  quasi  independence,  and  would  rejoice  to  yield  it  up  for 
something  that  may  not  be  changed  by  the  arrival  of  the  next  vessel  that  enters 
the  Columbia. 

Had  your  fellow-citizens  of  Oregon  and  the  subjects  of  her  Britannic  Majesty 
who  reside  in  the  Territory,  by  cherishing  for  each  other  a  feeling  of  hostility 
and  rancorous  enmity,  become  embroiled  in  an  unnatural  strife,  instead  of  cul 
tivating  a  spirit  of  benevolence,  friendship,  and  good  will,  honorable  alike  to 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  6l 

both,  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  would  have  been  extended 
over  that  distant  territory.  This  would  have  been  done  also,  if  the  country,  in 
stead  of  now  presenting  an  example  of  industry  and  (if  the  depredations  of  the 
Indians  be  excepted)  tranquility,  also  unpar-  (PAGE  8.) 

alleled  in  the  history  of  new  colonies,  had  exhibited  a  scene  of  anarchy,  con 
fusion  and  bloodshed,  unworthy  of  their  origin  and  of  the  destiny  of  the  coun 
try  of  their  adoption.  But  how  much  better  is  it  to  extend  the  laws  over  a  peo 
ple  already  in  the  enjoyment  of  many  of  the  blessings  of  a  peaceful  and  well 
ordered  State,  than  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  interposing  your  authority  as  a 
shield  to  prevent  them  from  staining  their  hands  with  fraternal  blood.  Although 
they  have  felt  an  unconquerable  desire  for  self-government — a  desire  nurtured 
and  educated  under  the  republican  institutions  of  the  land  of  their  birth — yet 
their  position  has  been  so  peculiar  that  they  have  felt  the  impossibility,  under 
the  circumstances,  of  making  full  provision  for  their  present  and  future  protec 
tion;  and  they  have,  therefore,  husbanded  their  resources  under  a  temporary 
government,  cherishing  a  hope  which  they  believed  to  be  reasonable,  that  as 
soon  as  a  suitable  opportunity  presented  itself,  a  law  would  be  passed  establish 
ing  a  Territorial  Government.  The  settlement  of  the  boundary  question  seemed 
to  present  that  opportunity  for  the  fulfilment  of  their  most  ardent  hopes  and  the 
consummation  of  their  most  devout  wishes.  The  extension  of  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  over  the  people  was  an  event  looked  to  as  promising  a  remedy  for 
evils  growing  out  of  the  fact  that  there  were  many  important  subjects  upon 
which  the  provisional  government  had  not,  under  the  circumstances,  the  power 
to  legislate.  It  was  an  event  looked  for,  also,  as  one  that  would  give  additional 
importance  to  the  country  and  a  new  impulse  to  trade  and  commerce,  and  would 
satisfy  the  mind  upon  the  subject  of  a  grant  of  lands. 

That  this  anxiety  was  both  reasonable  and  natural,  would  appear  by  advert 
ing  to  the  peculiarly  interesting  history  of  the  country.  For  several  years  with 
out  any  government  except  that  which  reason  imposes,  and  without  a  law  of  any 
kind  except  the  law  of  love,  the  penalties  for  the  violation  of  which  were  in 
flicted  by  the  conscience  only,  the  people  peacefully  pursued  their  occupations 
during  six  days  of  the  week,  and  on  the  seventh  quietly  assembled  to  listen  to 
the  preaching  of  the  late  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  or  to  that  of  some  of  his  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  missionary  field.  It  might  be  said  of  Oregon,  with  peculiar 
truth  and  propriety,  "In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel,  but  every  man 
did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes."  But  time  brought  changes,  and  in 
these  changes  originated  the.  absolute  necessity  for  that  provisional  government 
under  which  has  grown  up  a  prosperous  and  virtuous  community,  mature  in  its 
development,  notwithstanding  the  population  is  a  mixed  one. 


62  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

These  facts  connected  with  the  history  of  the  colonization  of  Oregon  being 
made  known  to  your  honorable  body,  your  memorialist  cannot  believe  that  the 
wants  and  the  wishes  of  the  people  will  be  any  longer  disregarded. 

[For  a  recognition  of  all  private  contracts,  and  all  legislative  and  judicial  acts,  and  for 
the  transferring  of  suits,  &c.,  to  the  new  courts,]  • 

Your  memorialist  would  further  represent  that,  under  the  organic  law  of  Ore 
gon  and  the  enactments  of  the  provisional  legislature,  contracts  have  been  made, 
marriages  have  been  entered  into,  divorces  have  been  granted  by  the  legislature 
and  the  judicial  tribunals  of  the  country;  that  judgments  in  courts  of  law  have 
been  rendered,  and  decrees  in  courts  of  chancery  have  been  made,  some  of 
which  have  been  satisfied,  while  (PAGE  9.) 

others  remain  unsatisfied;  and  that  actions  and  suits  are  still  pending  in  the 
courts. 

In  order,  therefore,  that  inextricable  confusion  and  remediless  wrong  may  not 
result  from  a  change  of  government,  your  memorialist  respectfully  prays  your 
honorable  body  that  by  the  act  establishing  a  Territorial  government  in  Oregon, 
provision  may  be  made  for  all  suits,  process,  and  proceedings,  civil  and  criminal, 
at  law  and  in  equity,  and  all  indictments  and  informations  which  shall  be  pend 
ing  and  undetermined  in  the  courts  established  by  the  provisional  government  of 
Oregon,  within  the  limits  of  said  Territory  when  the  said  act  shall  take  effect, 
being  transferred  to  be  heard,  tried,  prosecuted  and  determined  in  the  district 
courts  thereby  established,  which  may  include  the  counties  where  any  such  pro 
ceedings  may  be  pending;  and  for  all  contracts,  bonds,  recognizances  and  obli- 
gations  of  every  kind  whatsoever,  valid  under  the  existing  laws  within  the 
limits  of  said  Territory,  being  in  like  manner  valid  under  the  act  which  may  be 
passed  to  establish  a  Territorial  government  in  Oregon;  and  for  all  crimes  and 
misdemeanors  against  the  laws  now  in  force  within  said  limits  being  prosecuted, 
tried  and  punished  in  the  courts  which  may  be  established  by  said  act;  and  for 
all  penalties,  forfeitures,  actions  and  causes  of  action,  being  recovered  under 
said  act,  in  like  manner  as  they  would  have  been  under  the  laws  in  force  within 
the  limits  of  said  Territory  at  the  time  the  said  act  shall  go  into  operation. 

And  your  memorialist  further  prays  that  all  justices  of  the  peace,  constables, 
sheriffs,  and  all  other  judicial  and  ministerial  officers,  who  shall  be  in  office 
within  the  limits  of  said  Territory  when  the  said  act  shall  take  effect,  be 
authorized  and  required  to  continue  to  exercise  and  perform  the  duties. of  their 
respective  offices,  as  officers  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  until  they  or  others 
shall  be  duly  appointed  and  qualified  to  fill  their  places  in  the  manner  therein 
directed,  or  until  their  offices  shall  be  abolished. 

[For  the  continuance  of  existing  laws  and  offices  until  a  regular  change.] 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  63 

Your  memorialist  prays  that  in  the  act  which  your  honorable  body  may  pass 
to  establish  a  Territorial  government  in  Oregon  it  may  be  declared  that  the 
existing  laws  in  force  in  the  said  Territory,  under  the  authority  of  the  pro 
visional  government  established  by  the  people  thereof,  shall  continue  to  be 
valid  and  operative  therein,  so  far  as  the  same  be  not  incompatible  with  the 
principles  and  provisions  of  the  said  act,  and  until  the  end  of  the  first  session  of 
the  legislative  assembly  of  said  Territory;  and  that  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  be  thereby  extended  over  and  declared  to  be  in  force  in  said  Territory,  so 
far  as  the  same  or  any  provision  thereof  may  be  applicable. 

[For  extinguishment  of  Indian  title.] 

Your  memorialist  prays  that  measures  may  be  adopted  for  extinguishing  the 
Indian  title  to  western  Oregon,  and  to  such  other  portions  as  may  be  deemed 
necessary  for  future  settlements. 

[For  grants  of  land  to  the  immigrants  now  in  the  country.] 

Your  memorialist  further  prays  that  your  honorable  body  will  pass  an  act 
making  provision  for  the  immigrants  now  in  the  Territory,  obtaining  (PAGE  10.) 

liberal  grants  of  land  in  said  Territory  upon  condition  of  their  continuing  to 
reside  therein  during  five  years  consecutively  from  the  passage  of  the  said  act. 
This  condition  is  necessary  to  prevent  lands  from  passing  into  the  hands  of  men 
who  have  no  intention  of  remaining  permanently  in  the  country.  The  inhabit 
ants  now  in  the  country  believe  that  they  have  some  claim  to  a  confirmation  ot 
the  title  to  the  homes  which  they  have  made,  based  upon  the  promises  implied 
in  your  repeated  legislation,  in  the  fact  that  they  have  overcome  many  of  the 
difficulties  of  the  journey  to  Oregon;  and  by  their  settlements  have  introduced 
agriculture  and  civilization  upon  our  shores  on  the  Pacific,  and  by  doing  so  gave 
to  the  nation  an  actual  occupancy,  which  was  the  only  circumstance  wanting  to 
make  the  title  to  the  country  clear  and  unquestionable. 

The  people  of  Oregon  believe  that  they  have  a  claim  to  land,  derived  from 
the  provisions  of  their  organic  law,  also.  It  should  be  remembered  that  they 
found  themselves  without  government  of  any  kind,  and  that  they  were  thrown 
back  upon  th~  original  elements  of  society.  Thus  situated,  they  organized  a 
civil  governmc  nt,  put  it  in  operation,  and  have  ever  since  continued  to  maintain 
it.  They  have  acquired  rights  under  the  third  article  of  the  organic  law,  which 
your  memorialist  prays  your  honorable  body  to  recognize  in  their  principle  at 
least. 

And  your  memorialist  prays  that  the  civilized  half-breeds  of  the  country,  who 
may  become  naturalized  citizens,  or  who  may  declare  their  intention  to  become 
naturalized  citizens,  may  receive  the  fostering  care  of  the  government;  for  there 


64  HISTORICAL    LETTER, 

is  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  if  their  rights  of  property  should  not  be  guarded 
by  law,  they  would  be  wronged,  and  their  homes  would  be  taken  from  them. 
.      [For  other  grants  during  a  limited  period.] 

Your  memorialist  also  prays  that  like  grants  of  land  may  be  made  to  persons 
immigrating  into  the  country  within  a  reasonable  number  of  years,  upon  condi 
tion  of  a  residence  in  the  country  of  five  consecutive  years  from  the  day  of  the 
commencement  of  said  claim.  And  he  prays  your  honorable  body  to  make  this 
continued  residence  at  least  five  years. 

Many  reasons  might  be  referred  to  for  making  these  grants  to  future  immi 
grants  during  a  limited  number  of  years.  All  who  are  conversant  with  the 
wants  and  wishes  of  the  people,  kno^w  that  they  desire  that  these  grants  may  be 
made.  And  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  geography  and  condition  of  the 
country  cannot  but  know  that  colonization,  rather  than  revenue,  should  be  kept 
in  view  in  all  legislation  having  regard  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

[For  grants  for  educational  purposes.] 

Your  memorialist  respectfully  prays  that  your  honorable  body  would  make 
suitable  provision  for  educational  purposes,  by  setting  apart  for  that  object  the 
sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  each  township,  and  also  one  entire  town 
ship  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  and  one  on  the  south  side  of  the  same 
river,  being  so  located,  under  the  authority  of  the  Territorial  legislature,  as  not 
to  interfere  with  the  rights  of  actual  lawful  claimants.  (PAGE  II.) 

In  a  government  like  ours,  resting  upon  the  suffrages  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  who  not  only  in  semblance,  but  in  reality,  have  the  care  of  their  political 
institutions,  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  is  necessary,  in  order  that  they 
may  exercise  their  rights  in  a  manner  the  most  conducive  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  nation,  the  preservation  of  its  laws,  and  the  purity  of  its  legislative  and 
judicial  tribunals  The  education  and  mental  training  of  the  youth  of  the  coun 
try  is  absolutely  necessary,  to  qualify  them  for  the  care  of  our  political  institu 
tions,  and  that  they  may  possess  the  ability  to  exercise  the  powers  of  govern 
ment  in  a  manner  the  most  conducive  to  the  preservation  of  their  civil  and  re 
ligious  liberty.  All  history  shows  that  where  the  people  have  not  been  educated 
they  have  always  been  the  dupes  of  political  demagogues,  who  were  selfish 
rather  than  sagacious,  and  who  learned  to  ruin  by  hollow  pretences  and  pro 
fessions  of  patriotism.  Believing  that  the  generous  and  ennobling  sentiments  to 
which  his  own  breast  is  a  stranger  is  a  worthless  and  wicked  pretence  in  others, 
he  justifies  himself  in  caressing  a  deluded  and  uneducated  people  he  means  to 
scourge  as  soon  as  they  transfer  their  power  to  him. 

If  an  uneducated  people  do  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  demagogues,  yet  they 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  65 

are  sure,  in  time,  to  become  the  victims  of  the  rapacity,  avarice,  and  a  thirst  for 
power  of  another  class  who  are  even  yet  more  dangerous,  because  they  worship 
cunning,  betray  with  a  kiss,  counterfeit  wisdom,  and  so  adroitly  work  upon  the 
weakness,  ignorance,  and  prejudices  of  their  victims,  that  they  at  length  obtain 
place  as  slimy  reptiles  are  sometimes  known,  by  a  slow  and  laborious  process, 
to  arrive  at  the  tops  of  pyramids. 

But  these  political  evils  and  social  wrongs  can  be  prevented  by  training  the 
youth  of  the  country  in  proper  studies,  and  by  animating  them  with  a  love  of 
country  and  of  virtue  by  the  habitual  contemplation  of  the  character  and  exam 
ple  of  distinguished  American  statesmen  and  warriors.  Enlightened  and  in 
structed,  they  may  set  at  naught  the  wicked  designs  of  the  hypocrite,  who  flat 
ters  and  caresses  those  he  means  to  sell  as  soon  as  he  discovers  that  they  are 
sufficiently  debased  to  pass  quietly  and  without  resistance  under  the  yoke  of  a 
new  oppressor.  But,  if  properlyTeducated,  the  people  will  be  able  to  sustain 
the  institutions  of  the  country  not  only  against  their  own  temporary  excesses, 
but  when  their  rulers  contemplate  wicked  enterprises,  and  would  cast  down  the 
ark  of  their  country's  liberty,  they  can  extend  their  hands  to  stay  that  ark  with 
out  danger  of  being  smitten  by  death  for  presumption. 

[For  the  extension  of  the  revenue  laws.] 

Your  memorialist  would  further  represent  that  the  failure  to  extend  the 
revenue  laws  of  the  United  States  over  Oregon,  to  establish  a  port  of  entry  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  and  to  appoint  a  collector,  has  operated  injuriously. 
British  subjects,  engaged  there  in  merchandise,  have  a  greater  amount  of  capital, 
more  widely  'extended  connexions,  and  cheaper  and  better  goods,  than  the 
American  merchants.  But  the  collections  of  duties  upon  foreign  goods,  so  far 
as  this  can  be  done  consistently  with  the  Oregon  treaty,  would  place  the  Amer 
ican  merchant  in  a  better  position,  and,  by  affording  an  adequate  protection  as 
between  the  native  and  foreign  merchant,  create  competition,  and  thus  increase 
the  amount  of  goods  brought  to  the  country,  while  it  at  the  same  time  would 
reduce  the  prices.  Under  the  present  system,  prices  are  enormously  high, 

(PAGE    12.) 

being  from  three  to  four  hundred  per  cent,  in  advance  of  the  retail  prices 
of  the  western  States,  after  goods  have  paid  a  land  and  water  carriage 
thither  from  the  Atlantic  seabord. 

[For  an  appropriation  for  a  library.] 

Your  memorialist  prays  that  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  may  be 
appropriated,  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  a  library,  to  be  kept  at 
the  seat  of  government  for  the  use  of  the  governor,  secretary,  legislature, 


66  HISTORICAL   LETTER. 

judges,  marshal,  district  attorney,  and  such  other  persons  and  under  such 
regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law.  The  fact  that  the  inhabitable 
part  of  the  Territory  is  so  remote  from  the  seat  of  the  national  govern 
ment,  and  that  access  cannot  be  had  to  any  books  or  libraries,  is  a  circum 
stance  rendering  it  expedient  to  make  this  appropriation  much  larger  than 
might,  under  other  circumstances,  be  necessary.  The  necessary%ooks  of 
reports  in  the  departments  of  law  alone  would  cost  a  large  sum,  to  say 
nothing  of  books  upon  the  science  of  government,  general  politics,  history, 
education,  agriculture,  horticulture,  &c. 

[For  an  appropriation  to  pay  the  public  debt.] 

On  the  first  day  of  October,  1847,  the  public  debt  of  Oregon  was  $3,242  31, 
for  which  the  treasury  notes  of  the  provisional  government  are  now  out 
standing,  having  been  issued  to  the  officers  of  the  government,  to  be  held 
until  redeemed  in  specie  or  absorbed  by  taxation.  This  debt,  it  was  be 
lieved,  would  necessarily  be  increased  to  about  $10,000.  by  the  legisla 
ture,  which  was  expected  to  convene  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  December  last. 
Your  memorialist  prays  that  a  sum  equal  to  the  latter  amount  may  be  appro 
priated  for  the  redemption  of  this  debt.  Oregon  does  not  bring  with  her  a 
large  debt,  a  sanguinary  war,  and  an  expenditure  of  many  millions;  she  is 
encumbered  with  a  debt  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  incurred  in  the  peaceful 
and  rigidly  economical  administration  of  the  civil  government.  She  asks 
you  to  pay  it.  Justice  demands  it.  The  sum  is  far  less  than  that  which 
you  would  have  expended  had  you  governed  the  country  yourselves. 

[Columbia  river.] 

Your  memorialist  prays  your  honorable  body  to  adopt  some  measures  for 
the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  arrival  and  departure  of  vessels  trading  into 
the  mouth  of  the  Colnmbia  river.  This  is  a  subject  of  great  importance  to 
the  people  of  Oregon;  and  the  welfare  of  the  country  is  intimately  connected 
with  it  and  essentially  dependent  upon  it. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  those  personally  acquainted  with 
the  geography  of  the  country,  that  the  people  inhabiting  it  must  be  a  com 
mercial  as  well  as  an  agricultural  people.  Preparations  should  therefore  be 
made,  at  an  early  period,  for  shipping  to  enter  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 
[Appropriation  for  pilots.] 

That  the  first  requisite  to  this  end  is  two  experienced  and  sober  pilots, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  There  is  now  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  a 
bold  and  skilful  pilot,  but  the  number  of  vessels  entering  the  river  [PAGE 
13.] 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  67 

being  few,  his  compensation  is  probably  too  small  to  induce  him  to  remain. 
Your  memoralist  prays  that  an  appropriation  of  two  thousand  dollars  may 
be  made,  so  as  to  give  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  each  of  two  pilots. 
This  would,  by  creating  competition,  cause  them  to  be  always  vigilant,  so 
as  to  obtain  from  vessels  the  usual  compensation  in  addition  to  the  salary. 

But  that  something  more  is  necessary  cannot  be  questioned.  An  exhibi 
tion  of  facts  will  assist  in  determining  what  improvements  are  necessary  to 
the  removal  of  a  great  obstruction  to  the  rapid  advancement  of  the  country 
in  commercial  prosperity.  This  object  it  is  certain  cannot  be  attained  by 
concealing  real  difficulties  to  the  entrance  of  that  river,  instead  of  pointing 
them  out  and  suggesting  the  means  of  surmounting  them. 

[Accidents  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.] 

In  1792,  Captain  Gray,  of  the  American  ship  Columbia,  from  Boston,  en 
tered  the  river  and  attained  to  a  position  fifteen  miles  within  the  cape. 
This  was  the  first  ship  to  enter  this  river,  which  in  consequence  received  the 
name  of  the  vessel.  The  channel  was  found  to  be  "neither  broad  nor 
plain, ' '  and  the  captain  upon  getting  to  sea  again  seemed  to  feel  relieved 
from  much  anxiety.  The  discovery  having  been  communicated  to  Captain 
Vancouver,  he  sent  Lieut.  Broughton  in  the  Chatham,  who,  after  exploring, 
attempted  to  pass  out,  in  doing  which  his  vessel  shipped  a  sea. 

In  1811,  the  Tonquin,  owned  by  the  late  John  Jacob  Astor,  arrived  off 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  Her  captain  sent  a  boat  to  sound  out  the  channel. 
The  crew  perished  in  the  breakers.  Another  boat  was  sent  to  rescue  those 
in  the  first  boat,  but  the  crew  of  this  boat  all  likewise  perished,  with  the 
exception  of  one  man. 

In  1817,  Captain  Biddle,  of  the  United  States  sloop-of-war  Ontario,  was 
sent  to  take  possession  of  Astoria;  but  the  sight  of  the  breakers  upon  the 
bar  caused  him  to  regard  its  passage  as  hazardous. 

In  1829,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  brig  William  and  Anne,  was  wrecked 
at  the  entrance  and  all  perished. 

In  1831  the  Isabella,  belonging  to  the  same  company,  was  wrecked,  but 
the  crew  survived. 

In  1839,  Sir  Edward  Belcher  surveyed  the  bar  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
ship  Sulphur,  which  grounded  several  times. 

In  July,  1841,  the  United  States  sloop-of-war  Peacock  was  wrecked. 
Captain  Wilkes,  in  his  sailing  directions,  describes  it  as  "exceedingly  dan 
gerous,  from  the  force  and  irregularity  of  the  tides,  shifting  character  of 
the  sands,  and  great  distance  of  any  landmarks  as  guides." 

In  September,  1846,  the  United  States  schooner  Shark  was  wrecked  in  an 


68  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

attempt  to  pass  out.  Her  late  commander,  however,  says,  that  "  the  intro 
duction  of  steam,  and  the  presence  of  good  pilots,  would  render  the  pas 
sage  over  the  bar  comparatively  safe." 

In  addition  to  the  usual  calms,  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  is  like 
wise  subject  to  those  caused  by  Cape  Disappointment  and  the  adjacent  high 
lands.  It  is  also  subject  to  currents,  the  direction  of  which  varies  with  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide.  The  difficulties  attending  the  taking  of  vessels  up 
that  river  during  the  rainy  season  are  greatly  increased  by  the  winds,  which 
then  usually  blow  down  it.  These,  however,  are  all  the  difficulties  capable 
of  being  entirely  removed  by  the  use  of  appropriate  [PAGE  14.] 

and  obvious  means;  without  these,  it  will  be  conceded  that  real  dangers  exist. 
Indeed,  the  historical  facts  to  which  your  memorialist  has  briefly  referred,  are 
in  themselves  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  dangers  are  not  imaginary. 

It  ought  not  to  be  concealed  that,  in  the  rainy  season,  vessels  are  sometimes 
prevented  from  entering  the  river  during  thirty  or  forty  days  ;  and  that  others, 
during  the  same  season,  are  prevented  during  an  equal  length  of  time  from  de 
parting  from  the  river.  The  currents  of  the  Columbia  are  strong,  and  the  chan 
nels  little  known,  except  to  those  who  make  it  their  business  to  become  ac 
quainted  with  its  important  changes.  The  repugnance  to  entering  that  river, 
which  has  been  felt  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  the  Peacock,  is  almost  invinc 
ible.  The  effect  of  all  these  causes,  when  combined,  has  been  a  very  great 
injury  to  Oregon.  The  unfortunate  loss  of  the  Shark  threw  another  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  the  commercial  advancement  of  that  Territory.  But  these  vessels 
were  not  lost  because  there  was  not  a  channel  sufficiently  deep  and  broad  for 
them,  but  because  that  channel  was  not  known,  and  could  not  be  supposed  to 
be  known,  to  the  respective  commanders. 

[Kemote  consequences  of  these  dangers  ] 

Nothing  perhaps  has  tended  more  to  retard  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
country  than  the  unwillingness  of  the  whalers  and  merchantmen  to  enter  the 
river.  The  people  have,  in  consequence,  been  unable  to  dispose  of  the  produce 
of  their  lands,  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  they  have  been  under  the  necessity  of 
paying  the  most  exorbitant  prices  to  merchants  who,  being  without  competition, 
are  charged  with  establishing  their  own  prices. 

The  following  list  will  enable  your  honorable  body  to  see  the  prices  of  Ore 
gon  generally,  and  not  those  of  the  merchant  only: 

Flour  per  barrel,  $7  to  $8. 

Pork  per  barrel,  $10. 

Beef  per  cvvt.,  $6. 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  69 

Beans  per  bushel,  $4. 

Coarse  split-bottomed  chairs,  without  paint,  per  dozen,  $24. 

Plain  rocking-chairs,  without  paint,  $15. 

Butter  per  pound,  25  cents. 

Lard  per  pound,  12%  cents. 

Tallow  per  pound,  10  cents. 

Oats  per  bushel,  50  cents. 

Day  laborers,  $i  to  $i  50. 

Rails  per  loo,  $i . 

Hauling  per  100,  $i. 

Mechanics  per  day,  $3  to  $5. 

Horse  hire  per  day,  $i  50. 

Horses,  small  and  indifferent,  $40  to  $80. 

Wood  per  cord,  $3  to  $4. 

Oxen  per  yoke,  $50  to  $80. 

Wagons,  second  hand,  $100  to  $200. 

Flour  barrels,  $i. 

Fir  lumber  per  1,000  feet,  $20.  (PAGE  15.) 

Pine,  $40. 

Potatoes  per  bushel,  75  cents  to  $1. 

Turnips  per  bushel,  62%  cents. 

Common  wash-stand,  $10. 

Plain  dining  table,  $15. 

Stocking  plough,  $4  to  $6. 

Pickled  salmon  per  barrel,  $10. 

Boarding  per  week,  $3  50  to  $4  50. 

Cows,  $20  to  $50. 

American  work  horses,  $100  to  $150. 

Sheep  per  head,  $5. 

Cheese  per  Jb.,  25  cents. 

Shingles  per  thousand,  $4. 

Hewed  timber,  square  and  delivered,  per  foot  from  6  to  9  cents. 

Medium  Irish  linen,  $2  to  $3. 

Coarse  gray  cassimere  per  yard,  $5. 

Coarse  gray  cloth,  $7. 

Fine  blue,  $13. 

Medium  hand  saw,  $3  50. 

Wood  saw,  $3  25. 

Second  and  third  quality  of  felling  axes,  $3  75. 


70  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

Medium  white  flannel  per  yard,  $i  25. 

Coarse  calico  per  yard,  40  to  75  cents. 

Lead  per  lb.,  20  cents. 

Powder,  coarse  and  indifferent,  50  cents. 

Coarse  brown  sugar  per  Jb.,  12%  cents. 

Syrup  per  gallon,  indifferent,  75  cents. 

Molasses,  indifferent,  per  gallon,  60  cents. 

White  lead,  in  oil,  per  lb.,  28  cents. 

Window  glass,  such  as  would  not  sell  here  at  any  price,  per  box,  $8  to  $10. 

Putty  per  ft).,  20  cents. 

Coffee,  indifferent  quality,  33%  cents. 

Cast  steel  spades,  $3. 

Iron  per  lb.,  12%  cents. 

Wrought  iron  ploughs  per  lb.,  50  cents. 

Indifferent  salt  per  bushel,  $i. 

Russia  duck,  $i. 

Hyson  tea,  $i  50. 

Rice  per  5>.,  12%  cents. 

Cradling  scythes,  $3  50. 

Smoothing  irons,  $2. 

Writing  paper  per  quire,  75  cents. 

Medium  silk  pocket  handkerchiefs,  $2. 

Fine  shoes,  at  the  shop,  $5  50. 

Fine  boots,  at  the  shop,  $12  to  $15. 

Very  coarse  bcots,  made  in  the  States,  $8. 

Coarse  cotton  handkerchiefs,  50  cents. 

Coarse  half  hose,  $i. 

Percussion  caps  per  box,  $2. 

Drawing  knives,  $3  to  #5. 

Tools  of  every  kind  very  high.  (PAGE  16.) 

Nails  per  lb.,  25  cents. 

Cooking  stoves,  medium  size  and  pattern,  $70  to  $80. 

Cast  iron  ploughs,  stocked,  $30  to  $45. 

Long  coarse  wool  hats,  $3. 

But  the  absence  of  competition  has  not  been  the  only  element  of  the  high 
prices  of  the  merchant.  The  great  length  of  the  voyage  to  Oregon,  the  hazards 
to  which  they  have  been  exposed  in  entering  the  river,  and  the  time  which  said 
vessels  lose  in  proceeding  to  their  places  of  destination  up  the  river,  necessarily 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  71 

increasing  the  expense,  are  probably  also  important  elements  of  the  high  prices 
complained  of. 

[Means  by  which  these  evils  may  be  avoided.] 

Whatever  may  be  the  extent  of  the  obstructions  to  the  entrance  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  it  is  at  least  certain  that  pilots,  lights,  buoys,  and  a  steam  tug 
boat,  would  make  it,  for  vessels  that  can  pass  the  bar,  one  of  the  finest  harbors 
in  the  world.  It  is  conceded  that  nature  has  not  done  everything  which  art  and 
human  industry  can  do  to  make  it  all  that  it  is  desirable  that  it  should  be,  or  to 
make  its  present  entrance  safe  and  easy;  yet  if  the  labor  and  expenditure  of 
money  to  which  necessity  excites  is  recompensed  by  the  attainment,  to  the  full 
est  extent,  of  the  object  sought  for,  that  labor  and  expenditure  should  not  be 
withheld. 

At  the  time  your  memorialist  left  the  Columbia  river,  for  the  seat  of  the 
national  government,  Mr.  Reeve,  the  skillful  and  enterprising  pilot  at  that 
place,  was  exerting  himself  to  procure  by  subscription  a  sum  of  money  that 
would  enable  him  to  build  a  small  log  light-house  upon  the  high  land  of  Cape 
Disappointment.  But  your  memorialist  is  not  yet  prepared  to  believe  that  your 
honorable  body  will  permit  a  handful  of  men,  in  a  small,  distant,  and  poor  com 
munity  in  Oregon,  still  laboring  under  all  the  inconveniences  incident  to  their 
peculiar,  isolated,  and  neglected  condition,  to  build  light-houses  for  you. 

Your  memorialist  asks  leave  to  call  your  attention  in  this  place  to  an  extract 
from  the  report  of  the  late  Lieutenant  Niel  M.  Howison,  United  States  navy,  to 
the  commander  of  the  Pacific  squadron,  printed  by  order  of  the  House  of  Re 
presentatives,  February  29,  1848.  He  says: 

"The  granaries  are  surcharged  with  wheat;  the  saw-mills  are  surrounded 
with  piles  of  lumber  as  high  as  themselves;  the  grazier  sells  his  beef  at  three 
cents  per  pound  to  the  merchant,  who  packs  it  in  salt  and  deposites  it  in  a 
warehouse,  awaiting  the  tardy  arrival  of  some  vessel  to  take  a  portion  of  his 
stock  at  what  price  she  pleases,  and  furnish  in  return  a  scanty  supply  of  tea  and 
sugar  and  indifferent  clothing,  also  at  her  own  rate.  I  feel  it  particularly  my 
duty  to  call  the  attention  of  government  to  this  subject.  This  feeble  and  dis 
tant  portion,  of  itself,  is  vainly  struggling  to  escape  from  burdens  which,  from 
the  nature  of  things,  must  long  continue  to  oppress  it,  unless  parental  assistance 
comes  to  its  relief.  The  first  measure  necessary  is  to  render  the  entrance  and 
egress  of  vessels  into  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  as  free  from  danger  as  possible; 
and  the  first  step  towards  this  is  to  employ  two  competent  pilots,  who  should 
reside  at  Cape  Disappointment,  be  furnished  with  two  Baltimore-built  pilot 
boats,  (for  mutual  assistance  in  case  of  accident  to  either,)  and  be  paid  a  regu- 


72  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

lar  salary,  besides  the  fees,  which  should  be  very  moderate,  imposed  upon  each 
enter-  [PAGE  17.] 

ing  vessel.  Alight-house  and  some  beacons,  with  and  without  lights,  would 
aid  very  much  in  giving  confidence  and  security  to  vessels  approaching  the 
river;  but  more  important  than  all  these  would  of  course  be  the  presence,  under 
good  management,  of  a  strong  and  well-built  steam-tug.  The  effects  of  these 
facilities  would  be  to  render  certain,  at  least  during  the  summer  months,  the 
coming  in  and  going  out  of  vessels,  subtract  from  the  premium  on  insurance, 
and  give  confidence  to  the  seamen,  who  now  enter  for  a  voyage  to  Oregon  with 
dread,  reluctance,  and  high  wages.  It  is  not  for  me  to  anticipate  the  bound 
less  spring  which  the  vivifying  influence  of  an  extended  organized  commerce 
would  give  to  the  growth  and  importance  of  this  country;  its  portrait  has  been 
drawn  by  abler  hands,  in  books  and  in  the  Senate,  but  I  must  take  leave  to 
suggest  that  good  policy  requires  the  parent  government  to  retain  the  affections 
of  this  hopeful  offspring  by  attentions  and  fostering  care;  it  needs  help  at  this 
moment;  and  if  it  be  rendered,  a  lasting  sense  of  dependence  and  gratitude 
will  be  the  consequence;  but  if  neglected  in  this  its  tender  age,  and  allowed  to 
fight  its  own  way  to  independent  maturity,  the  ties  of  consanguinity  may  be 
forgotten  in  the  energy  of  its  own  unaided  exertions." 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  something  is  necessary  to  be  done  which  shall 
make  the  Columbia  river  at  all  times  easy  of  ingress  and  egress;  it  only  remains 
to  show  at  how  very  small  an  expense,  when  compared  with  what  has  been 
expended  in  harbors  or  at  the  mouths  ot  rivers  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  this  can  be 
accomplished.  Lighthouses,  beacons,  buoys  and  breakwaters,  or  sheltered 
anchorages,  have  uniformly  received  the  attention  of  your  honorable  body,  as 
affecting  the  commerce  and  general  welfare  of  the  country  and  the  revenue  of 
the  government.  The  revenue  cutter  service,  designed  originally  for  the  mere 
protection  of  the  revenue  against  smuggling,  is  often  employed  during  a  consider 
able  portion  of  the  year  in  the  direct  assistance  of  vessels  of  all  classes  approach 
ing  our  Atlantic  coast.  This  service  has  been  eminently  approved  by  the  great 
body  of  the  nation,  because  it  recommends  itself  to  the  humanity  of  the  people, 
and  to  private  interest  not  less  than  to  the  interest  of  the  general  government. 
And  the  system  of  lights,  beacons,  buoys  and  .steam  tugs,  whether  ordered  by 
the  general  government,  or  the  results  of  a  sense  of  private  interest,  all  tend 
directly  to  the  same  end,  by  lessening  the  dangers  of  the  seas  and  of  the  ap 
proaches  to  our  Atlantic  coast. 

Although  the  people  of  Oregon  have  been  living  a  long  time  upon  the  Pacific 
side  of  the  coast  without  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  their  country,  your 
memorialist  believes  that  humanity  is  the  same,  or  very  nearly  the  same,  there 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  73 

that  it  is  here,  and  that  man  there,  as  here,  when  they  are  by  any  means  enabled 
to  discover  in  what  their  interest  consists,  will  usually  approve  of  whatever 
tends  to  promote  it. 

To  make  the  Columbia  safe  at  all  times  in  entering  and  departing,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  combine  these  safeguards  in  such  a  manner  as  the  present  improve 
ments  and  experience  will  permit. 

A  revenue  cutter  will  be  needed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  Since  steam 
vessels  are  now  coming  into  general  use  in  this  service,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
combine  the  revenue  cutter  with  a  steam  tug,  combining  all  the  qualities 
required  in  a  steam  coast  guard  with  those  of  a  powerful  tug  or  tow  boat,  and 
to  keep  it  usually  stationed  in  Baker's  bay,  for  the  purpose  of  not  only  prevent 
ing  smuggling,  but  also  for  towing  merchant,  vessels  and  whalers  in  and  out  at 
that  season  when  they  are  most  exposed  to  de-  (PAGE  18.) 

lays  and  dangers.  The  same  vessel  could  also  take  out  the  buoys  for  indicating 
the  channel,  and  the  lanterns  for  the  light-houses,  and  the  officers  could  be  em 
ployed  in  superintending  the  erection  of  those  houses. 

[Remote  advantages  resulting  from  the  use  of  the  necessary  means. J 

The  advantage  resulting  from  affording  these  facilities  to  a  country,  which, 
in  addition  to  its  commercial  importance,  must  always  be  the  great  agricultural 
section  of  the  Pacific  coast,  would  be  immense.  It  would  afford  the  people  a 
remedy  for  the  evil  of  enormous  prices  by  encouraging  merchantmen  to  come 
into  the  Columbia.  It  would,  by  encouraging  industry,  increase  a  production 
equal  to  the  supply  of  the  wants  of  your  navy  on  the  Pacific  station.  In  two 
years  from  the  time  of  placing  a  steam  tow-boat  and  buoys  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  river,  the  beef,  bread,  flour,  beans,  &c.,  for  the  entire  Pacific  squad 
ron,  could  be  purchased  in  Oregon  as  cheap  as  they  could  be  bought  upon  this 
side  of  the  continent.  This  would,  by  creating  a  market,  stimulate  production. 
It  would  save  shipment  ;  and  in  addition  to  this,  the  provisions  being  always 
fresh,  would  not,  as  is  frequently  now  done  upon  that  coast,  be  condemned  and 
thrown  overboard.  A  call  for  information  from  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  would  show  that  immense  quantities  of  bread  are  annually  condemned 
upon  the  Pacific  coast  as  spoiled. 

That  Oregon  would  within  two  years,  in  addition  to  furnishing  food  for  land 
troops,  produce  enough  to  supply  the  navy  upon  the  Pacific  station,  is  rendered 
probable  by  the  following  table  of  the  productions  of  Oregon  for  the  year  1846, 
as  in  part  ascertained  by  assessors,  and  in  part  being  estimates  : 


74  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

Wheat — bush. 

Polk 20,000 

Yamhill 24,546 

Twality 33>ooo 

Clatsop 8,000 

Lewis  12,450 

Vancouver 21,000 

Clackamas 19,867 

Champoeg 6,000 


144,863    129,244    46,004    73,416 

In  the  month  of  April,  1847,  there  were  exported  1,736  barrels  of  flour. 

When  your  memorialist  left  Oregon,  November  4th,  it  was  believed  that  180,- 
ooo  bushels  of  wheat  had  been  produced.  The  Whiton  was  principally  laden 
with  Oregon  flour.  The  Janet  was  spoken  off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  was 
going  in  for  a  load  that  was  in  readiness  for  her  to  carry  away.  The  brig 
Henry  sailed  about  the  same  time,  having  a  considerable  portion  of  her  cargo 
in  flour.  It  was  estimated  that  4,000  persons  had  just  arrived  in  the  country, 
and  yet  flour  was  selling  no  higher  than  $7.50  per  barrel. 

It  will  be  observed  that  no  notice  is  here  taken  of  beef  and  salmon,  both  of 
which,  and  especially  the  latter,  may  be  put  up  to  a  large  amount. 

Nor  are  mills  wanting,  at  which  to  grind  the  wheat  when  grown,  there  being 
at  least  eight.  (PAGE  19.) 

The  capacity  of  the  country  for  future  production  will  be  estimated  by  a  little 
attention  to  a  few  facts.  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  who  formerly  resided  in  the 
great  wheat  growing  county  of  Genesee,  New  York,  and  who  has  been  during 
several  years  a  missionary  in  Oregon,  expressed  to  your  memorialist  the  opinion 
that  Oregon  as  a  wheat  producing  country  was,  to  say  the  very  least,  not  inferior 
to  the  Genesee  valley.  He  regarded  middle  Oregon  as  perhaps  better  adapted 
to  the  raising  of  sheep  than  any  country  in  the  world.  The  farmer  in  Oregon 
possesses  many  advantages  over  those  in  the  States.  The  latter,  with  an  ordi 
nary  stock  of  cattle,  is  usually  compelled  by  the  severity  of  the  winter  to  feed 
to  them  in  that  season  all,  or  nearly  all,  that  he  has  grown  during  spring,  sum 
mer  and  autumn.  In  Oregon  the  winter  is  much  milder  than  it  is  on  the  Atlan 
tic  side,  several  degrees  farther  south.  The  grass  frequently  grows  all  winter. 
The  Rev.  George  Gary,  the  late  superintendent  of  the  Oregon  mission,  informed 
your  memorialist  that  on  the  25th  of  December,  1845,  he  ate  green  peas  grown 
in  the  open  air  in  his  garden  in  Oregon  City,  and  taken  from  it  on  that  day. 
Oregon  City,  if  your  memorialist  is  not  mistaken,  is  in  latitude  45  deg.  20  min. 


HISTORICAL   LETTER.  75 

north.  The  winter,  commencing  November  ist,  1846,  and  ending  March  1st, 
1847,  was  more  severe  than  any  that  had  preceded  it  in  36  years.  The  mercury 
in  Fahrenheit's  scale  fell  at  one  time,  at  Oregon  City,  to  2  deg.  above  zero ;  at 
Nisqually,  Puget  Sound,  to  6  deg.  below  zero;  and  at  the  Dalles  of  the  Col 
umbia,  to  8  deg.  below.  The  snow  remained  upon  the  Willamette  valley  a 
foot  in  depth  during  three  weeks. 

An  early  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  over  Ore 
gon  wonld  not  only  rapidly  increase  the  agricultural  productions  of  the  country, 
but  would  develop  mineral  resources  it  has  hitherto  not  been  supposed  to  pos 
sess.  No  scientific  explorations  and  surveys  having  yet  been  made,  nothing  of 
course  is  known  beyond  what  is  learned  from  a  few  causual  observations.  Min 
erals  are  usually  found  in  mountainous  portions  of  the  country  ;  but  those  in 
Oi-egon  have  been  traversed  by  trappers  and  hunters  only,  who  were  incapable 
of  making  any  examinations  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  countries  over  which 
they  wandered.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  as  the  country  becomes  well  pop 
ulated  by  a  civilized  people,  and  scientific  surveys  are  made,  many  valuable 
minerals  will  be  discovered.  Many  persons,  judging  from  the  volcanic  appear 
ance  of  the  country,  believe  that  when  metals  shall  be  found,  they  wUl  not  be 
in  their  oxyds,  but  reduced  by  intense  volcanic  heat  to  a  massive  state.  But 
there  are  some  facts  connected  with  the  geology  of  the  country  which  flo  not 
warrant  this  as  a  necessary  conclusion.  Your  memorialist  has  found  impure 
dark  limestone,  lying  in  thin  sheets  upon  each  other,  and  filled  with  a  multi 
tude  of  small  fossil  shells.  In  the  immediate  neighborhood  he  found  basaltic 
rocks  ;  and  at  a  place  a  little  more  remote,  scoriated  basalt.  At  another  lo 
cality  he  examined  an  immense  bluft  of  yellow  friable  course  sandstone.  In 
the  immediate  vicinity  was  basalt;  a  little  more  remote,  scoriated  basalt.  Near 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  a  species  of  limestone  is  found,  which,  when 
burned  and  slacked,  presents  various  colors,  including  orange,  slate,  yellow, 
and  blue  ;  near  the  place  is  basalt.  At  another  locality,  up  the  Willamette 
river,  gray  granite  and  basalt  were  found,  very  near  to  each  other.  The  soil  in 
many  parts  of  the  valley  is  colored  by  the  oxide  of  iron  ;  and  your  memorialist 
often  found  a  species  of  the  ore  known  as  shot  ore.  (PAGE  20.) 

Red  and  yellow  ochre  and  plumbago  are  brought  down  the  Columbia  by 
the  Indians.  Lead  is  reported  to  have  been  found  in  small  quantities  among 
the  Blue  mountains.  Fibrous  gypsum  is  found  in  immense  bodies  at  the 
head  of  the  Willamette  valley,  in  the  side  of  the  Callapooiah  mountain, 
where  a  branch  of  the  Willamette  comes  out.  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  the 
gentleman  in  charge  of  the  mission  at  Walla  Walla,  informed  your  memorial 
ist  that  a  remarkably  fine  and  beautiful  species  of  gypsum  may  be  obtained 


76  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

in  inexhaustible  quantities  on  John  Day's  river,  not  fur  from  the  way  lead 
ing  from  the  Dalles  to  Walla  Walla.  He  stated  that  it  was  also  found  upon 
Thompson's  river.  He  also  informed  your  memorialist  that  the  Indians  not 
unfrequeiitly  bring  copper  from  a  place  north  of  his  station,  bat  south  of  49 
degrees.  Specimens  of  platina  ore  have  been  brought  irorn  the  country  of 
the  Flat  Heads,  and  south  of  49  degrees  of  north  latitude.  A  Mr.  Lattee, 
who  was  for  a  long  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in 
formed  your  memorialist  that  the  Indians  often  brought  to  the  trading  post 
platina  and  silver  ore  from  the  northern  extremity  of  Queen  Charlotte's 
island.  There  are  coal  indications  near  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  and 
also  upon  the  Cowlitz  river.  An  inexhaustible  supply  of  bituminous  coal  of 
a  good  quality  may  be  had  upon  Vancouver's  island.  It  lies  near  the  sur 
face,  is  gotten  out  with  crowbars,  and  it  is  near  to  good  anchorage. 

Although  these  facts  are  necessarily  very  imperfect  and  meagre,  yet  they 
are  sufficient  to  show  that  it  is  probable  that  metals,  when  found,  will  be 
found  in  their  oxyds,  and  not  reduced  to  a  massive  state  by  volcanic  heat,  as 
has  generally  been  believed. 

[A  good  wagon  road.] 

Your  memorialist  would  respectfully  state  that  the  immigrants  endure 
great  fatigue,  and  are  exposed  to  losses  and  perils,  which  might  be  avoided 
by  surveying,  marking  out,  and  making  a  good  wagon  road  from  the  western 
settlements  of  Missouri  to  the  Willamette  valley.  Such  road  being  once 
made,  and  small  military  posts  established  along  the  line  of  communication, 
many  of  the  most  formidable  obstacles  to  the  performance  of  the  journey 
would  be  removed. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  nearer  and  better  route  into  the  settle 
ments  of  Oregon  may  be  had  by  leaving  the  Oregon  road  on  Bear  river,  and 
then  passing  north  of  the  great  Salt  Lake  to  Ogden's  river,  and  by  crossing 
the  Wyhee  river  and  the  Blue  mountains  north  of  Tlamath  lake,  so  as  to 
cross  the  President's  range  of  mountains  near  some  streams  flowing  into  the 
Willamette.  This  route  would  probably  conduct  the  immigrants  into  the 
Willamette  valley  a  little  south  of  Mount  Jefferson,  which  is  one  of  the 
great  snow  peaks  of  the  President's  range.  Trappers  in  the  employ  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  affirm  that  the  valley  of  the  Malheur  river  makes 
a  good  pass  through  the  Blue  mountains.  Crooked  river,  \vhich  is  a  branch 
of  the  De  Chutes,  heads  with  Malheur  river,  and  runs  in  a  westerly  direc 
tion.  A  road  following  these  streams  might,  perhaps,  be  found,  having  suf 
ficient  grass. 

That  a  pass  may  be  found  in  the  President's  range,  near  to  Mount  Jeff'er- 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  77 

son,  is  made  probable  by  the  observations  of  Lieut.  Fremont,  in  1843,  while 
traveling  upon  the  river  De  Chutes.  He  says  in  his  journal,  page  119,  that 
"a  small  trail  takes  off  through  the  prairie,  towards  a  low  (PAGE  21.) 

point  in  the  range,  and  perhaps  there  is  here  a  pass  into  the  Willamette 
valley."  His  camp  that  night  was  in  latitude  45  deg.,  2  min.,  45  sec.,  north, 
and  longitude  125  deg.,  2  min.,  43  sec.* 

[A  cordon  of  military  posts.] 

A  wagon  road  from  the  western  settlements  of  Missouri  being  established 
and  graded,  and  facilities  being  provided  for  crossing  the  principal  streams, 
tlie  next  measure  in  the  magnitude  of  its  importance,  as  affording  assistance 
and  protection  to  the  immigrants,  is  the  establishment  of  military  posts  upon 
this  road,  and  at  points  so  selected  as  at  the  same  time  to  keep  the  Indians  in 
check,  and  to  form  the  nucleus  of  settlements  for  production  of  supplies  to 
the  posts  and  to  immigrants.  In  addition  to  their  ordinary  duty,  the  soldiers 
might  be  employed  with  advantage  in  the  transportation  of  the  mail,  or  at 
least  in  the  protection  of  those  who  might  be  engaged  in  that  service.  This 
would  secure  a  more  rapid,  easy  and  less  perilous  communication  between 
the  settlements  west  of  the  Eocky  mountains  and  those  east  of  them,  and 
would  vastly  increase  the  number  of  immigrants  from  the  latter  to  the 
former.  Considered,  then,  as  a  purely  political  measure,  tending  to  a  rapid 
colonization  of  our  possessions  upon  the  Pacific,  the  establishment  of  a  cor 
don  of  military  posts  is  important  and  necessary. 

Although  your  memorialist  could  indicate  the  places  at  which,  in  his  judg 
ment,  it  would  be  proper  to  establish  said  posts,  and  assign  the  reason  for 
this  his  judgment,  yet,  knowing  that  if  they  are  ever  established,  the  fixing 
of  their  location  will  become  the  duty  of  competent  officers  appointed  for 
that  purpose,  he  deems  it  inexpedient  to  remark  upon  this  subject,  aware  as 
he  is  of  a  very  natural  and  even  commendable  professional  jealousj'.  Yet, 
there  being  one  location  of  which  mere  professional  skill  and  science  cannot 
enable  their  possessor  to  speak  ex  cathedra,  or  with  so  much  authority  as  a 
very  humble  immigrant,  who  has  made  it  his  business  to  make  practical  ob- 
sjrvations,  your  memorialist  most  respectfully  beg  leave  to  say  that  there  is 
no  place  upon  the  whole  line  of  communication  so  important  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  military  post  as  the  Grand  Ronde.  Mere  scientific  travelers 
and  explorers  have,  in  consequence  of  their  want  of  a  sufficiently  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  wants,  the  toils  and  dangers  of  the  immigrants,  as 
such,  have  hitherto  wholly  failed  to  see  the  importance  of  the  position. 

*Thi8  is  probably  what  is  now  known  as  Minto'e  Pass. 


78  HISTORICAL   LETTER. 

The  Grand  Bonde  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  valleys  in  Ore 
gon,  and  is  eminently  adapted  to  agriculture  and  grazing  purposes,  if  any 
reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  statements  of  gentlemen  who  have  passed 
through  it.  It  lies  in  Middle  Oregon  and  is  surrounded  by  the  Blue  moun 
tains,  upon  which  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  fir,  pine  and  cedar.  It  is 
circular  in  form,  as  is  denoted  by  its  name.  It  is  very  productive  and  is  suf 
ficiently  watered  by  streams  running  through  it,  and  these  are  also  said  to 
have  timber  upon  them.  The  Oregon  road  passes  through  it.  A  settlement 
cannot  now  be  made  in  it  in  consequence  of  the  opposition  of  the  Indians. 
The  presence  of  a  comparatively  small  military  force  here  would  remove 
every  obstacle,  by  affording  protection  to  immigrants,  who  would  immedi 
ately  fill  it.  Its  extent  is  sufficient  for  a  large  county. 

Immigrants  who  had  been  detained  until  the  coming  on  of  the  rainy  sea 
son,  or  whose  teams  were  broken  down,  might  remain  here  during  (PAGE  22. ) 

the  winter,  or  they  might  finally  determine  upon  making  it  their  place  of 
residence.  Others,  who  might  require  it,  could  obtain  fresh  supplies  at  this 
place,  and  then  continue  their  journey  into  the  Willamette. 

Immigrants  could  usually  arrive  at  this  point  without  encountering  any 
difficulties  which  could  not  be  surmounted  by  using  a  little  more  than  ordi 
nary  prudence  and  diligence. 

Did  not  your  memorialist  feel  that  in  presenting  the  condition  and  wants 
of  the  people  of  Oregon,  he  had  already  occupied  more  time  than  would  be 
expedient  under  other  circumstances,  he  could  present  many  reasons  for  the 
establishment  of  a  military  post  at  this  place,  and  could  call  the  attention  of 
your  honorable  body  to  other  circumstances  which  indicate  this  as  being  the 
most  important  point  on  the  Oregon  road  for  the  establishment  of  a  mili 
tary  post,  if  it  be  at  all  an  object  with  the  general  government  to  afford  pro 
tection  and  facilities  to  the  immigrants. 

[General  effects  of  colonizing  our  possessions  on  the  Pacific  coast.] 

Considered  purely  as  a  political  measure,  it  cannot  be  otherwise  than  an 
important  object  to  colonize  our  possessions  on  the  Pacific  coast  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  A  flourishing  State  or  States  upon  the  western  side  of  the  con 
tinent  would,  by  means  of  an  armed  occupation  of  the  places  at  which  an 
enemy  could  debark,  effectually  resist  his  approach.  The  nature  of  the 
coast  and  of  the  country  is  such  that  the  possession  of  certain  points  com 
mand  the  whole. 

But  a  flourishing  State  upon  the  Pacific  is  important,  not  only  as  a  mili 
tary  defence,  but  as  opening  the  way  for  American  enterprise  and  capital  to 


HISTORICAL    LETTER.  79 

the  commerce  of  Asia,  which  would  be  turned  to  our  western  coast  as  soon 
population  and  increased  facilities  for  overland  carriage  will  render  it  expe 
dient  for  men  of  capital  to  send  their  commodities  and  merchandise  through 
this  channel  rather  than  round  Cape  Horn. 

[For  an  appropriation  for  purchasing  seeds  and  agricultural  implements.] 

Your  memorialist  is  aware  that  your  honorable  body,  moved  by  the  high 
and  noble  impulses  of  humanity,  were  very  recently  about  to  appropriate 
many  millions  of  the  public  treasure  for  men  and  arms  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people  of  Yucatan,  who  are  strangers  to  you  in  blood  and  interest, 
in  feeling,  in  language,  and  in  laws,  and  who  have  never  done  any 
thing  to  extend  either  your  territory  or  your  institutions.  He  is  en 
couraged,  therefore,  to  ask  your  honorable  body  to  appropriate  a  few  thous 
and  dollars  to  be  expended  in  purchasing  seeds  and  fruits,  and  im 
plements  of  husbandry,  for  the  benefit  of  your  distant,  neglected,  and 
forgotten  brethren  in  Oregon,  who  are  one  with  you  in  blood,  interest,  feel 
ing,  language  and  laws,  and  who,  by  removing  to  Oregon,  and  encoun 
tering  all  the  toils  and  dangers  of  a  long  and  exhausting  journey,  and  the 
hardships  and  privations  incident  to  a  residence  in  that  remote  wilderness, 
have  done  much  to  extend  both  your  territory  and  your  institutions.  There 
is  not  probably  a  gill  of  the  seed  of  either  red  clover  or  blue  grass  in  all 
Oregon.  Nothing  would  give  your  memorialist  more  satisfaction  than  to  be 
authorized  to  purchase  seeds,  fruits,  and  implements  of  husbandry,  t'o  be 
shipped  on  a  vessel  of  war  for  the  people  of  Oregon.  While  such  a  gift 
would  be  of  infinite  value  to  your  distant  (PAGE  23.) 

and  (as  they  feel)  neglected  colonists,  it  would  be  in  the  highest  degree 
honorable  to  your  wisdom  and  humanity. 

[Conclusion.] 

In  conclusion,  your  memorialist  would  observe,  that  although  he  has  re 
ferred  to  several  particular  wants  of  Oregon,  yet  while  it  was  necessary  to 
say  at  least  as  much  as  he  has  upon  these,  he  earnestly  begs  that  you  will 
never  cease  to  feel  that  the  first  great  want  of  the  people  whose  wishes  and 
interests  he  is  faithfully  laboring  to  present  to  your  view,  is  an  act  establish 
ing  a  Territorial  government  of  some  sort.  Your  memorialist  beseeches  you 
to  pass  a  good  act ;  but  at  least  let  the  people  of  Oregon  have  a  bad  one, 
rather  than  none — any  law,  rather  than  no  law.  They  have  a  right  to  your 
protection,  and  they  need  it  at  this  moment.  The  Indians  demand  pay  for 
their  lands.  Early  in  the  autumn,  several  persons  were  wounded,  and  one 


8o  HISTORICAL    LETTER. 

was  killed.  His  Excellency,  George  Abernethy,  Governor  of  Oregon,  de 
spatched  a  letter  to  your  memorialist,  after  he  left  Oregon  City  for  the  pur 
pose  of  entering  upon  this  mission,  informing  him  that  the  Indians  had  re 
newed  their  outrages  up  the  Columbia.  Are  your  fellow-citizens  thus  to  be 
any  longer  exposed  to  be  robbed  and  butchered  ?  Will  you  neither  protect 
them,  nor  yet  permit  them  to  take  a  position  in  which  they  can  provide 
permanently  for  their  own  defense  against  merciless  savages  ? 

The  circumstances  existing  when  your  memorialist  left  Oregon,  were  such 
as  to  cause  the  most  serious  apprehension  of  a  general  Indian  war.  It  is  in- 
creditble  that  twelve  thousand  American  citizens,  more  than  three  thousand 
miles  distant  from  the  seat  of  the  national  government,  should  neither  be 
governed  by  jou  nor  yet  be  permitted  to  make  a  declaration  of  independence, 
so  as  to  place  themselves  in  a  position  to  discharge  those  duties  incumbent 
upon  them,  and  to  enjoy  those  rights  which  are  not  denied  to  any  of  their 
brethren  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains ;  but  which,  if  with 
held,  would  deluge  this  country,  and  even  this  capitol,  with  fraternal  blood. 
Your  memorialist  would  adopt  the  language  of  a  report  made  by  the  lamen 
ted  late  Lieutenant  Neil  M.  Howison,  and  published  among  your  documents: 
"I  must  take  leave  to  say,  that  good  policy  requires  the  parent  government 
to  retain  the  affections  of  this  hopeful  offspring,  by  attentions  and  fostering 
care.  It  needs  help  at  this  moment;  and  if  it  be  rendered,  a  lasting  sense  of 
gratitude  and  dependence  will  be  the  consequence.  But,  if  neglected  in  this 
its  tender  age,  and  allowed  to  fight  its  own  way  to  independent  maturity,  the 
ties  of  consanguinity  may  be  forgotten  in  the  energy  of  its  own  unaided 

exertions." 

J.  QUINN  THORNTON. 


FUNERAL  ORATION. 


DELIVERED   BY   COL.    ,T.    W.   NE8MITH  AT   THE  TOMB   «F   GEN.   JOSEPH   LANE,    AT    KO8EBTTRG, 
OREGON,  APRIL,  22,  1881. 


FUIENDS:  A  great  and  good  man,  full  of  honors  and  of  years  has  paid 
the  debt  of  Nature  and  gone  to  his  final  account;  we,  his  neighbors  and 
friends,  are  assembled  to  pay  honors  to  his  remains,  by  consigning  them  to 
their  final  resting  place.  We  now  look  the  last  time  upon  the  kind  and  ge 
nial  face  of  one  of  Oregon's  oldest  and  best  friends.  The  great  heart  that 
has  beaten  responsive  to  our  welfare  so  long,  is  still  in  death,  and  the  body 
that  contains  it  bears  the  scars  of  honorable  wounds  received  in  defending 
our  country's  honor  and  in  the  protection  of  the  early  settlers  of  our  State. 
A  short  time  before  our  friend  passed  away,  I  received  a  letter  from  him 
filled  with  expressions  of  kindness,  and  from  which  I  copy  the  following: 
"When  it  shall  come  my  time  to  cross  over,  I  shall  expect  you  to  be  present 
at  the  laying  away  of  all  that  remains  of  your  old  friend."  Subsequently, 
when  too  feeble  to  hold  the  pen,  he  dictated,  and  the  hand  of  affection 
wrote  the  request  that  I  should  speak  a  last  kind  word  to  his  neighbors  and 
his  friends  over  his  remains.  With  a  sorrowing  heart  I  shall  attempt  to 
comply  with  the  last  request  of  an  old  friend  and  comrade  in  arms,  who  was 
once  my  commanding  officer.  Conscious  that  our  deceased  friend's  best 
eulogy  is  to  be  found  in  the  somber  history  of  his  long  and  eventful  life, 
and  in  the  virtues  that  adorned  his  character,  I  shall  attempt  no  fulsome 
panegyric,  but  will  confine  myself  to  the  narration  of  a  few  historical  facts 
connected  with  the  services  he  has  rendered  to  his  country  and  to  his 
adopted  State. 

Joseph  Lane  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  on  the  14th  of  December,  1801. 
His  father  removed  to  Henderson  county,  Kentucky — then  a  frontier  State — 
in  1804.  The  educational  advantages  of  the  son  were  meagre.  From  early 
boyhood  until  he  attained  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he  was  alternately  em- 
employed  upon  the  farm,  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk,  and  in  a  country 
store.  In  1820  he  was  married  to  Polly  Hart,  and  settled  upon  a  farm  in 
Vanderburg  county,  Indiana.  The  following  year  he  was  elected  to  the 


82  FUNERAL    ORATION. 

legislature.  For  twenty-five  years,  almost  continuously,  he  represented  his 
county  in  one  branch  or  other  of  the  State  legislature.  When  the  war  com 
menced  with  Mexico  in  1846,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  tke  State  senate  and 
enlisted  as  a  private  soldier,  his  company,  with  several  others,  having  assem 
bled  at  New  Albany  and  formed  a  regiment.  Lane,  the  private  soldier,  was 
elected  Colonel.  Shortly  afterwards  he  received  from  President  Polk  a  com 
mission  of  Brigadier  General.  He  immediately  set  out  for  the  seat  of  war 
in  command  of  three  regiments  of  Indiana  volunteers,  ana  in  two  weeks' 
time  landed  at  the  Brazos  and  reported  for  duty.  His  brigade  was  assigned 
to  Major  General  W.  0.  Butler's  division.  At  the  battle  of  Beuna  Vista  he 
commanded  the  left  wing  of  the  army,  and  commenced  the  action  by  attack 
ing  a  division  of  the  Mexican  army  numbering  50,000,  commanded  by  Gen 
eral  Ampudi.  In  the  course  of  the  battle  he  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight, 
and  was  severely  wounded  by  a  musket  ball,  which  passed  through  his  right 
arm  near  the  shoulder,  but  remained  upon  his  horse  and  in  command  of  his 
troops  until  the  enemy  were  routed  and  driven  from  the  field.  That  night 
he  received  complimentary  congratulations  from  the  "Bough -and  Ready  " 
old  soldier,  General  Taylor,  who  never  wasted  words  in  undeserved  praise. 
Thus  within  a,  few  short  weeks  after  the  farmer  was  engaged  in  peaceful  pur_ 
suits  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  he  had  "set  a  squadron  "  in  the  field  and 
developed  the  able  General,  successfully  commanding  a  division  of  the 
army  in  one  of  the  hardest  fought  and  bloodiest  battles  of  the  war.  In 
June,  1847,  he  returned  to  New  Orleans,  where  the  Indiana  regiments  were 
disbanded.  Returning  to  General  Taylor's  line  he  was  ordered  to  join 
General  Scott.  Landing  at  Vera  Cruz  September  16th,  he  took  up  the  line 
of  march  for  the  City  of  Mexico,  in  command  of  3,000  troops.  On  Octo 
ber  9th  he  defeated  Santa  A.nna  at  Humantilla.  On  the  19th  he  attacked  a 
strong  force  of  guerillas  at  Alixco  and  took  the  place.  On  the  29th  he  dis 
persed  another  guerilla  force  at  Tlascala.  On  November  22d  he  took  Mata- 
moras,  which  was  strongly  fortified,  capturing  a  large  amount  of  ammuni- 
nition  and  military  stores;  and  on  December  14th  reached  General  Scott's 
headquarters  in  the  City  of  Mexico  and  was  highly  complimented  by  the 
hero  of  Chippewa  and  Lundy 's  Lane.  The  brilliant  exploits  of  General  Lane 
and  his  brigade  of  3,000  men  on  this  memorable  march  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the 
City  of  Mexico,  have  but  few  parallels  in  the  annals  of  modern  warfare. 
Their  line  of  march  was  over  the  same  general  route  pursued  by  Cortez  in 
his  conquest  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight  years  before,  and  which  Pres- 
cott  has  so  graphically  described.  To  successfully  conduct  an  aggressive 
campaign,  with  a  mere  handful  of  troops  in  the  heart  of  an  enemy's  coun- 


FUNERAL    ORATION.  83 

try,  gives  evidence  of  a  high  order  of  military  talent  possessed  by  the  com 
mander,  who  had  but  a  few  months'  experience  in  the  art  of  war.  On  Jan 
uary  15th,  1848,  General  Lane  left  the  City  of  Mexico  under  orders  to  scour 
the  country  between  the  capital  and  Vera  Cruz,  to  rid  it  of  guerilla  marau 
ders.  After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  surprise  and  capture  Santa  Anna, 
he  took  Orizaba,  and  was  engaged  in  other  successful  partisan  operations. 
On  February  16th  he  was  sent  out  by  General  Scott  in  pursuit  of  the  robber, 
Jarauta,  and  on  the  21st  reached  Tulacingo,  where  General  Paredes  nar 
rowly  escaped  capture.  On  the  24th  he  came  up  with  Jarauta  at  Tehautap- 
lan,  where  a  severe  fight  ensued,  in  which  Jarauta  was  wounded.  This  was 
the  last  fighting  in  the  Mexican  war.  From  the  mere,  brief  mention  that  I 
have  made  of  General  Lane's  career  in  Mexico,  it  must  be  conceded  that  he 
exhibited  soldiery  qualities  of  no  ordinary  character.  By  the  secrecy  and 
celerity  of  his  marches,  the  quick,  hard  and  unexpected  blow,  together  with 
his  plain  and  unassuming  demeanor,  he  gained  the  sobriquet  of  "  The 
Marion  of  the  Mexican  War,"  and  all  adventurous,  enterprising  soldiers, 
who  sought  distinction  by  hard  service,  desired  to  serve  in  "Lane's  Brigade." 
He  had  great  natural  talent  for  the  military  profession,  which,  with  wider  and 
broader  opportunities,  would  have  developed  the  most  brilliant  of  soldierly 
qualities.  No  officer  of  his  rank,  who  served  in  that  war,  rendered  so  im 
portant  services  to  his  country,  or  gained  greater  fame  by  his  courage  and 
intrepidity,  than  our  deceased  friend. 

Of  all  the  generals  who  served  in  that  war,  he  was  the  last  .survivor. 
Scott,  Taylor,  Worth,  Wood,  Butler,  Kearney,  Patterson.  Pierce,  Kerney, 
Pillow,  Shields,  Gushing,  Cadwalder,  Quitman,  and  last,  Lane.  All  have 
fallen  into  line,  in  waiting  for  the  bugle  call. 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping  grounds, 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards  with  silent  rounds 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

In  1848,  Congress  having  passed  an  act  organizing  a  territorial  govern 
ment  for  Oregon,  General  Lane  was  appointed  the  first  Governor.  He 
crossed  the  plains  with  a  small  escort  by  the  way  of  New  Mexico  and  Ari 
zona,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  in  February,  1849,  where  I  made  his  acquain 
tance,  and  was  his  fellow-passenger  on  board  the  old  fast  India  brig  Jannett. 
On  his  arrival  at  Oregon  City,  March  3d,  he  issued  a  proclamation,  and  at 
once  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office,  which  he  discharged  until  August, 
1850.  As  Governor  he  was  prompt  and  efficient  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties,  and  during  his  administration  he  caused  the  arrest,  trial 
and  execution  of  the  Indians  who  had  participated  in  the  Whitman 


84  FUNERAL    ORATION. 

massacre  of  1847.  In  1851  he  was  elected  Territorial  Delegate  to  Congress, 
and  was  successively  elected  until  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union  in 
1859.  when  he  was  chosen  United  States  Senator,  and  was  an  unsuccessful 
candidate  for  Vice  President  in  1860.  In  1861  his  senatorial  term  expired, 
when  he  returned  to  private  life.  For  the  next  fifteen  years,  with  his  book 
and  gun,  his  life  of  quiet  and  dignified  retiracy  was  passed  near  the  summit 
of  a  neighboring  mountain.  During  the  recess  of  Congress  111  1853,  Gen 
eral  Lane  was  engaged  in  gold  mining  in  the  Kogue  Kiver  Valley,  when  sud 
denly  the  Indians  assumed  a  hostile  attitude,  killing  many  persons  and 
burning  nearly  all  the  houses  from  Cow  Creek  on  the  north  to  near  Jack 
sonville.  He  at  once  rallied  the  settlers,  and  was  placed  in  command,  and 
driving  the  Indians  north  in  the  direction  of  the  Umpqua.  On  the  24th  he 
fought  the  battle  of  Evan's  Creek,  where  he  was  severely  wounded.  Sub 
sequently,  and  through  his  efforts,  the  treaty  of  Table  Hock  was  concluded 
on  the  10th  of  September,  and  under  it  peace  was*  maintained  for  the  suc 
ceeding  two  years. 

I  served  under  his  command  in  the  Rogue  Kiver  campaign  of  1853.  We  had 
in  1849  explored  together  the  regions  of  the  Siletz  and  Yaquina  Bay,  and  I 
believe  we  were  the  first  white  men  that  crossed  out  over  the  bar  at  Yaquina. 
We  made  the  passage  in  an  Indian  canoe,  and  imperfectly  sounded  the  channel 
to  the  sea.  In  other  explorations  and  associations  I  had  ample  opportuni 
ties  to  know  General  Lane  well.  During  the  ten  consecutive  years  that  he 
represented  the  Territory  and  State  in  the  national  councils,  he  was  always 
prompt  and  efficient  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  Oregon  is  indebted 
to  his  efforts  for  much  valuable  legislation.  His  name  is  honorably  engraven 
upon  the  pages  of  our  early  history,  while  his  reputation  is  of  a  national 
character.  As  an  officer  in  command  of  troops,  he  was  strict  in  the  enforce 
ment  of  discipline,  while  his  thoughtful  care  for  those  under  him,  and  the 
inherent  kindness  of  his  nature,  caused  his  subordinates  to  regard  him  with 
the  affection  of  a  father.  As  the  swift  messenger,  that  mocks  at  time  and 
apace,  spreads  the  news  of  the  death  over  the  broad  republic,  many  a  war 
worn  veteran  will  drop  the  silent  tear. 

When  the  brave  guardians  of  a  country  die, 

The'  grateful  tear  in  tenderness  will  start, 
And  the  keen  anguish  of  the  reddening  eye 

Discloses  the  deep  affection  of  the  heart. 

In  all  the  exalted  positions  that  General  Lane  occupied,  he  never  forgot 
his  origin  as  one  of  the  toiling  people  ;  his  respect  for  the  dignity  of  labor 
was  such  that  the  humblest  farmer  or  mechanic  always  found  in  him  a  sym 
pathizing  friend  ready  to  aid  and  advise.  He  lead  a  life  of  remarkable  ab- 


FUNERAL    ORATION.  fJ 

steinioiisness  and  frugality,  coupled  with  industry,  to  which  may  be  attrib 
uted  his  preservation  of  bodily  health  and  sound  intellect  to  the  age  of  four 
score  years. 

During  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  when  advancing  age  and  the  pain  of 
his  old  wounds  disqualified  him  for  great  physical  exertion,  he  became  a 
hard  and  constant  student,  devoting  the  most  of  his  time  to  the  study  of 
the  works  of  the  best  authors,  and  thus  acquired  a  great  fund  of  scientific 
and  valuable  information,  for  the  acqusition  of  which  opportunities  had 
been  denied  him  in  his  youth.  In  private  life  he  was  a  man  of  pure  and 
noble  sentiments,  eminently  kind,  sociable  and  agreeable.  He  was  gener 
ous  to  a  fault,  and  suffering  humanity  never  appealed  to  his  pocket  in  vain, 
as  long  as  there  was  anything  in  it.  I  recollect  that  \vhen  the  government 
sent  out  a  paymaster  with  funds  to  pay  us  for  our  services  in  the  Rogue 
lliver  war  of  1853,  he  signed  the  pay-roll,  and  directed  that  every  cent  of  his 
pay  should  be  turn 3(1  over  to  some  destitute  orphan  children,  survivors  of 
the  Boise  massacre;  and  then  borrowed  money  from  a  friend  to  purchase  a 
suit  of  clothes  and  pay  his  expenses  to  Washington  city,  from  whence  he 
promptly  remitted  payment  as  soon  as  he  drew  his  mileage.  In  his  associa 
tion  with  the  world  he  was  always  the  gallant,  chivalrous,  polite 
and  modest  gentleman.  Those  were  inherent  qualities  which  the  rough 
garb  of  the  farmer,  miner,  hunter,  frontier  Indian  fighter,  gold-bedizened 
epaulets  and  uniform  of  the  general,  or  the  habiliaments  of  the  governor,  or 
the  senator,  could  never  change  or  obscure.  He  always  treated  ladies  with 
the  greatest  deference,  while  children  rarely  escaped  his  caresses.  In  old 
times  we  used  to  joke  him  about  his  fondling  with  children,  as  a  means  of 
obtaining  popularity,  but  those  of  us  who  know  him  longest  and  best  came 
to  regard  it  as  an  evidence  of  the  gentle  kindness  of  his  great  heart.  He 
had  associated  much  with  the  distinguished  men  of  his  time,  and  among 
those  were  Clay,  Calhotin,  Webster,  Marcey,  Buchanan,  Douglas,  Beward, 
Chase  and  others  known  to  fame.  He  personally  knew  General  Jackson, 
and  was  at  the  impressible  age  of  fourteen  when  the  battle  of  New  Orleans 
was  fought.  Many  of  his  Kentucky  neighbors  and  friends  had  marched  to 
the  aid  of  Jackson,  and  the  defence  of  the  impeiiled  city,  under  General 
John  Adair,  and  when  they  returned  home  were  full  and  overflowing  with 
the  praises  of  Jackson,  who  had  long  before  won  the  admiration  of  the  peo 
ple  of  the  southwest  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  Indian  campaigns.  Those 
things  made  an  impression  upon  the  boy's  mind  that  death  alone  could  erad 
icate.  Jackson's  honest,  plain,  simple  political  creed,  coupled  with  his 
superb  achievements  and  dauntless  courage,  made  him  Lane's  beau  ideal  of 
the  soldier-statesman  and  patriot.  It  was  the  homage  that  one  honest  and 


86  FUNERAL    ORATION. 

brave  man  pays  to  those  qualities  in  another.  I  have  often  thought  that 
General  Jackson  furnished  the  model  after  which  Lane's  character  was 
formed.  We  know  that  they  possessed  many  splendid  traits  in  common. 
Both  were  the  product  of  frontier  civilization,  and  Nature  had  been  more 
lavish  in  her  bounties  with  them  than  the  schools.  Each  had  gained  great 
distinction  in  the  military  services  of  the  country,  while  simplicity  of  char 
acter,  honesty  and  directness  of  purpose,  and  sympathy  with  the  people, 
were  their  common  characteristics.  Perhaps  by  some  intuitive  process  each 
had  adopted  and  adhered  to  views  upon  the  great  questions  of  tariff  and 
finance  which  were  in  accord  with  the  master  minds  of  the  world  that  have 
attempted  to  elucidate  those  recondite  subjects.  Both  were  brave  and  un 
selfish  patriots,  whose  chief  desire  was  the  welfare  of  their  fellow-citizens . 

Gen.  Lane  was  always  exceedingly  scrupulous  about  the  large  sums  of 
public  funds  at  different  times  entrusted  to  his  care  for  disbursement,  and 
no  complaint  was  ever  made  of  his  appropriating  to  his  private  use  a  dollar 
not  his  own.  Rings,  lobbyists  and  jobbers  never  had  his  aid,  while  he 
despised  every  form  of  peculation  and  frequently  denounced  the  peculators. 
He  sincerely  believed  that  all  moneys  wrung  from  the  hands  of  the  toiling 
people  in  the  form  of  taxes  should  be  honestly  appropriated  to  public  uses. 
I  never  knew  of  his  being  engaged  in  litigation,  and  he  would  as  soon 
thought  of  compromising  his  honor  as  an  honest  debt.  In  danger  or  in 
battle  he  was  always  cool,  discriminating  and  alert,  and  as  brave  as  a  lion. 
I  do  not  think  that  the  man  knew  what  fear  was  when  he  had  a  duty  to  per 
form. 

I  speak  of  his  dauntless  courage  by  the  light  of  experience  I  had  in  stand 
ing  by  his  side  under  the  frowning  shadows  of  Table  Rock  on  the  10th  of 
September,  1853,  when  our  little  party  of  eleven  men,  unarmed,  and  the 
General  badly  wounded,  were  surrounded  by  seven  hundred  hostile  and  well 
armed  savages,  who  threatened  our  lives  in  retaliation  for  the  death  of  one 
of  their  tribe.  It  was  then  that  the  eyes  now  closed  in  death  seemed  to 
emit  sparks  of  fire,  and  the  now  paralyzed  tongue  poured  forth  words  of 
natural  eloquence,  mingled  with  a  haughty  and  dignified  defiance  that 
seemed  to  inspire  our  enemies  with  an  awe  and  admiration  due  to  some 
superior  being.  But  for  the  coolness,  the  defiant  courage  evinced  by  our 
commander,  I  believe  our  little  party  would  have  furnished  another  illustra 
tion  of  the  barbarous  instincts  of  the  savage  for  the  treacherous  shedding  of 
blood. 

During  our  friend's  illness,  he  had  all  the  loving  sympathy,  kind  care  and 
attention  that  most  devoted  filial  affection  could  bestow,  and  sank  to  rest 
surrounded  by  three  generations  of  sorrowing  descendants.  Our  friend  has 


FUNERAL    ORATION.  87 

departed  to  "that  undiscovered  country  whose  bourne  from  whence  no 
traveler  returns,"  and  we  are  sadly  admonished  that  "the  paths  of  glory 
lead  but  to  the  grave."  His  good  deeds  will  survive  and  his  memory  will  be 
cherished.  As  we  review  his  long  and  honorable  career  his  friends  will  have 
no  occasion  to  invoke  protection  from  the  charitable  maxim,  De  mortms  nil 
nisi  bonum.  Whatever  of  enmity  has  ever  existed  between  him  and  others, 
on  account  of  ephemeral  political  differences,  are  silenced,  however,  in  the 
solemn  presence  of  death.  How  sorry  and  contemptible  would  those  tran 
sient  asperities  appear  if  paraded  at  the  portals  of  the  tomb  ;  and  for  my 
own  part  I  contemplate  their  past  existence  with  emotions  of  sorrow  and 
regret. 

Farewell!  good,  brave  and  generous  old  friend.  With  heavy  hearts  we 
consigi;  your  honored  remains  to  their  last,  long  home.  May  they  rest  in 
peace  ! 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  GEORGE  GAY 


BY  J.    W.    NESMITH. 


George  Gay  died  near  Wheatland,  Oregon,  on  the  7th  of  October,  1882, 
aged  72  years.  Mr.  Gay's  early  life  was  full  of  adventure.  He  was  born  near 
Berkley,  in  Glostershire,  England,  August  15,  1810.  At  the  age  of  eleven 
years  he  went  to  sea  as  an  apprentice,  and  served  for  four  years.  After  follow 
ing  the  sea  for  eleven  years  and  making  voyages  to  different  parts  of  the  world, 
in  1832  he  shipped  on  board  of  the  whaler  Kitty,  of  London,  for  a  cruise  in  the 
Pacific  ocean,  and  the  next  year  left  the  ship  at  Monterey,  in  California,  and 
joined  Ewing  Young  in  a  trapping  expedition  along  the  coast  to  the  mouth  of 
Rogue  river.  In  1835,  ne  started  overland  from  California  with  a  small  party 
under  the  leadership  of  John  Turner — one  of  the  three  survivors  of  Jedediah 
Smith's  party  of  (18)  eighteen  men  who  were  murdered  by  the  Indians  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Umpqua  in  July,  1828.  The  other  members  of  the  party  were 

Dr.  Bailey,  John  Woodworth,  Daniel  Miller,  Saunders,   "Big  Tom"  (an 

Irishman),  and  another  man,  whose  name  is  forgotten,  and  a  squaw  belonging 
to  Turner. 

The  party  had  47  head  of  good  horses  and  a  complete  outfit  for  trapping. 
About  the  middle  of  June,  1835,  the  party  encamped  for  the  night  near  a  place 
known  as  "The  Point  of  Rocks,"  on  the  south  bank  of  Rogue  river.  Early  the 
next  morning  the  Indians  commenced  dropping  into  camp,  a  few  at  a  time. 
Gay  was  on  guard,  and  not  liking  the  appearance  of  the  Indians,  awoke  Tur 
ner,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  party,  and  the  latter  conversed  with  the  savages 
through  his  squaw,  who  spoke  Chinook.  Turner  concluded  that  there  was  no 
harm  to  be  apprehended  from  their  dusky  visitors,  and,  forgetting  the  fearful 
massacre  which  he  so  narrowly  escaped  with  Smith's  party  seven  years  before 
near  the  Umpqua,  the  party  became  careless.  In  the  meantime,  some  four  or 
five  hundred  Indians  had  assembled  in  and  about  the  camp  of  the  little  party, 
and  at  a  signal,  furiously  attacked  the  white  men  with  clubs,  bows  and  arrows 
and  knives.  The  attack  was  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  the  Indians 
obtained  three  of  the  eight  guns  with  which  Turner  and  his  party  were  armed. 
The  struggle  of  the  trappers  for  life  was  desperate  and  against  fearful  odds. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    OF    GEO.    GAY.  89 

The  eight  men  seized  whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  on  for  defense.  Some 
of  them  discharged  their  rifles  in  the  bosom  of  their  assailants  and  then  clubbed 
their  guns  and  laid  about  them  with  the  barrels.  Turner,  who  was  a  herculean 
Kentucky  giant,  not  being  able  to  reach  his  rifle,  seized  a  big  fir  limb  from  the 
camp  fire  and  laid  about  him  lustily,  knocking  his  assailants  right  and  left.  At 
one  time  the  savages  had  Gay  down  and  were  pounding  him,  but  they  were 
crowded  so  thick  as  to  impede  the  force  of  their  blows.  Old  Turner,  seeing 
Gay's  peril,  made  a  few  vigorous  blows  with  his  limb  which  released  him,  and 
the  latter,  springing  to  his  feet,  dealt  fearful  cuts,  thrusts,  slashes  and  stabs 
with  his  long,  sharp  sheath-knife  upon  the  naked  carcasses  of  the  dusky  crowd. 
The  other  men,  following  Turner's  and  Gay's  example,  fought  with  the  energy 
of  despair  and  drove  the  Indians  from  their  camp.  Dan  Miller  and  another 
trapper  were  killed  upon  the  spot,  while  the  six  survivors  of  the  melee  were  all 
more  or  less  seriously  wounded.  While  the -fight  was  going  on,  the  squaws 
drove  off  the  herd  of  horses  and  carried  off  all  of  the  baggage  and  camp  equip 
age,  together  with  three  rifles.  Three  of  the  remaining  guns  were  rendered 
useless  by  having  their  stocks  broken  off  in  the  clubbing  process.  The  six 
badly  wounded  survivors  took  to  the  brush  and  kept  the  Indians  at  bay  with 
their  two  remaining  rifles.  By  traveling  in  the  night-time  and  hiding  in  the 
brush  in  the  day-time,  they  managed  to  elude  the  Indians,  but  suffered  terribly 
from  their  wounds  and  for  want  of  provisions  and  clothing.  Dr.  Bailey  had  re 
ceived  a  fearful  wound  from  a  tomahawk,  which  split  his  lower  jaw  from  the 
point  of  the  chin  to  the  throat.  From  want  af  proper  treatment,  the  parts 
never  properly  united,  and  many  old  pioneers  will  recollect  the  unsightly  scar 
that  disfigured  his  face  for  life.  Saunders'  wounds  disabled  him  from  travel 
ing,  and  he  was  left  on  the  South  Umpqua,  and  "  Big  Tom  "  was  left  on  the 
North  Umpqua.  The  Indians  subsequently  reported  to  Dr.  McLaughlin  that 
both  men  had  died  of  their  wounds  where  they  were  left.  Turner,  Gay,  Wood- 
worth  and  Dr.  Bailey,  after  reaching  the  head  of  the  Willamette  valley,  dif 
fered  about  the  route.  Turner  mistook  the  Willamette  for  the  Columbia.  Gay, 
in  his  sea  voyages,  had  seen  a  map  or  chart  showing  that  the  Columbia  ran 
west,  and  determined  to  strike  due  north  in  search  of  the  great  river,  upon  the 
banks  of  which  he  expected  to  find  Hudson's  Bay  trappers  and  traders.  Tur 
ner,  Bailey  and  Woodworth  followed  down  the  Willamette  river  until,  in  a 
famishing  condition,  they  struck  the  Methodist  mission  below  Salem.  Gay 
kept  along  the  foot-hills  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley  and  crossed  the  Rick- 
real  about  where  Dallas  now  stands,  and  crossed  the  Yamhill  river  at  the  falls 
near  Lafayette,  passing  along  on  the  west  side  of  Wapatoo  lake,  and  crossing 
the  Tualatin  plains,  reached  Wythe's  trading  post  on  Sauvie's  island  some  time 
in  August.  Before  separating  from  his  companions,  Gay  had  cut  up  his  buck- 


90  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    OF    GEO.    GAY. 

skin  breeches  to  make  moccasins  for  the  party  and  made  the  most  of  the  jour 
ney  in  a  naked  condition  with  the  exception  of  the  tattered  remnants  of  an  old 
shirt.  The  mosquitoes  nearly  devoured  him  in  the  Columbia  bottoms.  This 
perilous  trip  of  nearly  500  miles  was  made  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  and  was  a 
terrible  test  of  the  endurance  of  a  naked,  wounded,  starving  man.  In  1836, 
Gay  returned  to  California  with  Slacom  and  brought  the  first  band  of  Spanish 
cattle  to  Oregon.  While  returning  on  this  trip  he  received  a  fearful  wound 
from  an  Indian's  arrow  in  the  Siskiyou  mountains  and  carried  the  stone  arrow 
head  embeded  in  his  flesh  for  five  years.  When  the  writer  made  the  acquaint 
ance  of  George  Gay,  forty  years  ago,  he  was  a  handsome,  athletic  man,  of  a 
powerful  physical  organization  combined  with  great  activity,  being  as  fine  a 
horseman  as  ever  bestrode  a  steed  and  as  expert  a  vacquaro  as  ever  swung  a 
lasso.  Along  in  the  early  40'$  he  was  the  wealthiest  man  in  Oregon  outside  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  his  herds  of  cattle  and  horses  roaming  over  what 
is  now  the  southern  end  of  Yamhill  and  the  northern  end  of  Polk  counties.  In 
1843  ne  built  the  first  brick  house  in  Oregon.  He  entertained  Commodore 
Wilkes  and  his  officers,  and  subsequently  the  officers  of  the  American  men-of- 
war  Peacock  and  the  Shark,  and  the  officers  of  all  the  British  men-of-war  that 
visited  the  Columbia  in  early  days.  His  house  was  a  general  resort  for  travel 
ers  and  emigrants  in  early  days.  He  dispensed  a  rude  but  unbounded  hospi 
tality,  to  which  all  comers  were  welcome.  I  have  known  him  to  slaughter  a 
bullock  tor  the  breakfast  of  his  guests,  the  remnants  of  which  were  eaten  for 
supper.  Gay  was  kind  and  gentle  in  his  deportment,  but  always  retained  a 
dash  of  rollicking  bon  homme  which  more  or  less  pertains  to  the  sailor,  the  trap 
per  and  mountaineer. 

His  property  gradually  slipped  through  his  hands.  The  wily  arts  and  tricks 
pertaining  to  a  higher  civilization  were  too  much  for  his  unsophisticated  nature, 
and  like  many  of  the  old,  generous  and  hospitable  pioneers,  he  died  poor. 

The  old  Kentucky  giant,  John  Turner,  so  well  known  and  famed  for  his  her 
culean  strength,  good  nature,  quaint  oddities  and  dauntless  courage,  through 
the  Rocky  mountains,  New  Mexico,  California  and  Oregon,  from  1823  to  1847, 
was  killed  in  the  latter  year  in  California  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  his 
own  rifle. 

Dr.  Bailey  was  a  well-educated  English  physician  and  surgeon,  and  was  for 
many  years  the  principal  doctor  in  the  Willamette  valley.  He  died  a  few  years 
since  near  Champoeg. 

George  Gay  was  the  last  survivor  of  that  little  party  of  pioneers  that  marked 
their  trail  to  Oregon  with  their  blood  and  reached  here  under  so  many  difficul 
ties  nearly  half  a  century  ago. 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF  THE 


ELEVENTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION 


OF  THE 


OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION 


FOR 


THE  ANNUAL  ADDRESS  BY  HON.  W.  LAIR  HILL, 

TOGETHER   WITH 

OPENING  ADDRESS  BY  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH, 

AND    OTHER    MATTERS    OF    INTEREST. 


SALEM,  OREGON  : 

E.  M.  WAITE,  STEAM  PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 
1884. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  SOCIETY  AND  BOARD. 


OREGON  STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,          ) 
SALEM,  June  15,   1883.  } 

At  the  annual  election  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  held 
on  this  day,  the  following  officers  were  elected  to  serve  during 
the  ensuing  year: 

President— J.  W.  Nesmith. 

Vice  President— J.  W.  Grim. 

Secretary— T.  B.  Odeneal. 

Corresponding  Secretary — W.  H.  Reese. 

Treasurer — J.  M.   Bacon. 

Directors— E.  M.  Waite,  F.  X,  Matthieu  and  Joseph  Watt. 

SALEM,  February  21,   1884. 

Pursuant  to  a  call  ot  the  President,  the  officers  and  directors 
of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  met  at  the  office^of  the  Clerk 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  Salem,  on  this  day  at  2  p.  M. 

Present— J.  W.  Nesmith,  President;  J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  Pres 
ident;  T.  B.  Odeneal,  Secretary;  J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer;  E.  M. 
Waite,  F.  X.  Matthieu  and  Joseph  Watt,  Directors. 

The  object  of  the  meeting  having  been  stated  by  the  President, 
the  following  proceedings  were  had : 

On  motion,  the  State  Fair  Grounds  were  selected  as  the  place, 
and  the  iyth  and  i8th  days  of  June  as  the  days  for  holding  the 
Twelfth  Annual  Reunion  of  the  Association. 


4  PROCEEDINGS    OF    SOCIETY    AND    BOARD. 

On  motion,  it  was  resolved  that  Hon.  Joseph  S.  Smith*,  of 
Portland,  be  invited  and  requested  to  deliver  the  Annual  Ad 
dress,  and  that  F.  O.  McCown,  Esq.,  of  Oregon  City,  be  invited 
to  deliver  the  Occasional  Address. 

On  motion,  Medorum  Crawford,  T.  McF.  Patton  and  L.  E. 
Pratt  \vere  appointed  a  General  Committee  of  Arrangements, 
with  power  to  appoint  such  sub-committees  as  they  deem  nec 
essary. 

The  President  was  authorized  to  select  persons  to  deliver  ad 
dresses  in  case  those  invited  should  decline. 

On  motion,  Joaquin  Miller  was  requested  to  write  a  poem  to 
be  read  at  the  reunion. 

E.  M.  Waite  was  appointed  Committee  on  Printing. 

On   motion,   Daniel   Clark,   of  Salem,   was  appointed  Grand 

Marshal. 

On  motion,  it  was  resolved  that  the  gates  of  the  Fair  Grounds 
be  closed,  and  that  an  admission  fee  of  25  cents  be  charged  to 
all  except  the  families  of  Pioneers. 

J.  M.  Bacon  read  the  following  verified  letter,  which  was  or 
dered  to  be  printed  with  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting: 

CHICAGO,  ROCK  ISLAND  &  PACIFIC  RAILWAY,  ) 

OFFICE  OF  THE  GEN'L  TICKET  AND  PASSENGER  AGENT, 

CHICAGO,  October  9,  1883. ) 

Mr.  Joseph    Watt,   Chairman,   Oregon    Pioneer  Association,    Palmer  House, 

Chicago,  Ills. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  advised  that  Mr.  W.  H.  Dixon,  representing  the  Chi 
cago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway,  made  the  statement  while  en  route  from 
Portland,  Oregon,  to  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  on  the  Pioneer  Excursion  Train,  that 
you  had  been  bought  by  the  representative  of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pa 
cific  Railway  to  bring  your  people  (the  Oregon  Pioneers)  from  Minneapolis  or 
St.  Paul  to  Chicago  by  our  line,  and  I  hasten  to  say  in  this  connection  that  such 

*Deolined  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  H.  Y.  Thompson,  Esq.,  wus  selected  in  his 
stead. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    SOCIETY    AND    BOARD.  5 

statement  is  absolutely,  positively  and  wickedly  false,  and  that  I  cannot  be 
lieve  fcr  a  moment  that  any  member  belonging  to  the  old  and  honored  Associa 
tion,  which  has  elected  you  its  Chairman,  would  do  otherwise  than  resent  such 
an  accusation  against  one  of  its  members  and  chief  officers.  For  their  benefit, 
and  without  your  knowledge,  I  now  make  the  statement  that  beyond  the  con 
tract  which  was  jointly  signed  by  you  and  myself  at  Portland,  Oregon,  on  Sep 
tember  roth,  I  never  make  you  even  a  promise  of  any  kind,  character  or  de 
scription;  I  did  not  even  extend  to  you  the  courtesy  of  free  transportation,  and 
no  one  can  know  better  than  yourself  that  you  traveled  over  our  line  on  a 
ticket  purchased  with  your  own  money,  as  it  is  presumed  the  others  hove  done. 
At  our  meetings  in  Portland,  Oregon,  there  were  always  others  present  belong 
ing  to  your  Association»besides  yourself,  and  with  a  map  before  us  I  showed 
you  what  I  thought  then  (and  believe  that  you  have  now  found)  to  be  the  ad 
vantages  of  our  line,  and  after  discussing  it  with  other  members  of  your  Asso 
ciation,  I  presented  you  a  form  of  contract  for  signature.  This  you  also  dis 
cussed  with  others,  and  at  a  time  when  I  was  absent,  and  at  the  last  meeting 
it  was  agreed  to  and  signed.  I  took  you  and  the  other  gentlemen  representing 
your  Association,  whom  I  had  the  privilege  and  honor  of  meeting  at  Portland, 
to  be  gentlemen,  and  am  sure  that  any  effort  on  my  part  to  have  tried  to  buy 
either  you  or  them  (which  never  entered  my  mind)  would  have  met  with  disaster 
to  our  interests,  and  as  an  official  of  this  company,  I  could  not  for  a  moment 
have  thought  of  such  a  thing,  and  am  wholly  unwilling  that  such  charge  should 
be  made  against  you  without  doing  you  the  justice  of  branding  it  as  wilfully 
and  maliciously  false  in  every  particular. 

I  ask  that  at  your  meeting  this  may  be  read  to  the  Association  as  a  body. 
Trusting  that  you  and  the  others  who  came  with  you  from  Oregon,  and  who 
passed  over  our  line  have  found  it  all  that  I  represented  it  to  be  to  you  and 
others  when  in  Portland,  and  that  we  shall  hereafter  have  the  pleasure  of  meet 
ing  you  and  them  frequently.  I  beg  to  subscribe  myself 

Yours  very  truly, 

F.  N.  JOHN, 

General  Ticket  and  Passenger  Agent. 
Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  loth  day  of  October,  1883. 

JAMES  C.  HUTCHINS, 
Notary  Public  Cook  County,  Illinois. 

On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned  subject  to  the  call  of  the 
President. 


OPENING    ADDRESS. 


BY    HON.   J.    W.    NESMITH. 


The  Eleventh  Annual  Reunion  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Asso 
ciation  was  held  at  the  State  Fair  Grounds  6n  the  i5th  day  of 
June,  1883,  and  was.  very  largely  attended.  Al.  Zieber,  Esq., 
not  being  in  attendance,  Capt.  L.  S.  Scott  was  elected  to  serve 
as  Grand  Marshal.  The  procession  was  formed  and  marched 
around  the  grounds  to  music  furnished  by  the  Capital  Guard 
Band.  After  the  seats  around  the  platform  were  taken,  prayer 
was  offered  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Parnsh. 

Hon.  W.  Nesmith,  President  of  the  Association  then  delivered 
the  following 

OPENING  ADDRESS. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  and  fallow -citizens: 

We  are  assembled  to  hold  our  Eleventh  Reunion  in  commemoration  of  the 
I5th  day  of  June,  1846.  Thirty-seven  years  ago  to-day  it  was  definitely  de 
termined  by  and  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  Great  Britain  that 
the  soil  upon  which  we  now  stand  should  thenceforth  be  subject  to  the  sole  and 
exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and  that  all  of  that  vast  region  of 
territory  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  from  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  on  the  north 
to  the  42d  parallel  of  latitude  on  the  south — and  which  now  embraces  the  State 
of  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory — should  become  an  integral  portion  of 
the  great  American  republic.  By  the  most  solemn  official  act  known  to  or  ex 
ercised  by  nations,  England  yielded  her  claim  to  an  empire.  Prior  to  that 
date  a  few  of  us  who  are  here  to-day  were  residents  of  Oregon,  and  at  the 
time  when  the  country  was  subject  to  joint  occupancy  by  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for 
me  to  remind  the  pioneers  who  were  here  thirty-seven  years  ago  of  the  anxious 


OPENING     ADDRESS.  7 

solicitude  with  which  we  watched  and  waited  for  the  results  of  the  treaty,  in 
volving  as  it  did  the  important  question  to  us  as  to  whether  we  were  to  remain 
under  the  protection  of  the  stars  and  stripes  or  become  subjects  of  the  British 
monarchy.  It  was  a  time  of  great  rejoicing  among  the  few  scattered  residents 
here  when  we  came  to  know  for  a  certainty  that  Oregon  was  firmly  established 
as  an  integral  portion  of  the  American  Union,  and  our  allegiance  to  the  old 
flag  had  not  been  sacrificed  or  bartered  away  by  wiles  of  diplomacy.  The  impor 
tance  of  the  event  to  us  who  were  then  settlers  in  Oregon  can  scarcely  be  appre 
ciated  by  those  of  our  fellow  citizens  who  have  more  recently  arrived  here.  To 
us  who  were  here  under  the  treaty  of  joint  occupancy,  the  I5th  day  of  June  be 
came  a  sort  of  localized  Fourth  of  July,  and  we  still  contemplate  its  annual 
recurrence  with  a  feeling  akin  to  that  with  which  we  regard  the  glorious  achieve 
ments  of  our  ancestors  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1776.  The  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  was  the  initial  point  in  establishing  our  great  free  democratic  republic, 
and  the  treaty  of  June  15,  1846,  was  a  conveyance  in  the  nature  of  a  warranty 
deed  executed  by  the  two  greatest  nations  of  the  earth,  covenanting  and  guar 
anteeing  to  the  Oregon  pioneers  that  they  and  their  posterity  forever  should  re 
main  under  the  protection  of  the  government  established  by  the  toil,  sufferings 
and  patriotic  perseverence  of  their  ancestors.  It  is,  therefore,  not  strange  that 
we  should  annually  assemble  to  commemorate  the  important  event  in  our  his 
tory  so  full  of  interest  to  us  and  to  our  descendants.  There  are  but  a  few  of 
us  left  who  were  here  to  rejoice  at  the  results  of  the  treaty  concluded  thirty- 
seven  years  ago  to-day.  The  most  of  our  comrades  have  joined  the  great  ma 
jority  and  have  gone  down  to  "the  tongueless  silence  of  the  dreamless  dust." 
Pioneers,  let  us  to-day  kindly  remember  the  good  fellows  who  have  crossed 
over,  and  who  were  a  generation  ago  our  friends,  neighbors  and  compatriots. 
Though  the  treaty  was  concluded  on  the  I5th  of  June,  the  facilities  for  the 
transmission  of  news  were  so  few  and  uncertain  that  no  information  as  to  the 
results  of  the  negotiatiations  reached  Oregon  until  the  following  I2th  of  Nov 
ember,  and  then  the  news  came  by  sailing  vessels  by  the  way  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  This  fact  of  itself  illustrates  the  wonderful  triumphs  of  progress  and 
civilization  that  have  taken  place  within  our  memory.  Now  it  would  require 
less  than  five  minutes  to  transmit  the  news  for  which  we  then  waited  five 
months.  At  the  time  the  treaty  was  signed  the  American  settlers  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  consisted  of  a  few  people  scattered  over  the  lower  Willamette 
Valley.  They  were  destitute  of  commercial  facilities,  isolated  from  the  rest  of 
the  world,  poor  in  worldly  effects,  and  dependent  for  news  or  associations  with 
the  civilized  world  upon  the  slow  progress  of  ox  teams  making  a  six  months' 


8  OPENING    ADDRESS. 

toilsome  march  across  nearly  3000  miles  of  desert  wilderness,  inhabited  by  wild 
and  hostile  savages. 

I  am  quite  sure  that  none  of  us  expected  to  live  to  see  the  wonderful  develop 
ments  which  we  now  witness  in  every  portion  of  what,  at  that  date,  appeared 
to  us  an  uninviting  wilderness.  As  an  illustration  of  the  rapidity  with  which 
news  was  transmitted  at  that  time,  I  may  state  that  the  Democratic  Convention 
which  nominated  Mr.  Polk  for  the  Presidency,  met  in  Baltimore  on  the  27th  of 
May,  1844,  after  the  emigrants  had  left  the  Missouri  frontier,  and  the  emigrants 
of  1845  brought  us  the  news  of  the  election.  Polk  had  been  nominated, 
elected  and  inaugurated  President  of  the  United  States  for  several  months  be 
fore  we  knew  who  the  candidates  were.  How  discouraging  it  would  be  to  those 
of  us  in  Oregon,  who  dabble  in  politics  and  like  to  be  on  the  popular  side  if 
we  had  to  wait  a  year  to  know  whether  we  were  to  be  sharers  in  the  spoils  or 
suffer  the  humiliations  of  defeat.  Under  the  then  existing  condition  of  affairs 
and  before  lightening  had  been  harnessed  to  run  in  opposition  to  the  ox  teams,  it 
is  not  strange  that  many  public  men  were  to  be  found  in  and  out  of  Congress  who 
derided  the  idea  ihat  there  ever  would  be  an  American.  State  west  of  the  Great 
American  Desert  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  But  there  were  at  that  time  two 
frontier  Senators  in  Congress,  representing  the  western  verge  of  civilization, 
who  knew  of  what  sort  of  material  the  men  of  the  frontier  were  made,  and 
whose  patriotism  was  so  broad  that  it  spanned  the  continent  from  ocean  to 
ocean.  I  refer  to  Dr.  Lewis  F.  Linn  and  Col.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  of  Missouri. 
Linn  was  cultured,  kind,  yielding  and  amable,  but  none  the  less  hopeful  and 
patriotic,  and  full  of  anxiety  to  encourage  emigration  to  Oregon.  Benton,  in 
addition  to  his  great  learning,  was  arrogant,  fearlers  and  aggressive,  and  with 
prophetic  vision  saw  what  were  to  be  the  results  of  scientific  experiments  then 
in  their  infancy.  With  proud  and  imperious  mien  he  stood  up  before  an  im 
mense  assemblage  of  people  at  St.  Louis  on  the  igth  day  of  October,  1844,  and 
uttered  the  following  predictions: 

"I  say  the  man  is  alive,  full-grown,  and  is  listening  to  what  I  say  (without 
believing  it,  perhaps),  who  will  yet  see  the  Asiatic  commerce  traversing  the 
North  Pacific  ocean,  entering  the  Oregon  river,  climbing  the  western  slope  of 
.he  Rocky  Mountains,  issuing  from  its  gorges  and  spreading  its  fertilizing 
streams  over  our  wide  extended  Union.  The  steamboat  and  the  steam-car  have 
not  exhausted  all  their  wonders.  They  have  not  yet  found  their  amplest  and 
most  appropriate  theaters — the  tranquil  surface  of  the  North  Pacific  ocean,  and 
the  vast  inclined  plains  which  spread  east  and  west  from  the  basis  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  magic  boat  and  the  flying  car  are  not  yet  seen  upon  this 


OPENING    ADDRESS.  9 

ocean,  and  upon  this  plain,  but  they  will  be  seen  there;  and  St.  Louis  is  yet 
to  find  herself  as  near  Canton  as  she  now  is  to  London,  with  a  better  and  a 
safer  route  by  land  and  sea  to  China  and  Japan  than  she  now  has  to  France  and 
Great  Britain." 

Grand  "Old  Bullion,"  with  all  his  arrogance  and  foibles,  was  the  greatest, 
most  true  and  hopeful  friend  that  the  Oregon  Pioneers  ever  had.  We  have 
given  a  slight  recognition  of  the  services  of  Benton  and  Linn  in  our  behalf  by 
giving  their  names  to  two  of  the  counties  of  our  State.  Pioneers,  a  few  of  us 
have  lived  to  witness  the  consummation  of  the  predictions  that  Benton,  in  his 
hopefulness,  made  of  our  country  thirty  nine  years  ago.  The  magic  boat  and 
flying  car  of  which  Benton  spoke,  and  the  electric  telegraph  and  telephone,  of 
which  he  had  no  conception,  are  at  our  doors,  and  are  familiar  objects.  The 
days  of  our  pioneer  toil  and  privations  are  past;  progress  and  the  wonderful  de 
velopments  of  science  have  brought  us  in  contact  with  the  civilized  world,  and 
we  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  blessings  unknown  to  our  immediate  ancestors. 
May  our  posterity  long  enjoy  these  advantages  under  a  free  and  enlightened 
government  of  their  own  choice. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 


BY    HON.   W.    LAIR    HILL. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Pioneer  Association : 

The  address  which  I  have  the  honor  of  presenting  to-day  will  be  a  departure 
— and  I  fear  an  unacceptable  one-- from  the  line  of  those  which  have  .preceded 
it;  it  will  not  be,  in  any  accurate  sense,  historical.  In  stating  the  reasons  for 
this  departure  I  shall  be  compelled  to  inflict  upon  you  both  an  apology  (which, 
though  always  in  order,  is  not  always  useful),  and  a  confession  personal  to  my 
self  (which  is,  in  most  cases,  out  of  order).  Shortly  after  receiving  the  invita 
tion  with  which  your  Society  honored  me,  to  address  you  upon  this  occasion,  I 
was  prostrated  by  a  severe  illness;  so  severe,  for  some  time,  as  to  make  it  im 
possible  for  me  to  give  even  a  thought  to  the  matter,  much  less  to  attempt  any 
thing  in  way  of  collecting  and  arranging  historical  notes  from  the  already  well 
gleaned  field  of  Oregon's  Pioneer  period.  When  I  recovered  sufficiently  to  re 
member  that  I  had  engaged  to  entertain  you  for  a  little  while  at  this  reunion, 
but  was  not  yet  able  to  begin  the  collection  of  such  facts  as  might  be  useful  to 
the  future  student  of  the  history  of  Oregon,  and  interesting  to  those  whose 
lives  form  the  story  of  the  infancy  of  our  beloved  commonwealth,  my  first  im 
pulse  was  to  advise  the  officers  of  the  Association  of  my  condition,  and  ask  them 
to  excuse  me  from  appearing  before  you.  But  I  hesitated,  because — and  here 
is  the  confession — I  could  not  easily  give  up  the  wish  to  have  some  active  part 
in  the  recorded  transactions  of  a  Society  composed  entirely  of  the  men  and  wo 
men  of  a  generation  rapidly  passing  away,  in  whose  lives  and  actions  my  youth 
and  early  manhood  saw  its  only  living  models,  and  found,  in  the  main,  all  its 
inspirations;  and  as  there  remained  some  few  weeks  of  time,  I  hoped  still  to 
be  wholly  recovered  in  time  to  prepare  something  that  would  at  least  furnish 
you  with  a  few  moments  of  pleasant  entertainment.  But  health  and  strength 
came  slowly,  and  thus,  day  by  day,  impatiently  hoping  to-morrow  would  find 
me  able  to  do  something  toward  gathering  historical  matter  worth  preserving,  I 
let  the  time  slip  by  until  it  was  too  late  for  your  officers  to  secure  another  to 
fill  my  place.  I  now  realize,  and  am  mortified  to  think  how  much  you  will  re- 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  II 

alize,  in  this  hasty  and  underdone  course  in  your  bill  of  fare,  the  mistake  I 
committed  in  not  acting  promptly  on  the  first  impulse  and  passing  the  task  over 
into  stronger  hands.  It  is  a  sense  of  obligation,  and  not  of  pleasure,  that  pre 
vents  me  from  trusting  your  generosity  to  allow  this  explanation  to  stand  for  the 
whole  address,  and  retiring  at  once. 

After  the  heavy  immigration  of  1853,  there  was  but  slight  increase  of  the 
population  of  Oregon  Territory  until  some  time  after  the  transition  from  terri 
torial  tutelage  to  the  full  dignity  of  Statehood,  which  took  place  February  14, 
1859.  By  the  census  of  1860,  one  year  after  her  admission,  the  population  of 
Oregon  numbered  a  little  over  52,000.  Some  years  before  that  time  the  dis 
covery  had  been  made  that.not  the  extraordinary  fertility  of  the  soil  of  western 
Oregon— which  was  about  the  whole  of  Oregon  in  those  days— nor  the  exceed 
ing  mildness  of  the  climate,  nor  the  perrennial  pasturage  of  the  valleys,  nor 
yet  the  gold  mines  of  the  southern  section,  would  give  wealth  to  any  seeker, 
except  in  exchange  for  sweat  of  brow  or  brain.  A  voyage  of  adventure  brought 
not  back  the  golden  fleece,  and  the  arogaunts  no  longer  poured  over  the  Sierras 
into  California,  nor  overflowed  her  northern  hills  to  seek  fugitive  fortune  in  Ore 
gon.  The  home-builders,  too — blessings  on  them  everywhere  and  forever! — 
whose  caravans,  freighted  with  the  precious  burden  of  wife  and  children  and 
household  goods,  the  lares  and  pennies  of  a  gentler  than  Trojan  race,  had 
whitened  the  desert  with  a  constantly  increasing  stream  direct  to  Oregon,  till 
1852,  and  with  little  falling  off  in  1853,  came  in  smaller  numbers  afterward; 
for  roost  of  the  lands  in  the  Willamette,  Umpqua  and  Rogue  river  valleys, 
which  were  then  and  for  long  years  supposed  to  be  the  only  lands  in  the  terri 
tory  suitable  for  homes,  had  been  occupied.  The  home  builder  of  Oregon  was 
not  a  gold  hunter.  He  was  not  in  any  sense  an  adventurer.  If  he  sought  for 
tune  in  the  mines  while  his  devoted  wife  worked  the  garden,  milked  the  cows, 
and  kept  the  children,  it  was  to  enable  himself  and  her  to  realize  their  dream 
of  home.  To  him  the  seeking  of  gold  was  an  incident,  the  finding  of  adventure 
an  accident.  His  home  once  established — the  primitive  house  constructed,  the 
hearthstone  warmed,  the  well  dug,  and  the  kitchen  provided  with  the  few  and 
simple  necessaries  to  meet  the  few  and  simple  wants  of  the  pioneer  family,  he 
might  go  to  the  gold  fields  with  pick  and  pan,  or,  turning  freighter  and  mer 
chant,  both  in  one,  he  might  deliver  flour  and  bacon,  coarse  clothes  and  mining 
implements  to  the  argonauts  of  northern  California;  but  wheresoever  he  went, 
whatsoever  he  did,  he  always  felt  the  firm,  safe  earth  of  home  beneath  his 
feet. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  who  settled  in  Oregon 


12  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

in  the  pioneer  days;  and  when  from  their  letters,  and  other  sources  of  informa 
tion,  their  friends  and  acquaintances  in  the  States  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
were  advised  that  it  was  no  longer  easy  to  obtain  or  create  better  homes  here 
than  in  the  then  opening  regions  near  the  Mississippi,  the  tide  of  home-builders 
ceased  to  flow  in  any  considerable  volume  into  the  territory.  Meanwhile  the 
mines  of  southern  Oregon,  limited  to  a  comparatively  small  area,  were  fully  oc 
cupied  as  early  as  1852,  and  the  northwest  held  out  no  inducements  to  the  gold 
hunter,  nor  to  the  adventurer.  Thus  it  was  that  the  people  of  the  territory,  at 
the  end  of  the  year  1853,  together  with  their  children  born  in  Oregon,  com 
prised  nearly  the  entire  population  of  the  State  when  admitted  into  the  Union. 

Parenthetically,  I  take  the  liberty  of  remarking  here,  though  not  the  object 
of  referring  to  the  fact  that  in  the  main  the  Oregonians  of  1859  are  identical 
with  the  Oregonians  of  1853,  that  the  admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union 
would  form  a  natural,  convenient  and  conspicuous  landmark  at  which  to  close 
the  pioneer  period;  and  to  add  that  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  Indian 
wars  of  1855-6  do  themselves  constitute  a  just  claim  of  all  who  were  residents 
of  the  territory  at  that  time  to  the  same  position  as  pioneers  with  those,  at 
least,  who  came  subsequently  to  the  establishment  of  the  territorial  govern 
ment  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  August  14,  1848.  There  was  never  anything 
in  the  idea  of  fixing  upon  1849  as  the  end  of  the  pioneer  period,  unless  the  right 
to  be  considered  a  pioneer  of  Oregon  is  a  distinction  arising  from  events  that 
occurred  in  California;  and  I  see  little  in  the  claim  that  an  immigrant  of  1852 
is  more  a  pioneer  than  an  immigrant  of  any  year  between  that  and  the  admis 
sion  of  the  State  into  the  Union.  But  this,  as  before  suggested,  is  merely 
incidental. 

The  class  I  have  denominated  home  builders  comprised  the  vast  majority  of 
the  immigrants  to  Oregon  in  the  pioneer  period.  True,  there  was  a  compara 
tively  small  number  of  mere  adventurers,  most  of  whom  left  the  country  as  so 
ciety  became  settled  and  took  on  the  appearance  of  permanency,  and  a  still 
smaller  proportion  of  aimless,  wandering  spirits,  some  of  whom  left,  while 
others  betook  themselves  to  the  quiet  pursuits  and  steady  habits  of  the  majority, 
married,  established  homes  and  lived  thenceforth  to  a  purpose.  So  the  people 
who  form  the  great  column  of  Oregon  pioneers  to-day  are  they  who  constituted 
the  pillars  of  social  and  civil  government  in  the  infancy  of  the  community  and 
of  its  institutions.  They  are  the  people  whose  energy,  courage  and  constancy 
settled  the  dispute  with  England,  and  made  this  an  American  land,  without 
aid  from  the  United  States  government,  and  left  nothing  for  diplomacy  to  do 
but  to  secure  acceptance  and  ratification  by  Great  Britain  of  an  accomplished 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  13 

fact;  and  those  whose  intelligent  attachment  to  the  principles  of  law  and  order 
and  the  institutions  of  civilized  society  finally  moulded  and  fashioned  the  whole 
some  system  of  laws  under  which  we  live. 

But  the  inference  which  has  been  too  often  drawn  from  these  premises,  that 
the  Oregon  pioneer  was  prompted  to  undertake  the  toilsome  and  weary  march 
across  the  continent,  in  the  face  of  dangers,  seen  and  unseen,  by  a  patriotic  de 
sire  to  save  this  goodly  land  to  the  United  States,  and  plant  the  banner  of  re 
publican  liberty  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  is  contradicted  by  patent  facts  and 
contrary  to  common  reason.  Their  grand  achievements  has  confused  the  reason 
and  misled  the  judgment  of  the  intelligent  writers  and  speakers,  who  have  indi 
rectly  assigned  so  high  a  motive  and  so  great  foresight  as  the  inspiration  that 
sustained  them  through  the  trials  and  hardships  of  the  overland  journey,  and 
through  the  deprivations  and  sacrifices  to  which  they  submitted  with  such 
heroic  cheerfulness  after  reaching  their  destination.  The  truth  is,  and  historic 
criticism  will  so  settle  it,  no  such  thoughts  engaged  the  mind  of  the  early  im 
migrants  or  of  the  later,  till  after  their  pilgrimage  was  accomplished.  When 
they  looked  forward,  as  some  of  the  more  intelligent  of  them  doubtless  did,  to 
the  establishment  of  civil  government  in  the  land,  toward  which  they  had  set 
their  faces,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  in  a  vague  and  indefinite  way  they 
thought  only  of  the  same  sort  of  government  with  which  they  had  been  familiar 
— the  only  sort  in  fact,  of  which  they  had  any  practical  knowledge.  But  they 
were  not  mere  missionaries  of  civil  liberty,  nor  patriots  voluntarily  sacrificing 
themselves  in  unselfish  devotion  to  the  extension  and  aggrandisement  of  their 
mother  land.  To  their  love  of  liberty  and  equality,  and  their  filial  regard  for 
that  form  of  government  under  whose  benign  sway  they  and  their  ancestors  had 
enjoyed  these  blessings,  we  owe  the  fact  that  the  flag  that  floated  over  our  revo 
lutionary  sires  is  nailed  to  the  mast  of  our  own  good  ship.  But  it  was  not  for 
this  they  left  kindred  and  friends  and  native  land  and  turned  their  faces  to  the 
vast  wilderness  which  lay  between  them  and  the  sundown  seas;  not  for  this 
they  toiled  and  suffered  thro'  the  weary  journey,  to  endue  further  hardships  and 
privations  at  its  close.  Their  splendid  achievement  was  the  incident,  not  the 
object,  of  their  migration  to  this  far  away  land  Seeking  a  country  where  the 
restrains  and  compromises  of  civil  and  social  institutions  would  press  less  hard 
upon  individual  freedom,  they  found  an  empire  soon  to  be  the  conquest  of  those 
institutions.  Building  their  primitive  cabins  remote  from  each  other,  with  the 
stream  at  one  side  and  the  wide  meadow  on  which  their  cattle  grazed,  at  the 
other,  they  laid  the  foundation  of  city  and  town  and  villa.  Meeting  in  little 
groups  of  two,  three  or  five  around  their  firesides  and  talking  over  the  incon- 


14  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

veniences  and  perils  of  living  where  there  was  no  law  but  individual  conscience, 
and  no  means  of  repressing  vice  or  protecting  virtue  save  in  the  common  senti 
ments  of  a  people  too  few  and  too  widely  scattered  to  make  their  sentiments  a 
force  sufficient  to  stand  in  place  of  the  sanctions  of  law,  the  earliest  pioneer 
settlers  unconsciously  prepared  the  ground  and  sowed  the  seed  from  which  the 
civil  government  established  by  themselves  on  July  5,  1843,  was  the  first  nar- 
vest;  and  the  constitution  and  laws  under  whose  protection  we  meet  here  to 
day  are  not  to  be  the  last.  They  have  lived  to  see  the  work  which  was  thrust 
upon  them  by  their  surroundings  become  an  enduring  monument  to  commemor 
ate  their  struggles  and  privations,  their  patriotic  intelligence,  their  love  of  jus 
tice  and  good  order,  their  sterling  worth  in  all  the  walks^of  life.  I  may  with- 
out  immodesty  speak  thus  in  praise  of  those  brave  men  and  women,  for  I  claim 
no  part  in  their  fame  save  as  it  is  the  rightful  heritage  of  their  children,  the  pio 
neer  period  having  passed  away  before  I  was  old  enough  to  begin  even  the  re 
hearsal  of  my  little  part  on  the  stage  of  action.  But  speaking  thus  in  praise, 
looking  back  in  admiration  of  their  intrepidity,  intelligence  and  virtue,  I  can 
not  conceal  from  myself  that  manifest  connection  of  events,  which,  viewed  with 
sober  judgment  and  not  through  the  dazzling  halo  of  subsequent  history,  puts 
down  as  mere  romancing  all  the  stories  that  place  the  Oregon  pioneer  on  an 
eminence  of  patriotism  far  above  the  people  of  his  class  in  other  times  and 
countries.  Coming  to  this  remote  and  almost  unknown  clime  with  the  same 
strong  courage  that  has  characterized  the  enterprising  frontiersman  in  all  coun 
tries,  and  with  no  higher  motive  than  those  that  have  actuated  the  pioneers  of 
all  the  other  States,  old  and  new,  he  was  thrown  into  circumstances  that  called 
upon  him  to  act  a  part  which  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events  is  shown  to  have 
been  of  the  utmost  importance,  securing  to  his  country  dominion  over  a  vast 
empire.  He  builded  better  than  he  knew.  Entitled  to  the  loving  remembrance 
of  his  descendants  and  those  who  enjoy  the  blessings  his  toils  and  privations 
purchased,  he  receives  sometimes — and  even  at  intelligent  hands — credit  that 
is  founded  on  no  merit,  praise  which  the  future  historian  of  Oregon,  with  vision 
unbeclouded  by  admiration,  will  pronounce  a  fable. 

Leaving  out  the  small  element  of  gold-hunters  and  the  smaller  one  of  reckless 
adventurers — classes  inconsiderable  in  number  in  comparison  to  the  true  Ore- 
gonian  of  the  earlier  days — the  pioneers  were  strong  and  brave.  "Only  the 
brave  started,  and  only  the  strong  got  through,"  says  Joaquin  Miller,  the  poet 
pioneer  of  Oregon,  whose  fame  as  poet  has  traveled  as  far  as  the  English  lan 
guage.  But  strong  and  brave  though  they  were — I  claim  these  qualities  for  the 
fathers  and  mothers,  leaving  their  children  to  wear  spurs  where  they  have  won 


ANNUAL     ADDRESS.  15 

them — strong  and'brave  though  they  were,  and  home-builders  in  the  texture  of 
their  mental  constitutions,  and  as  to  most  of  them,  in  the  definite  purposes  of 
their  migrations,  they  were  not  of  the  cultured  race  who  loved  the  amenities 
of  polite  society.  The  greater  number  of  them  were  pioneers  by  nature  and 
occupation,  as  their  fathers  had  been  before  them.  In  childhood  the  story  of 
their  ancestors'  migrations  from  the  east  to  the  west,  and  then  to  the  newer 
west  was  their  handbook  of  history.  Homer  and  Virgil,  of  whom  few  of  them 
had  ever  heard,  could  have  rehearsed  no  epic  halffso  thrilling  to  their  ears  as 
the  narratives  of  daring  adventure  and  hair-breadth  escape,  which,  half  true 
and  half  false,  ever  form  the  thread  of  frontier  history.  They  knew  nothing  of 
Hector  and  Achilles,  but  they  knew  of  Daniel  Boone,  who,  Lord  Byron  said, 
"Was  happiest  among  mortals  anywhere," 

Whom  civilization  drove  out  of  Pennsylvania  by  destroying  the  red  deer  and  the 
black  bear,  and  who,  after  some  years  of  solid  comfort  in  his  log  cabin  amid 
the  wilds  of  Kentucky,  was  again  persued  and  overtaken  by  the  same  relentless 
enemy  and  compelled  to  retire  into  the  Missouri  wilderness,  beyond  the  Miss 
issippi;  and  who,  even  in  that  distant  retreat,  was  soon  forced  to  say  to  his 
friend  and  companion,  according  to  current  anecdote,  "I  was  compelled  to 
leave  Kentucky  because  people  came  and  settled  so  close  around  me  I  had  no 
room  to  breathe.  I  thought  when  I  came  out  here  I  should  be  allowed  to  live 
in  peace;  but  that  is  all  over  now.  A  man  has  taken  up  a  farm  right  over 
there,  within  twenty-five  miles  of  my  door."  Of  Boone,  and  such  as  Boone, 
most  of  them  who  founded  the  commonwealth  of  Oregon  knew  much  more  than 
of  the  great  names  of  literature,  statesmanship  or  arms,  and  their  minds  dwelt 
fondly  on  the  exploits  of  the  frontiersman,  whether  in  contests  with  the  savages 
or  in  the  chase.  More  familiar  with  the  log  cabin  than  with  the  palace,  with 
the  rifle  than  with  the  spindle  and  loom,  with  the  saddle  than  with  the  railway, 
they  felt  cramped  when  the  progress  of  empire  in  its  westward  way  put  restraint 
upon  those  habits  of  life  to  which  they  were  accustomed.  The  picture  of 
Boon's  life  drawn  by  Byron  was  but  a  more  distinct  representation  of  what  lay 
unexpressed  in  their  lives  and  longings  : 

"Crime  came  not  near  him,  she  is  not  the  child 

Of  Solitude;  Health  shrank  not  from  him,  for 
Her  home  is  in  the  rarely-trodden  wild, 

Where'if  men  seek  her  not  and  death  be  more 
Their  choice  than  life,  forgive  them,  as  beguiled 

By  habit  to  what  their  own  hearts  abhor — 
In  cities  caged.    The  present  case  in  point  I 

Cite  is  that  Boone  lived  in  hunting  up  to  ninety." 


l6  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

And,  what's  still  stranger,  left  behind  a  name 
For  which  men  vainly  decimate  the  throng; 
Not  only  famous,  but  of  that  good  fame 

Without  which  glory  is  but  a  tavern  song- 
Simple,  serene,  the  antipodes  of  shame, 

Which  hate  nor  envy  could  e'er  could  tinge  with  wrong — 
An  active  hermit;  even  in  age  a  child  of  Nature. 


'Tis  true  he  shrank  from  men.feven  of  his  nation; 

When  they  built  up  unto  his  darling  trees, 
He  moved  some  hundred  miles  off  for  a  station 

Where  there  were  fewer  houses  and  more  ease. 
The  inconvenience  of  civilization 

Is,  that  you  neither  can  be  pleased  nor  please; 
But,  when  he  met  the  individual  man, 
He  showed  himself  as  kind  as  mortal  can. 

He  was  not  all  alone;  around  him  grew 

A  sylvan  tribe  of  children  of  the  chase, 
Whose  young,  unwakened  world  was  ever  new; 

Nor  sword  nor  sorrow  yet  had  left  a  trace 
On  her  unwrinkled  brow ;  nor  could  you  view 

A  frown  on  nature's  or  on  human  face; 
The  free-born  forest  found  and  kept  them  free, 
And  fresh  as  is  a  torrent  or  a  tree. 

And  tall,  and  strong,  and  swift  of  foot  were  they— 

Beyond  the  dwarfing  city's  pale  abortions, 
Because  their  thoughts  had  never  been  the  prey 

Of  care  or  gain;  the  green  woods  were  their  portions. 
No  sinking  spirits  told  them  they  grew  grey ; 

No  fashion  made  them  apes  of  her  distortions; 
Simple  they  were,  not  savage;  and  their  rifles, 
Though  very  true,  were  not  yet  used  for  trifles. 

Motion  was  in  their  days,  rest  in  their  slumbers, 

And  cheerfulness  the  handmaid  of  their  toils, 
Nor  yet  too  many  nor  too  few  their  numbers; 

Corruption  could  not  make  their  hearts  her  soil; 
The  Just  which  stings,  the  splendor  which  encumbers, 

With  the  free  foresters  divide  no  spoil: 
Serene,  not  sullen,  were  the  solitudes 

Of  this  unsighing  people  of  the  woods. 

Such  was  the  picture  floating  vague  and  nebulous  in  the  minds  of  many  of 
the  pioneer  immigrants  from  their  childhood.     The  hunt,  forest  and  stream, 


ANNUAL     ADDRESS.  17 

cattle  roaming  unrestrained  over  the  meads,  freedom  and  action,  broad  lands — 
this  was  the  lure  they  followed  across  the  wide  extended  desert  and  through 
the  dark  forest  to  the  Willamette;  and  I  know  there  are  those  present  to-day 
whose  minds  dwell  affectionately  on  the  memory  of  that  brief  period,  full  of 
hardship  and  not  without  actual  suffering,  during  which  the  vision  was  a  reality. 
How  they  turned  their  faces  and  bent  their  steps  to  the  mountains  and  prairies 
of  eastern  Oregon,  as  their  Willamette  homes  were  invaded  by  the  influence 
the  town,  and  their  livelihood  came  to  depend  on  orderly  and  economical  farm 
ing!  Deep  down,  under  the  giving  up  of  the  homes  they  built  at  first  and 
around  which  affectionate  memories  clustered,  there  was  something  more  than 
the  desire  to  make  money;  there  was  a  feeling  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction, 
with  the  pressure  that  came  when  they  were  overtaken  by  the  telegraph  and 
the  railway. 

A  western  orator,  flying  the  American  eagle  in  upper  heavens  on  Independ 
ence  Day,  observed  very  near  him  a  man  with  a  slightly  aquiline  cast  of  coun 
tenance,  which  he  at  once  recognized  as  that  of  a  foreign-born  individual.  The 
stranger  was  paying  such  attention  to  his  eloquence  as  indicated  lively  appre 
ciation.  The  orator  addressed  him  directly  somewhat  in  this  wise:  "My  for 
eign  friend  who  sits  before  me  would  testify  that  even  across  the  Atlantic  the 
people  are  looking  to  the  stars  and  stripes  as  the  source  of  their  ultimate  deliv 
erance  from  kingly  tyranny.  You  left  the  fatherland  and  braved  the  storms  of 
the  surging  seas  in  order  that  you  might  enjoy  the  blessings  of  liberty  under  the 
segis  of  this  ever  glorious  old  flag,  did  you  not,  my  foreign  friend?" 
"Veil,  no,  mein  freund,"  answered  the  man  with  the  foreign  face,  who  had  not 
been  long  in  America  and  had  a  little  hatchet  in  his  breast  pocket.  "I  can 
nicht  dell  you  no  lies;  and  to  dell  de  drood  Ich  come  to  dis  coundry  to  sell 
scheap  ready-made  clodings." 

The  orator  made  the  same  mistake  that  some  of  the  eulogists  of  the  Oregon 
pioneers  make;  nevertheless  the  foreign  individual  got  naturalized,  made  an  ex 
emplary  and  enterprising  citizen,  served  his  State  well  in  the  Legislature  and 
was  Mayor  of  a  city  in  which  for  a  generation  his  children  were  the  controlling 
people.  The  application  is  plain  and  the  parallel  perfect. 

I 'have  dwelt  thus  at  length  upon  the  character  and  purposes  of  the  pioneer 
immigrants  because  it  seems  not  well  that  a  story — even  by  implication — which 
has  its  only  precedent  in  the  charming  fable  -about  "Pious  yEneas,"  should 
go  down  unchallenged  to  the  future  historian,  to  cast  discredit  on  a  record  that 
has  truth  enough  in  it  to  place  the  Oregon  pioneer  in  the  high  niche  to  which 
he  is  justly  entitled.  A  little,  band  of  fifty  thousand  people,  who,  after  a  third 


l8  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

of  a  century  has  passed  away  and  the  population  of  the  country  has  increased 
to  more  than  200  ooo — after  the  telegraph  and  the  railway,  in  hands  of  "new 
comers,"  have  come  among  them,  revolutionizing  business  and  changing  the 
geography  of  the  earth's  surface — can  still  say  that  out  of  seven  Governors 
which  the  State  has  had,  they  have  furnished  six;  an  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States;  out  of  twelve  Senators,  nine;  out  of  twelve  Congressmen, 
eleven;  n  majority  in  every  Legislature,  and  nearly  all  the  Judges  of  the  Su 
preme  and  Circuit  Courts,  besides  a  Judge  of  the  United  States  Court,  distin 
guished  throughout  the  Republic,  is  not  in  need  of  poetic  fictions  to  bolster  up 
their  claim  to  strength  of  character,  intelligence  and  zeal  in  serving  the 
public. 

Many  of  the  immigrants,  too,  were  poor  people  before  they  came  to  Oregon, 
and,  as  they  were  of  a  race  who  knew  not  the  ways  of  the  city  nor  how  to 
live  unless  upon  a  plat  of  land  they  could  call  their  own,  they  came  simply  to 
better  their  condition  in  that  respect — to  "get  a  chance  in  the  world;"  and 
some,  young  and  possessing  education  enough  to  make  them  aspire  to  leader 
ship,  saw  in  the  settlement  of  Oregon  a  field  for  future  operations — knew  they 
could  make'and  hold  their  places,  no  matter  under  what  form  of  government. 
But  only  the  pioneer  missionary,  Dr.  Whitman,  appears  to  have  had  clear 
views  from  the  first  of  the  possibilities  of  the  northwest  and  its  importance  as  a 
part  of  the  United  States.  He  and  Thomas  H.  Bcnton  were  the  prophets  of 
Oregon.  The  story  of  Whitman's  far-seeing  efforts  to  make  this  an  American 
country  has  been  so  often  told  that  it  is  familiar  to  Oregonians.  Benton  had  as 
clear  a  vision  of  the  future  of  Oregon  as  did  Whitman.  When  Calhoun  thought 
it  not  best  to  insist  upon  our  right  to  the  country  against  the  claim  of  Great 
Britain,  characterizing  Oregon  as  a  "Go  -forsaken  Asiatic  region,"  the  great 
Missourian  was  swift  to  take  up  the  challenge;  and  he  was  always  and  in 
every  emergency,  either  in  the  United  States  Senate  or  in  other  places,  the  fast 
friend  of  the  Oregon  pioneers.  A  letter  written  by  the  old  "Emperor  of  Mis 
souri"  a  year  before  Congress  passed  the  act  establishing  the  territorial  govern 
ment,  I  cannot  refrain  from  presenting  in  full,  as  it  exhibits  not  only  his  love 
for  and  faith  in  Oregon,  but  his  views  upon  a  question  which  was  destined  soon 
to  agitate  the  people  of  the  Territory,  and  later  to  make  the  National  Govern 
ment  tremble  from  center  to  circumference  with  the  shock  of  war: 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  March,  1847. 

My  friends  (for  such  I  may  call  many  of  you  from  personal  acquaintance,  all 
of  you  from  my  thirty  years'  devotion  to  the  interest  of  your  country) — I  think 
it  right  to  make  this  communication  to  you  at  the  present  moment  when  the 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  IQ 

adjournment  of  Congress,  without  passing  the  bill  for  your  government  and 
protection,  seems  to  have  left  you  in  a  state  of  abandonment  by  your  mother 
country.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  You  are  not  abandoned!  Nor  will  you  be 
denied  protection  unless'you  agree  to  admit  slavery.  I,  a  man  of  the  south, 
and  a  slaveholder,  tell  you  this. 

The  House  of  Representatives,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  January,  had  passed 
the  bill  to  give  you  a  territorial  government;  and  in  that  bill  had  sanctioned 
and  legalized  your  Provisional  Organic  Act,  one  of  the  clauses  of  which  forever 
prohibited  the  existence  of  slavery  vin  Oregon. 

An  amendment  from  the  Senate's  committee,  to  which  this  bill  was  referred, 
proposed  to  abrogate  that  prohibition;  and  in  the  delays  and  vexations  to  which 
that  amendment  gave  rise,  the  whole  bill  was  laid  upon  the  table  and  lost  for 
the  session.  This  will  be  a  great  disappointment  to  you  and  a  real  calamity, 
already  five  years  without  law  or  legal  institutions  for  the  protection  of  life, 
liberty  and  property,  and  now  doomed  to  wait  a  year  longer.  This  is  a  strange 
and  anomalous  condition,  almost  incredible  to  contemplate  and  most  critical  to 
endure!  A  colony  of  free  men,  4,000  miles  from- the  metropolitan  government 
to  preserve  them!  But  do  not  be  alarmed  or  desperate.  You^will  not  be  out 
lawed  for  not  admitting  slavery. 

Your  fundamental  act  against  that  institution,  copied  from  the  Ordinance  of 
1847  (the  work  of  the  great  men  of  the  South,  in  the  great  day  of  the  South, 
prohibiting  slavery  in  a  territory  far  less  northern  than  yours)  will  not  be  abro 
gated!  Nor  is  that  the  intention  of  the  prime  mover  of  the  amendment.  Upon 
the  record  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Senate  is  the  author  of  that  amend 
ment,  but  not  so  the  fact.  It  is  only  midwife  to  it.  Its  author  is  the  same  mind 
that  generated  the  "Fire  Brand  Resolutions,"  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy,  and 
of  which  the  amendment  is  the  legitimate  derivation.  Oregon  is  not  the  object. 
The  most  rabid  propagandist  of  slavery  cannot  expect  to  plant  it  on  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific  in  the  latitude  of  Wisconsin  and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  A 
home  agitation  for  election  and  disunion  purposes,  is  all  that  is  intended  by 
thrusting  this  fire  brand  question  into  your  bill  kas  it  ought  to  be.  I  promise 
you  this  in  the  name  of  the  South,  as  well  as  of  the  North;  and  the  event  will 
not  deceive  me.  In  the  meantime,  the  President  will  give  you  all  the  protec 
tion  which  existing  laws  can  enable  him  to  extend  to  you,  and  until  Congress 
has  time  to  act,  your  friends  must  rely  upon  you  to  continue  to  govern  your 
selves  as  you  have  heretofore  done  under  the  provisions  of  your  own  voluntary 
compact,  and  with  the  justice,  harmony  and  moderation  which  is  due  to  your 
own  character  and  to  the  honor  of  the  American  name. 


20  ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

I  send  you,  by  Mr.  Shively,  a  copy  of  the  bill  of  the  late  session,  both  as  it 
passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  as  proposed  to  be  amended  in  the  Sen 
ate,  with  the  Senate's  vote  upon  laying  it  on  the  table,  and  a  copy  of  Mr.  Cal- 
houn's  resolutions  (posterior  in  date  to  the  amendment,  but  nevertheless  its 
father) ;  also  a  copy  of  your  own  Provisional  Organic  Act,  printed  by  order  of 
the  Senate;  all  of  which  will  put  you  completely  in  possession  of  the  proceed 
ings  of  Congress  on  your  petition  for  a  territorial  government,  and  for  the  pro- 
tection  and  security  of  your  rights. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  to  assure  you  that  the  same  spirit  which  has  made  me 
the  friend  of  Oregon  for  thirty  years — which  led  me  to  denounce  the  joint  occu 
pation  treaty  the  day  it  was  made  and  to  oppose  its  renewal  in  1828,  and  to  la 
bor  for  its  abrogation  until  it  was  terminated;  the  same  spirit  which  led  me  to 
reveal  the  grand  destiny  of  Oregon  in  articles  written  in  1818,  and  to  support 
every  measure  for  her  benefit  since — this  same  spirit  still  animates  me  and  will 
continue  to  do  so  while  I  live — which  I  hope  will  be  long  enough  to  see  an  em 
porium  of  Asiatic  commerce  at  the  mouth  of  your  river  and  a  stream  of  Asiatic 
trade  pouring  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  through  the  channel  of  Oregon. 
Your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 

Mr.  Benton  lived  to  see  a  State  Constitution  framed  and  adopted  by  the  pio 
neer  people  of  Oregon,  by  which  the  slavery  question  was  settled  in  accordance 
with  his  wishes.  The  Constitution  was  adopted  November  7,  1857,  and  Benton 
died  April  10,  1858 — nearly  a  year  prior  to  the  admission  of  the  State  into  the 
Union. 

As  the  mind  lingers  on  the  passing  panorama  of  pioneer  days,  it  seems  as  if 
we  were  thinking  of  some  period  in  the  remote  past — that  the  deeds  and  scenes 
that  pass  before  us  could  not  be  those  in  which  men  and  women  still  among  us 
were  the  actors.  The  change  that  has  come  over  the  face  of  the  country,  the 
cities  that  have  sprung  up,  with  their  palaces  and  colleges  and  churches,  the 
noisy  throng  that  moves  and  surges  up  and  down  the  thoroughfares  of  trade, 
the  rumble  of  the  locomotive  and  shriek  of  the  steam  whistle— all  call  us  into 
another  age,  and  the  story  that  has  been  represented  on  the  canvas  is  the  legend 
of  the  long-fled  past. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that  those  assembled  here  are  the  same  men  and  women 
whose  deeeds  make  the  record  found  in  the  archives  of  your  Association.  Many 
have,  indeed,  gone  over  to  the  great  silent  majority,  whence'  they  send  back  no 
word  to  guide  us  along  the  dark  way  they  have  trodden;  but  many  of  the  very 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

earliest  immigrants  are  still  among  us  with  strength  and  vigor  for  further  ser 
vice.  They  have  taken  their  places  in  the  progressive  ranks  of  the  new  age 
and  are  still  abreast  of  their  times.  Your  President,  however,  crossed  the  plains 
earlier  than  any  other  man  who  has  ever  occupied  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  Gov.  John  Bidwell,  of  California,  once  a  member  of  the 
House,  is  the  only  man  crossing  before  him  who  has  served  in  either  branch  of 
Congress.  Nesmith  crossed  in  1843,  Bidwell  in  1841. 

Your  historic  records,  fellow  pioneers,  do  no  justice  to  the  pioneer  women  of 
Oregon.  Excepting  some  general  tributes  to  their  noble  sacrifices  and  patient 
help  in  the  trying  scenes  through  which  the  immigrants  were  called  to  pass, 
little  has  been  done  toward  gathering  up  and  preserving  a  record  of  their  part 
in  the  drama.  Th-ry  are  deserving  of  something  better.  You  had  the  posts 
that  attract  general  attention;  theirs  it  was  to  do  and  suffer  in  comparative  ob 
scurity.  But  they  met  the  trials  and  vicissitudes  of  their  hard  position  with 
more  than  man's  fortitude  and  patience.  I  do  not  know  there  ever  was  a  life 
ennobled  by  high  purpose  and  worthy  performance  but  was  inspired  and  sus 
tained  by  a  noble  women;  but  I  do  know  the  pioneer  women  of  Oregon  were 
felt  as  a  sustaining  power  in  all  the  struggles  and  privations  of  the  early  days, 
and  that  many  a  time  they  bore  the  greater  hardships  themselves.  It  ought  to 
be  a  labor  of  love  for  some  capable  hand  to  gather  up  the  scattered  materials 
and  erect  a  monument  to  the  pioneer  mothers  of  Oregon.  Year  by  year  their 
ranks  are  decimated  by  the  hand  of  death,  and  the  task  of  raising  a  fitting 
monument  is  becoming  more  and  more  difficult,  for  there  is  no  written  record 
of  their  lives.  In  loving,  virtuous,  unostentatious  labors  for  the  happiness  of 
others  have  their  lives  been  spent,  and  their  story  will  never  be  told  unless  it  is 
first  obtained  from  living  witnesses. 

These  desultory  remarks  are  closed.  The  past  is  behind  us.  Around  us  is 
the  busy  present,  demanding  nerve  and  action;  before  us  the  future,  challeng 
ing  faith  and  hope.  To  live  too  much  in  the  past  is  to  die;  to  love  the  present 
too  well  is  to  become  selfish  and  sordid;  to  expect  too  much  of  the  future  is  to 
dream.  But  contrasting  the  past  with  the  present,  and  noting  the  progress  of 
our  own  times,  it  seems  impossible  that  imagination  can  dream  a  dream  too 
dazzling  for  realization.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  our  children. that  there 
shall  be  no  lagging  behind.  The  world  moves  on,  whether  we  will  it  so  or 
not;  and  it  will  be  as  truthfully  said  hereafter  of  the  sharp  contests  of  this  stir 
ring  period,  on  which  we  are  now  entering,  as  it  was  of  the  march  across  the 
desert,  ''Only  the  brave  started,  and  only  the  strong  got  through." 


SOUTHERN  OREGON  NAMES  AND  EVENTS. 


BY 
HON.  MATTHEW    P.  DEADY. 


(Daily  Oregonian,  December  7,  1883.) 

The  correspondence  published  in  the  Daily  Oregonian  by  "Pioneer,"  Colo 
nel  Nesmith  and  Mr.  C.  Fullerton,  on  the  I5th  and  23d  of  November,  con 
cerning  the  origin  of  the  name  of  the  creek,  which,  running  west  between  the 
two  stony  ridges  in  the  northern  part  of  Jackson  county,  called  "Grave  Creek 
Hills,"  crosses  the  old  trail  and  road  between  Oregon  and  California  and  empties 
into  Rogue  River  about  twenty  miles  from  there,  tempts  me  to  add  something 
by  way  of  addition  and  correction,  but  not  controversy. 

The  first  immigration  that  entered  Oregon  from  the  south  was  the  ill-fated 
one  of  1846.  Among  the  number  was  a  young  woman  named  Leland  Crowley. 
She  died  at  the  crossing  of  this  creek,  and  was  buried  there  by  her  family  and 
friends,  who  took  the  precaution,  as  I  am  informed  by  an  eye  witness  of  the 
scene,  to  burn  brush  over  her  grave  and  then  corral  the  cattle  upon  it,  so  as  to 
prevent  the  Indians  from  discovering  and  opening  it  upon  the  supposition  that 
it  was  a  cache. 

Thereafter  the  travel  on  this  trail  increased,  particularly  after  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California,  in  1848;  and  this  beautiful  stream,  which  was  a  favorite 
camping  place,  from  the  circumstance  of  this  lone  grave  upon  its  bank,  came 
to  be  called  "Grave  Creek,"  and  the  noted  ridges  on  either  side  of  it  the 
"Grave  Creek  Hills." 

In  the  winter  of  1853-4,  the  Territorial  Legislature  engaged  somewhat  in  the 
business  of  changing  the  names  of  places  and  streams.  For  instance,  Marys- 
ville  was  changed  to  Corvallis  ;  Albany  to  Takenah ;  Rogue  River  to  Gold 
River,  and  Salem  came  within  one  vote,  I  believe,  of  being  changed  to  Che- 
meketa,  the  old  Indian  name  for  the  creek  on  which  the  Mission  mill  was  built 
and  the  Wallamet  woolen  mill  was  afterwards  erected. 

On  January  6,  1854,  an  act  was  passed  declaring  "That  the  creek  commonly 


SOUTHERN  OREGON  NAMES  AND  EVENTS.          23 

called  'Grave  Creek'  be  changed  to  the  name  of  Leland  Creek,  in  memory  of 
Miss  Leland  Crowley." 

The  bill  for  this  act  was  introduced  into  the  Council  on  January  5,  1854,  by 
Judge  Fulkerson  of  Polk  county  ;  and  the  Statesman  of  the  loth  of  that  month, 
in  its  report  of  the  legislative  proceedings,  contains  the  following  reference  to  it: 

"Mr.  Fulkerson  moved  to  change  the  name  of  Grave  Creek  to  Leland  Creek, 
in  honor  of  Miss  Leland  Crowley,  a  lady  who  died  and  was  buried  on  the  said 
creek  from  the  first  emigration  that  ever  camped  upon  it.  It  originally  took  its 
name  from  this  circumstance." 

I  first  saw  this  isolated  and  romantic  spot  on  Saturday,  September  3,  1853. 

There  had  been  a  sudden  Indian  outbreak  on  the  upper  Rogue  River  in  Au 
gust  of  that  year,  which  had,  so  far,  ended  in  a  fight  and  a  truce  at  Battle  or 
Evans  Creek,  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  in  which  the  Indians  were  led  by 
Chief  Joseph  and  the  whites  by  General  Joseph  Lane. 

On  September  I,  I  left  my  farm  in  the  Umpqua  and  started  for  Jacksonville 
on  horseback,  to  hold  the  United  States  District  Court  there.  At  the  Umpqua 
canyon  I  overtook  Lieutenant,  new  ex-Senator,  Grover,  with  the  advance  of 
Colonel  Nesmith's  company,  hastening  to  the  scene  of  war.  He  shared  his 
blankets  with  me  that  night  on  the  bank  of  the  South  Umpqua.  The  next  night 
we  slept  at  Levens',  on  Cow  Creek,  after  a  day  of  drenching  rain.  Late  on  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  the  third,  I  left  Levens' — Grover  remaining  behind  to 
await  a  portion  of  his  command. 

At  Grave  Creek  I  stopped  to  feed  my  horse  and  get  something  to  eat.  There 
was  a  house  there,  called  the  "Bates  House,"  after  the  man  who  kept  it.  It 
was  a  rough  wooden  structure  without  a  floor,  and  had  an  immense  clapboard 
funnel  at  one  end,  which  served  as  a  chimney.  There  was  no  house  or  settle 
ment  within  ten  or  twelve  miles  or  more  of  it. 

There  I  found  Captain  J.  K.  Lamerick,  in  command  of  a  company  of  volun 
teers.  It  seems  he  had  been  sent  there  by  General  Lane  after  the  fight  at  Battle 
Creek,  on  account  of  the  murder  of  some  Indians  there,  of  which  he  and 
others  gave  me  the  following  account  : 

Bates  and  some  others  had  induced  a  small  party  of  peaceable  Indians,  who 
belonged  in  that  vicinity,  to  enter  into  an  engagement  to  remain  at  peace  with 
the  whites  during  the  war  which  was  going  on  at  some  distance  from  them,  and 
by  way  of  ratification  of  this  treaty,  invited  them  to  partake  of  a  feast  in  an 
unoccupied  log  house  just  across  the  road  from  the  "Bates  House,"  and  while 


24         SOUTHERN  OREGON  NAMES  AND  EVENTS. 

they  were  partaking,  unarmed,  of  this  proffered  hospitality,  the  door  was  sud 
denly  fastened  upon  them,  and  they  were  deliberately  shot  down  through  the 
cracks  between  the  logs  by  their  treacherous  hosts. 

Near  by,  and  probably  a  quarter  of  a  mile  this  side  of  the  creek,  I  was 
shown  a  large  round  hole  into  which  the  bodies  of  these  murdered  Indians  had 
been  unceremoniously  tumbled.  I  did  not  see  them,  for  they  were  covered  with 
fresh  earth.  Doubtless  this  is  the  grave  which  Col.  Nesmith  saw  as  he  came 
along  some  days  later  with  his  company  on  the  way  south,  and  which  I  think 
he  mistook  for  the  old  grave  of  Miss  Crowley.  At  least  this  is  how  these  In 
dians  came  to  their  death.  There  was  no  fight  there,  or  thereabout,  with  any 
Indians,  and  never  had  been.  Fitzgerald  and  his  dragoons  were  not  there; 
and  he  did  not  even  come  to  this  country  until  the  summer  of  1855. 

About  this  same  time,  these  same  parties  by  some  device  captured  an  Indian 
chief  and  his  boy,  and  agreed  with  the  boy  that  if  he  would  go  into  the  moun 
tains  and  hunt  down  an  Indian  chief  who  had  refused  to  come  in  and  treat  with 
them,  and  bring  in  his  head,  they  would  liberate  his  father,  otherwise  they  said 
they  would  kill  him.  The  filial  young  savage,  for  his  father's  sake,  undertook 
the  task,  and  taking  his  rifle  went  alone  upon  the  trail  of  the  old  chief,  and  in 
due  time  returned  with  his  head  a  la  Judith,  which  Bates  hung  by  the  hair  to 
the  roof-tree  of  his  house,  as  an  Indian  trophy,  where  I  saw  it  with  my  own 
eyes.  But  this  was  not  all.  Instead  of  liberating  the  captive,  they  killed  both 
him  and  his  son.  Bates  left  the  country  soon  after,  and  went,  as  I  understood 
to  South  America.  The  place  passed  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  James  Twogood, 
who  afterward  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Harkness,  made  it  a  famous  resting 
place  for  man  and  beast. 

From  1853  to  1859  I  passed  there  on  my  way  to  and  from  Jacksonville,  to 
hold  court,  from  four  to  six  times  a  year;  and  I  either  took  dinner  or  slept  there 
each  time;  and  I  never  heard  the  story  of  the  massacre  of  these  Indians,  as  I 
have  related  it,  questioned  by  any  one,  though  I  have  spoken  of  it  often. 

On  that  same  Saturday,  I  rode  in  the  afternoon  from  Grave  Creek  to  Dr.  Am 
brose's  at  the  Dardenelles,  as  it  was  then  called,  but  now  Rock  Point,  accom 
panied  by  a  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  Stephens  of  this  county,  as  a  guide  who  then 
belonged  to  Captain  Lamerick's  company.  The  next  morning,  Sunday,  I  rode 
with  Dr.  Ambrose  to  General  Lane's  headquarters  on  Rogue  River,  about  twelve 
miles  north  of  Jacksonville,  with  the  expectation  of  accompanying  him  and  his 
party  to  meet  Chief  Joseph  and  his  warriors  for  a  "peace  talk,"  as  arranged  at 
he  truce  at  Battle  Creek,  on  the  24th  of  August.  When  I  reached  the  camp  I 


SOUTHERN  OREGON  NAMES  AND  EVENTS.          25 

found  the  General  had  gone,  but  I  followed  alone  and  was  present  at  the  pow 
wow  where  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  settled.  The  final  execution  of  the 
instrument  was  postponed  until  the  roth,  because  I  informed  Lane  that  I  had 
left  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  General  Palmer,  at  Hardy  EllifTs,  on 
Friday,  and  that  he  would  certainly  be  up  in  a  few  days,  and  was  authorized  to 
make  a  general  treaty,  including  cession  of  lands,  reservations  and  the  like. 

The  scene  of  the  famous  "peace  talk"  between  Joseph  Lane  and  Indian  Jos 
eph — two  men  who  had  so  lately  met  in  mortal  combat — was  worthy  of  the  pen 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott  and  the  pencil  of  Salvator  Rosa. 

It  was  on  a  narrow  bench  of  a  long,  gently  sloping  hill,  lying  over  against 
the  noted  bluff  called  Table  Rock.  The  ground  was  thinly  covered  with  ma 
jestic  old  pines  and  rugged  oaks,  with  here  and  there  a  clump  of  green  oak 
bushes.  About  a  half  mile  above  the  bright  mountain  stream  that  threaded  the 
narrow  valley  below  sat  the  two  chiefs  in  council.  Lane  was  in  fatigue  dress, 
the  arm  which  was  wounded  at  Buena  Vista  in  a  sling  from  a  fresh  bullet  wound 
received  at  Battle  Creek.  Indian  Joseph,  tall,  grave  and  self-possessed,  wore 
a  long  black  robe  over  his  ordinary  dress.  By  his  side  sat  Mary,  his  favorite 
child  and  faithful  companion,  then  a  comparatively  handsome  young  woman, 
unstained  with  the  vices  of  civilization.  Around  these,  sat  on  the  grass  Captain 
A.  J.  Smith — now  General  Smith  of  St.  Louis — who  had  just  arrived  from  Port 
Orford  with  his  company  of  the  First  Dragoons;  Captain  Alvord,  then  engaged 
in  the  construction  of  a  military  road  through  the  Umpqua  Canyon,  and  since 
Paymaster  General  of  the  U.  S.  A.;  Colonel  Bill  Martin  of  Umpqua,  Colonel 
John  E.  Ross  of  Jacksonville,  Captain,  now  Gen.  John  F.  Miller,  and  a  few 
others.  A  short  distance  above  us  on  the  hillside  were  some  hundreds  of 
dusky  warriors  in  fighting  gear,  reclining  quietly  on  the  ground. 

The  day  was  beautiful.  To  the  east  of  us  rose  abruptly  Table  Rock,  and 
at  its  base  stood  Smith's  dragoons,  waiting  anxiously  with  hand  on  horse  the 
issue  of  this, attempt  to  make  peace  without  their  aid. 

After  a  proposition  was  discussed  and  settled  between  the  two  chiefs,  the  In 
dian  would  rise  up  and  communicate  the  matter  to  a  huge  warrior  who  reclined 
at  the  foot  of  a  tree  quite  near  us.  Then  the  latter  rose  up  and  communicated 
the  matter  to  the  host  above  him,  and  they  belabored  it  back  and  forth  with 
many  voices.  Then  the  warrior  communicated  the  thought  of  the  multitude 
on  the  subject  back  to  his  chief  ;  and  so  the  discussion  went  on  until  an  under 
standing  was  finally  reached. 


26          SOUTHERN  OREGON  NAMES  AND  EVENTS. 

Then  we  separated — the  Indians  going  back  to  their  mountain  retreat,  and 
the  whites  to  the  camp. 

That  evening  I  rode  up  to  Jacksonville  through  what  I  thought  was  the  most 
picturesque  valley  I  ever  saw.  The  next  morning  I  opened  in  due  form  the 
United  States  District  Court  for  the  County  of  Jackson— the  first  court  that  was 
ever  held  in  Oregon  south  of  the  Umpqua — and  the  word  of  the  law  superseded 
the  edge  of  the  sword. 


GEN.   EDWARD    HAMILTON, 


(From  the  Daily  Oregonian,  December,  14,  1883.) 


BY  JUDGE  MATTHEW  P.  DEADY. 

This  distinguished  citizen  and  pioneer  breathed  his  last  at  his  residence  in 
this  city  on  Wednesday  night,  the  loth  instant,  and  will  be  buried  from  Trinity 
Church  at  II  o'clock  to-day. 

He  was  born  in  Culpepper  county,  Virginia,  on  October  3,  1801,  and  was 
therefore  in  his  83d  year  when  he  died.  He  studied  law  in  Virginia,  and  was 
there  admitted  to  the  bar.  Prior  to  1830  he  moved  to  Ohio,  and  in  that  year 
married  Katherine  Royer,  and  settled  at  Portsmouth  in  that  State,  where  he 
lived  until  he  came  to  Oregon  in  1850.  During  this  time  he  edited  and  pub 
lished  the  Portsmouth  Tribune  a  Whig  paper  of  note  in  its  day  and  locality, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  that  commenced  the  work  of  Ohio's  mag- 
nificent  State  Capitol. 

When  war  was  declared  with  Mexico,  like  many  other  whigs,  his  patriotism 
got  the  better  of  his  politics,  and  he  volunteered  and  served  in  the  first  Ohio 
regiment  as  captain  of  a  company  of  his  fellow  townsmen. 

He  was  with  General  Taylor  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  participated  in  the  des 
perate  assault  of  some  days  on  Monterey,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  by 
6500  Americans,  mostly  untrained  volunteers,  of  a  strongly  fortified  and  stone 
built  town,  defended  by  10,000  regular  troops. 

In  response  to  this  heroic  action  a  shout  of  triumph  and  admiration  went  up 
through  the  United  States,  the  echo  of  which  is  well  preserved  in  Charles  Fenno 
Hoffman's  "Monterey,"  beginning  : 

We  were  not  many — we  who  stood 

Before  the  iron  sleet  that  day; 
Yet  many  a  gallant  spirit  would 
Give  half  his  years  if  but  he  could 

Have  been  with  us  at  Monterey. 


28  GEN.    EDWARD    HAMILTON. 

And  ending : 

We  are  not  many— we  who  pressed 

Beside  the  brave  who  fell  that  day; 
But  who  of  ne  has  not  confessed 
We'd  rather  share  their  warrior  rest 

Than  not  have  been  at  Monterey. 

In  1848  General  Hamilton  was  a  delegate  to  the  Whig  General  Convention 
that  met  at  Philadelphia  aud  nominated  General  Taylor  for  the  Presidency. 
He,  alone,  of  the  delegates  from  Ohio,  supported  Taylor  from  the  start. 

In  September,  1849,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Taylor  Secretary  of  the 
Territory  of  Oregon,  and  temoved  here  with  his  wife  and  daugher  Genevieve — 
now  Mrs.  Lloyd  Brooke.  They  were  seven  months  on  the  voyage  around  the 
Horn,  and  arrived  in  Oregon  in  August,  1850,  where  the  General  has  ever 
since  resided. 

While  he  held  the  office  of  Secretary,  and  for  a  few  years,  he  resided  at  Ore 
gon  City,  where  I  first  saw  him  on  the  evening  of  December  3,  1850,  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  took  the  oath  of  office  from  him  as 
a  member  of  that  body.  Thereafter  he  removed  to  Portland  and  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  the  law,  and  held  the  office  of  County  Judge  for  two  terms,  or 
eight  years. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church — an  intimate  and  trusted  friend 
and  counsellor  of  Bishop  Scott  in  his  missionary  labors  in  this  diocese— a  mem 
ber  of  the  standing  committee,  and  for  many  years  after  its  organization,  a  war 
den  and  vestryman  of  Trinity  parish. 

General  Hamilton  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school  and  had  little  sympathy 
with  the  strife  and  labor  for  wealth  and  luxury  that  characterize  the  society  of 
this  day.  His  tastes  were  simple  and  elegant,  his  life  pure  and  unselfish,  while 
his  heart  and  hand  were  ever  open  to  the  call  of  need  or  friendship. 

For  the  past  few  years  he  has  practically  withdrawn  from  the  world  and 
given  his  time  to  his  books  and  his  grandchildren,  with  whom  he  has  occupied 
and  enlivened  his  gently  declining  years. 

But  he  has  gone  to  his  rest  at  last,  and  we  who  knew  him  best  will  miss  him 
most.  Yes!  we  will  miss  his  kind  and  cheerful  greeting — the  facetious  chaff 
and  badinage  he  sometimes  blew  in  our  faces,  and  the  earnest  and  irrascible 
scorn  with  which  he  occasionally  denounced  an  idea,  action  or  individual  that 
ruffled  his  sense  of  propriety  or  right. 

Indeed,  our  departed  friend  might  in  some  salient   features  have  sat  for  Sir 


GEN.    EDWARD    HAMILTON.  29 

Henry  Wotton's  "Character  of  a  Happy  Life" — particulary   in  the  following 
stanzas : 

Hem  happy  is  he  born  and  taught 

That  serveth  not  another's  will, 
Whose  armor  is  honest  thought, 

And  simple  truth  his  utmost  skill; 

Whose  passions  not  his  masters  are; 

Whose  soul  is  still  prepared  for  death, 
Not  tied  unto  the  world  with  care 

Of  public  fame  or  private  breath. 
****** 
This  man  is  freed  from  servile  bandg 

Of  hope  to  rise  or  fear  to  fall; 
Lord  of  himself,  though  not  of  lands ; 

And,  having  nothing,  yet  hath  all. 


MRS.    HARRIET    HAWN. 

BY  JUDGE  MATTHEW  P.  DEADY. 

On  April  17,  1883,  Mrs-  Harriet  Hawn,  a  pioneer  woman  of  marked  charac 
ter  and  natural  ability,  departed  this  life  in  Wasco  county,  near  The  Dalles, 
where  she  had  lived  since  1861. 

Mrs.  Hawn  was  born  on  August  30,  1818,  in  New  Jersey,  and  married  Mr. 
Jacob  Hawn  in  Western  New  York,  in  1833.  In  1834  she  moved  to  Green  Bay, 
Wisconsin,  then  one  of  the  very  outposts  of  the  slowly  advancing  army  of  wes 
tern  emigration;  and  from  there  to  Caldvvell  county,  Missouri,  in  1836  or  1837. 

In  1839  she  started  for  Oregon,  and  went  to  New  York,  expecting  to  come 
around  the  Horn  in  the  Lausanne — the  same  vessel  that  brought  the  large  and 
last  delegation  of  Methodist  missionaries  here  in  1840;  but  finding  after  arriv- 
.  ing  at  New  York  that  the  vessel  would  not  sail  for  six  months  she  went  to 
Texas.  This  climate  not  agreeing  with  her,  she  returned  to  Missouri,  and  set 
tled  in  Franklin  county,  where  she  remained  until  May  10,  1843,  when  she 
started  with  her  husband  and  children  across  the  plains  to  Oregon.  She  arrived 
at  Vancouver  on  November  18,  of  the  same  year,  and  settled  at  Oregon  City. 
In  1846  she  removed  to  Yamhill  county  where  she  remained  until  she  removed 
to  Wasco  in  1861. 

During  the  fifteen  years  of  her  residence  in  Yamhill  county  she  lived  either 
in  Lafayette  or  on  the  farm  near  by,  and  never  failed  to  welcome  the  weary 
traveler  and  social  neighbor  to  her  warm  hearth  and  good  cheer. 

According  to  her  light  and  opportunity,  she  was  a  faithful  and  devoted  wo 
man,  and  through  her  long  toilsome  life,  probably  never  shirked  a  duty  or 
slighted  a  task.  Within  her  field  of  labor  she  wrought  well,  and  did  her  full 
share  to  make  this  once  wilderness  to  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

She  left  eight  children,  and  grand  and  great-grand  children  behind  her. 
Her  husband  died  in  1859  or  1860;  and  she  is  buried  on  the  picturesque  North. 
Yamhill,  by  his  side. 

Rest  to  her  weary  soul  and  honor  to  her  good  name! 


TF^AJMSACTIOJMS 


OF   THE 


TWELFTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION 


OF   THE 


OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION 


FOR 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS  BY  H.  Y.  THOMPSON,  ESQ., 

TOGETHER   WITH 

ADDRESS  BY  HON.   F.  0.   McCOWN, 

AND  OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTEREST. 


SALEM,  OREGON  : 

E.  M.  WAITE,  STEAM  PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 
1885. 


TRANSACTIONS. 


OREGON  STATE  FAIR  GROUNDS,      ) 
SALEM,  June  17,  1884.  ) 

The  Twelfth  Annual  Re-union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Associa 
tion  was  held  at  the  State  Fair  Grounds  near  Salem,  on  the  iyth 
day  of  June,  1884. 

The  officers  of  the  Association  present  were: 

James  W.  Nesmith,  President. 

J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  President. 

T.  B.  Odeneal,  Secretary. 

J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer. 

E.  M.  Waite,  F.   X.  Mathieu  and  Joseph  Watt,  Directors. 

Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the  morning  train  from  Port 
land,  which  brought  with  it  a  goodly  representation  from  the, 
metropolis  and  intervening  towns,  the  procession  was  formed 
under  the  chief  marshalship  of  Col.  L.  S.  Scott,  with  Capt.  J.  J. 
Briggs  and  John  C.  Booth  as  aides.  The  procession  was  formed 
in  the  following  order: 

The  Home  Amusement  Band  of  Salem. 

President  and  Vice  President. 

Standard    Bearers. 

Orators  of  the  Day. 

Members  of  Qregon  Pioneer  Association,  who  came  into  the  ter 
ritory  prior  to  1841.  followed  by  the  twelve  divisions 
to  1853,  each  with  appropriate  banner. 

Friends  of  the  Association,  male  and  female. 


4  rJ  RANSACTIONS. 

The  procession  moved  through  the  principal  avenues  of  the 
ground  and  terminated  in  the  grove  where  the  grand  stand  was 
erected.  This  was  handsomely  decorated  for  the  occasion,  and 
in  it  was  seated  the  President,  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  surrounded 
by  the  orators,  Hon.  H.  Y.  Thompson,  Hon.  F.  O.  McCown 
and  other  celebrities.  Order  was  restored  without  difficulty. 
The  Home  Amusement  Band  played  a  choice  selection  which  was 
warmly  applauded.  The  blessing  of  Divine  Providence  was  then 
invoked  by  Rev.  T.  H.  Small,  of  the  Waldo  Hills,  after  which 
the  President,  Hon.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  delivered  the  opening  or 
welcoming  address. 

After  delivering  the  opening  address,  the  President  introduced 
Mr.  H.  Y.  Thompson,  of  Portland,  who  delivered  the  following 
annual  address: 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 


BY   H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 


Mr.  President  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Pioneer  Association  : 

Upon  receiving  an  invitation  to  address  you  at  this  time,  I  was  tempted  to 
forego  the  pleasure  of  participating  in  these  exercises  on  the  ground  that  the 
purposes  of  your  organization,  in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  "the  collection  from 
living  witnesses  of  such  facts  relating  to  the  pioneers  and  history  of  the  territory 
of  Oregon,  as  the  association  may  deem  worthy  of  preservation,"  would  be  bet 
ter  served  y  the  selection  of  a  speaker  from  the  survivors  eff  those  who  were 
the  pioneers,  and  whj  made  the  history  of  the  Oregon  territory.  It  was  the 
suggestion  of  a  pioneer,  however,  that  a  view  of  the  past  from  the  standpoint 
of  one  who  had  no  share  in  its  history,  and  who,  therefore,  has  no  interest 
which  can  be  promoted  by  unjust  criticism,  or  by  undeserved  praise,  might  be 
a  moie  correct  indication  of  the  estimate  which  future  generations  will  place 
upon  the  labors  of  that  which  is  so  rapidly  passing  away.  Hoping  that  such  a 
review  might  not  be  entirely  devoid  of  interest  to  you,  I  have  endeavored  in 
the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  my  acceptance  of  your  invitation  to  perform 
this  duty,  to  gather  from  such  sources  as  have  been  accessible  to  me,  some  of 
the  material  facts  concerning  the  early  history,  settlement  and  final  recognition 
of  the  fitle  of  the  United  States  to  the  Oregon  territory. 

My  only  sources  of  information  have  been  such  as  are  common  to  all;  con 
versations  with  the  survivors  of  the  pion-ers,  such  books  as  I  have  been  able  to 
obtain,  and  the  valuable  records  of  your  society  ;  so  that  in  the  matter  of  his 
torical  information  I  have  nothing  new  to  present,  and  can  only  hope  that  I 
may  be  able  to  re-present  a  few  facts  ot  interest,  and  to  draw  therefrom  some 
just  conclusions  concerning  the  labors  of  those  who  cauie  to  view  the  land, 
and  open  its  gates  to  that  civilization  under  whose  benign  influences  their 
children  now  live. 

The  migrations  of  people,  the  settlement  of  new  c  mntries,  the  develop 
ment  of  society,  and  the  establishment  of  government,  have  ever  been  enchant- 


6  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    V.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 

ing  subjects  for  consideration,  and  they  form  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the 
history  of  our  race.  In  the  reclamation  of  the  earth  from  a  state  of  nature, 
every  part  has  had  its  pioneers.  The  ambition  to  discover,  the  love  of  ad 
venture,  the  hope  of  improving  conditions,  and  many  other  motives,  have  from 
time  to  time  operated  to  call  men  away  from  the  centers  of  population,  and 
th°:  arts  of  trade,  into  uninhabited  and  unexplored  countries;  and  thus 
through  courage,  enterprise,  and  much  suffering,  has  mankind  b-~c<"*me  at  last 
possessed  of  most  of  the  earth's  surface.  Among  all  the  people  who  have  thus 
detached  themselves  from  society,  friends,  and  home,  and  migra'ed  to  strange 
lands,  I  know  of  none  whose  history  is  more  interesting  'han  that  of  the  Ore- 
gen  pioneers;  whether  we  consider  it  with  relation  to  the  motives  of  the  actors, 
the  romance  and  incidents  of  their  lives,  the  great  moral  and  physical  courag  • 
exhibited  amidst  the  hardships  they  endured,  or  the  results  of  inestimable 
value  to  the  world  with  which  their  labors  were  crowned. 

Prior  to  the  final  settlement  of  what  has  come  to  be  known  in  istory  as  the 
Oregon  Question,  many  claims,  resting  on  many  grounds,  were  made  to  the 
sovereignty  ami  jurisdiction  of  the  great  country  lying  between  the  Rocky 
mountains  and  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  drained  by  the  Columbia  and  its  tributa 
ries.  The  discovery  of  America  ,n  1492  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  dis 
coveries  and  explorations,  which  continued  for  more  than  three  hundred  years; 
and  which,  during  that  period,  were  participated  in,  and  at  times  vigorously 
prosecuted  by  the  then  leading  nations.  Spain,  Portugal,  England,  France 
and  Russia,  in  the  great  race  for  empire  and  wealth  in  the  west,  fitted  out,  or 
authorized  expeditions,  the  purposes  of  which  were  to  discover,  explore,  and 
in  the  name  of  their  respective  sovereigns  to  claim,  the  lands  and  the  waters  to 
which  they  might  come. 

In  1494  Spain  and  Portugal  entered  into  a  treaty  by  the  terms  of  wnich  the 
entire  ocean  was  partitioned  between  them.  Spain  was  confirmed  in  the  right 
to  make  discovery  and  conquest,  and  to  exercise  exclusive  dominion  over  all 
lands  and  waters  lying  west  of  the  line  agreed  upon;  while  Portugal  was  con 
firmed  in  the  exercise  of  the  same  rights  and  powers  over  the  lands  and  waters 
east  of  the  partition  line.  Under  this  arrangement  Oregon  would  have  fallen 
to  Spain,  the  agreed  line  being  a  meridian  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues 
west  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands. 

As  soon  as  the  wonderful  discoveries  made  by  Columbus  came  to  be  known, 
and  the  marvelous  stories  of  the  wealth  and  grandeur  of  the  new  world  were 
spread  abroad,  a  struggle  ensued  among  the  nations  for  the  possession  of 
domain  in  the  newly  discovered  country;  and  for  the  discovery  of  other  lands 
as  yet  unknown  to  civilized  man.  Ambitious  and  enterprising  navigators  found 


\ 
ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ.  7 

new  fields  for  their  genius,  and  soon  there  was  suggested  to  the  commercial 
world  the  idea  that  around  the  newly  discovered  continent,  to  the  northward, 
lay  the  future  highway  of  commerce  with  the  Indies;  and  at  once  expeditions 
were  sent  out  by  the  nations  to  locate  and  to  ascertain  the  practicability  of 
the  northwest  passage.  Since  that  time,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  that  idea,  the 
northern  shores  of  our  continent  and  its  adjacent  islands  have  been  strewn  with 
the  wrecks  of  crushed  and  shattered  ships,  while  their  officers  and  men  sleep 
in  the  solitudes  of  that  dreary  waste. 

Whatever  the  opinions  of  mankind  may  be  concerning  the  usefulness  or  the 
uselessness  of  the  sacrifice,  the  historic  fact  remains  that  the  efforts  made  to  ex 
plore  an  ocean  highway  around  our  continent  to  the  northwest  contributed 
much  to  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  western  side  of  the  continent, 
and  of  the  waters  which  wash  its  shores,  and  hastened  those  events,  doubtless, 
b/  many  years. 

Cortes  had  conquered  and  had  established  himself  in  Mexico;  but  his  un- 
satiated  ambition  was  not  satisfied  with  the  acquisition  of  that  noble  empire, 
and  he  formed  and  partially  executed  plans  for  more  extensive  explorations 
and  discoveries.  "Alarmed  at  the  attempts  of  the  English  to  discover  a  north 
ern  passage  to  China  and  Cathay,  Cortes  resolved  to  make  a  careful  survey  of 
the  whole  coast  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  north  of  Florida  on  the  Atlantic 
side,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  there  might  not  exist  in  that 
quarter  a  communication  with  the  South  sea."  At  the  same  time  a  squadron 
on  the  Pacific  was  to  sail  along  the  western  coast  of  America,  and  by  these 
simultaneous  researches  he  hoped  to  find  a  strait  affording  a  far  shorter  and 
easier  route  to  India  and  the  Moluccas,  and  connecting  together  the  vast 
dominions  of  the  Spanish  crown. 

In  pursuance  of  the  plans  thus  formed,  the  coast  on  the  Pacific  was   more  or 
less  -horoughly  explored  between  the  years  of  1596  and    1602  as  far  northward 
it  is  claimed,  as  the  Columbia  river,  although  the  river  itself  was  not  discovered 
for  many  years. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  the  Greek  pilot  Juan  DeFuca,  in  the  service  of 
Spain,  is  said  to  have  conducted  a  Spanish  ship  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  and  to  have  entered  the  straits  which  bear  his  name,  proceeding  as 
far  northward  as  Queen  Charlotte  sound.  The  DeFuca  theory  was  that  he 
had,  on  that  voyage,  solved  the  problem  of  the  northwest  passage,  and  that 
he  had  passed  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.  The  voyage  of  DeFuca 
has  be.n  denied,  and  the  story  of  his  having  discovered  the  straits  which  bear 
his  name  has  been  pronounced  mythical;  but  whether  true  or  false,  it  is  certain 
that  the  publication  of  what  purported  to  be  a  narrative  of  DeFuca's  voyage 


<S  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 

directed  the  attention  of  navigators  to  that  quarter,  and  gave  rise  to  several  ex 
peditions  which  subsequently  visited  these  waters. 

Geographical  knowledge  was  then  in  its  infancy,  and  while  much  of  a 
general  nature  was  added  to  it  by  these  imperfect  explorations,  still  there  was 
but  little  accurate  or  definite  information  obtained  beyond  the  mere  facts  of  the 
existence  of  a  great  forest  country  inhabited  by  savages  and  abounding  in 
game  and  fish. 

For  some  reason,  after  the  voyage  conducted  by  DeFuca,  the  Spanish  ardor 
cooled,  and  but  little,  if  anything,  more  was  accomplished  by  that  nation  in 
perfecting  the  explorations  so  bravely  and  so  auspiciously  begun,  or  in  making 
further  discoveries.  From  about  1602  to  1725  no  enterprise  of  importance 
occurred  in  northwestern  America.  At  a  later  period  another  great  power 
whose  conquests  had  recently  extended  until  they  embraced  the  whole  of 
northern  Asia,  determined  by  a  series  of  explorations  to  settle  another  ques 
tion  which  for  many  years  had  been  much  discussed  and  concerning  which 
there  was  a  great  difference  of  opinion  among  the  learned  men  and  navigators 
of  Europe.  That  question  was  whether  Asia  and  America  were  united  at  the 
north,  or  whether  they  were  separated  by  an  ocean.  Thus  Russia  entered  the 
field  as  discoverer  and  explorer  and  in  1726  the  expedition  which  was  to  de 
termine  the  truth  of  the  matter,  proceeded  under  the  personal  command  of 
Captain  Vitus  Behring  down  the  Lena  river  and  out  from  the  desolate  shores 
of  Sibera.  I  he  recent  purchase  .of  Russian  territory  at  the  north,  gave  to  the 
United  States  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  and  waters  which  Russia  acquired 
as  the  result  of  Behrings'  explorations  and  those  connected  therewith. 

It  would  be  a  great  pleasure  to  dwell  at  length  upon  the  marvelous  history 
of  these  explorers,  and  to  recall  the  incidents  of  their  voyages.  They,  too, 
wi-re  pioneers,  and  with  great  zeal  and  indomitable  courage  contributed  largely 
to  the  previovs  store  of  the  world's  knowledge  concerning  our  country. 

In  1790  Great  Britain,  by  treaty  with  Spain,  acquired  the  right  to  trade  with 
the  natives  and  fish  in  the  waters  of  the  northwest;  and  out  of  the  exercise  of 
this  right  and  the  presence  in  the  country  of  the  British  subjects  who  from  time 
to  time  came  to  follow  those  occupations,  finally  grew  the  claim  of  Great 
Britain  to  the  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  of  the  country,  although  the  claim 
ostensibly  rested  upon  "discovery." 

In  May,  1792,  the  Columbia  river  was  discovered  and  entered  by  an  American 
commander  of  an  American  ship,  and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  follow 
ing  the  custom  of  nations,  made  claim  "by  right  of  discovery"  to  all  that  vast 
tract  of  country  drained  by  that  great  river. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ.  9 

Thus  appeared,  from  time  to  time,  rival  claimants  for  a  vast  domain  which 
had  recently  been  di  covered,  which  had  not  been  at  all  explored,  and  con 
cerning  which  but  little  accurate  information  could  be  obtained.  It  was 
known,  however,  that  this  domai ;  was  of  vast  extent;  that  its  rivers  were  large; 
that  its  forests  were  boundless,  and  that  in  fish  and  furs  its  wealth  was  great. 
It  was  even  then  a  desirable  territory  for  a  country  to  own,  and  a  thing  much 
coveted  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  by  those  of  Great 
Britain. 

"By  the  treaty  with  France  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  in  1803,  the 
United  States  acquired  the  French  claim  to  all  the  territory  between  the  Mis 
sissippi  river — the  former  western  boundry  of  the  republic — and  the  Pacific 
ocean,  extending  north  to  the  dividing  line  between  the  Hudson  Bay  territory 
and  the  French  provinces  in  Canada,  as  established  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht 
in  1713.  The  American  government  further  strengthened  its  right  of  jurisdic 
tion  to  Oregon,  by  explorations  of  the  Columbia  river,  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth,  in  1804-5,  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  acting  under  public  authority.  After 
effecting  the  first  settlement  on  the  banks  of  this  greatest  tributary  to  the 
Pacific,  the  United  States  held  in  their  own  right,  the  three  strongest  muni 
ments  of  title  known  to  international  law  to  all  the  territory  drained  by  its 
waters — discovery,  exploration  and  settlement.  To  make  this  right,  if  need 
be,  complete  and  irrefragable,  by  a  treaty  of  limits  between  the  United  States 
and  Spain,  concluded  February  22,  1819,  the  former  acquired  all  then  exist 
ing  rights  ->f  Spain  lying  north  of  the  forty-second  degree  of  latitude  from  the 
source  of  the  Arkansas  river  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Spain  being  the  undisputed 
discoverer  of  the  Pacific  sea  coast  subtending  the  branches  of  the  Columbia 
river  in  the  interior,  it  can  hardly  be  admitted  that  after  the  Spanish  treaty 
any  adverse  claims  of  title  could  be  pressed,  unless  based  upon  assertion 
merely." 

In  1818  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  e  tered  into  a  treaty  concern 
ing  the  disputed  country,  in  which  it  was  provided  that  any  country  claimed 
by  either  party  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  westward  of  the  Stony 
mountains,  shall,  together  with  all  its  harbors,  bays  and  creeks,  and  the 
navigation  of  all  its  rivers,  be  free  and  open  for  the  term  of  ten  years  to  the 
vessels,  citizens  and  subjects  of  the  two  powers.  It  was  further  provided  that 
the  treaty  should  in  no  event  be  construed  to  the  prejudice  of  any  claims  which 
either  of  the  contracting  parties  might  have  to  any  part  of  the  country  described 
therein 

In  1827  the  treaty  of  joint  occupation  was  'enewed,  excepting  that  instead  of 
a  limit  of  ten  years,  it  was  provided  that  either  of  the  contracting  parties  might 


10  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 

annul   and  abrogate  the  treaty,  by  giving  to  the  other  twelve   months'   rotice  of 
its*  intention  so  to  do. 

The  questions  arising  out  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  country  naturally 
entered  into"  American  politics,  and  the  discussions  incident  thereto,    did  much 
toward   disseminating  knowledge   concerning  the  northwest     territory.     The 
prize  was  a  valuable  one; the  contestants   for   it  had    recently  measured  swords 
with  each  other,  and  there  was  a  belief,  and  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  people  a 
wish,  that  the  god  of  battles  would  be  again  appealed  to,  to  settle  at  once  and 
forever  the  claims  of  the  two  nations  to  the  Oregon  territory.     But  happily,  other 
councils  prevailed,  and  on  the  I5th  day  of  June,  1846.  by  treaty,  the  claims  of 
the  United  States  were  acknowledged  and  confirmed. 

This  is  a  brief  review  of  the  historical  facts,  in  so  far  as  the  several  gov 
ernments,  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  participated  in  them  from  the  discovery 
of  the  Pacific  shores  until  the  consummation  of  the  great*  event  which  we  this 
day  celebrate.  It  is,  however,  a  narrative  of  conclusions  only.  For  the  causes 
which  brought  about  the  great  result;  for  the  combination  of  circumstances 
which  made  it  possible  to  maintain  our  claim  of  title;  for  the  manner  in  which 
we  conquered,  without  war,  so  valuable  a  I'omain  claimed  by  a  rival  as  great 
as  Britain,  we  must  look  to  the  lives,  the  times,  and  the  characters  of  the  Ore 
gon  rjioneers. 

In  a  most  excellent  address  delivered  before  your  society  in   1875    by  one  °f ' 
the  greatest  of  Oregon's  pioneers  and  citizens,  the   speaker  said:  "Page  upon 
page  has  been  written  to  prove  that  Oregon  belonged  to  the  United  States  by 
right  of  discovery,  and  by  virtue  of  the  French  cession  of  Louisiana  of    1803, 
and  the  treaty  of  limits  with  Spain  of  1819,  by  which  the    latter  relinquished 
her  rights  to  the  country  north  and  east  of  a  line  therein  described  and  agreed 
upon.     From  the  beginning   the  right  to  the  country  was  to  depen.i  upon  the 
successful  occuption  of  it.     The  race  for  possession  was  between  Great  Britian 
and  the  United  States;  the  former  represented  by  its  fur  companies,  with  their 
hierarchy  of  educated  and  trained  officers  and  clerks,    and  motley  following  of 
Canadians,  half-breeds  and  Indians;  the  latter  by  the  eastern    trader  and  mis 
sionary,  and  particularly  the   western  woodsman  and  farmer.     Primarily,  the 
English  sought  to  occupy  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on    the  fur 
trade  with  the  Indians.     It  was  to  be  kept  from  the  plow,  and  the  sickle,  and 
preserved   as  a  breeding  ground  for  fur  bearing  animals,  except  so  far  as  the 
limited  necessities  or  convenience  of  the   company   might  otherwise   require. 
On  the  other  hand,  the   American   settler  was  always  animated — often  it    may 
have  been  unconsciously—with  the  heroic  thought  that  he  was  permanently  en- 
gaged  in  reclaiming  the   wilderness,  building   a  home,  founding  an  American 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ.  II 

State,  and  extending  the  area  of  liberty.  He  had  visions,  however  dimly  seen, 
that  he  was  here  to  do  for  this  country  what  his  ancestors  had  done  for  savage 
England  centuries  before;  to  plant  a  community  which  in  due  time  should  grow 
and  ripen  into  one  of  the  great  sisterhood  of  Anglo-American  States,  wherein 
the  language  of  the  Bible,  Shakespeare  and  Milton  should  be  spoken  by  millions 
then  unborn,  and  the  law  of  Magna  Charta  and  Westminister  hall  be  the 
bulwark  of  liberty  and  the  buttress  of  order  for  generations  to  come." 

That  the  United  States  is  indebted  to  the  pioneer  for  tie  confirmation  of  its 
title  to  the  American  possessions  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  will,  perhaps, 
never  be  questioned.  That  mankind  accords  to  the  pioneer  whatever  of  honor 
and  credit  are  due  to  the  founders  of  States,  the  creators  of  civilization  in  savage 
lands,  and  the  extenders  of  republican  government  over  a  vast  empire,  is  but 
simple  justice  accorded  to  a  worthy  people. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  settlement  of  Oregon  was  a  movement  of  the 
people  in  their  individual  capacity,  and  was  not  the  work  of  the  government. 

Indeed,  the  government  did  more  to  discourage  than  to  encourage  the  settle 
ment  of  the  country  in  those  days  when  occupation  was  most  necessary  as  a 
means  of  securing  the  title.  True,  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  in  1804-6 
had  been  successful  in  exploring  the  Columbia  under  the  authority  of  the  gov 
ernment,  and  its  consent  had  been  given,  or  rather  inferred,  to  the  use  of  some 
other  means,  as  trading  and  establishing  posts  for  that  purpose,  looking  to  the 
obtainingoi  information  and  the  final  acquisiiionof  the  title,  but  no  steps  were 
taken  to  either  encourage  or  protect  the  settlers  of  the  country  until  they  had 
become  numerous  enough  and  had  demonstrated  that  they  were  strong  enough 
to  protect  themselves. 

"It  was  not  an  act  of  the  government,  leading  the  people  and  protecting 
them,  but  like  all  other  great  emigrations  and  settlements  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  on  our  continent,  it  was  the  act  of  the  people  going  forward  without  gov 
ernment  aid  or  countenance,  establishing  their  possessions  and  compelling  the 
government  to  follow  with  its  shield  and  spread  it  over  them." 

It  was  the  pioneer  who  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  3,5°°  rniles  of  land 
lying  between  the  nation's  capital  and  the  mouth  of  the  Oregon  could  be 
traversed  by  the  ordinary  means  of  conveyance;  and  that  therefore  the  possess 
ions  which  we  claimed  on  the  Pacific  were  not  foreign  lands,  but  were  the  bor 
ders  of  those  which  we  possessed  on  the  Atlantic.  They  demonstrated  the 
practicability  of  extending  the  protection  and  blessings  of  our  form  of  govern 
ment  over  all  the  great  country  lying  between  the  two  oceans.  Through 
agents,  appointed  for  the  purpose,  by  letters  to  their  friends,  through  communi- 


12  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BV    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 

cation  to  men  holding  high  places  in  the  nation's  councils,  and  by  petitions 
and  appeals  to  the  government  of  the  country,  which  seemed  fov  the  time  to 
have  forsaken  them,  they  disseminated  a  knowledge  of  the  country  they  occu 
pied,  and  gave  the  first  and  most  reliable  information  concerning  its  wonderful 
extent,  its  yet  undeveloped  resources,  and  its  inestimable  value  to  the  United 
States. 

In  1884  it  is  most  difficult  to  realize  how  little  was  known  of  Oregon  only 
forty  years  ago.  I  may,  I  hope,  be  pardoned  for  taking  time  for  a  single  illus 
tration  of  that  subject.  In  1843,  a  bill  having  been  introduced  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  providing  for  granting  lands  to  the  inhabitants  of  Oregon 
Territory,  and  containing  some  other  provisions  relative  to  military  posts  and 
the  government  of  the  country,  a  Senator,  and  therefore  presumptively  a  man 
of  more  than  the  average  reading  and  information,  said  in  the  discussion  of  tr.e 
bill:  "For  whose  benefit  are  we  bound  to  pass  this  bill?  Who  are  to  go  there 
along  the  line  of  military  posts  and  take  possession  of  the  only  part  of  the 
territory  fit  to  occupy — that  part  lying  upon  the  st-a  coast,  a  stri;.  l<-ss  ill  n  a 
hundred  miles  in  width;  for,  as  I  have  already  stated,  the  rest  of  the  territory 
consists  of  mountains  almost  inaccessible,  and  low  lands  covered  with  stone 
and  volcanic  remains;  where  ruin  never  falls  except  during  the  spring;  and 
even  upon  the  coast  no  rain  falls  from  April  to  October,  and  for  the  remainder 
of  the  year  there  is  nothing  but  rain.  Why,  sir,  of  what  use  will  this  be  for 
agricultural  purposes?  I  would  not  for  that  purpose  give  a  pinch  of  snuff  for 
the  whole  territory!  I  wish  to  God  we  did  not  own  it.  I  wish  it  was  an  im 
passable  barrier  to  secure  us  against  the  intrusion  of  others.  This  is  the 
character  of  the  country." 

The  bill,  however,  passed  the  Senate  through  the  influence,  chiefly,  of  the 
western  Senators,  but  it  received  a  bare  majority,  and  was  not  deemed  worthy 
of  attention  in  the  House. 

The  immigration,  however,  not  dispirited  by  the  seeming  indifference  of  the 
government,  increased  in  numbers  and  importance.  Out  upon  the  great  plains 
of  the  western  territories,  up  the  valley  of  the  Platte,  slowly  and  laboriously 
climbing  the  Rocky  mountains  across  the  great  deserts;  plunging  into  the 
mighty  forests,  and  emerging  upon  the  Pacific  shores,  came  the  sturdy  immi 
grant  with  heroic  soul,  to  rear  the  standard  of  the  cross  and  to  unfurl  free 
dom's  banner  beneath  Pacific's  skies.  With  no  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  to  mark 
their  course,  or  pillar  of  fire  by  night  to  light  their  way,  but  self-reliant,  per- 
servering,  courageous,  and  like  Henry  of  Navarre,  inspired  by  a  conciousness 
"that  the  good  God  and  good  truth  fight  with  me,"  they  builded  what  we  this 
day  enjoy. 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    OF    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ.  13 

Great  G-od,  we  thank  thee  for  this  home, 

This  bounteous  birthland  of  the  free, 
Where  wanderers  from  afar  may  come 

Arid  breathe  the  air  of  liberty. 
Still  may  her  flowers  untrampeled  spring, 

Her  harvests  wave,  her  cities  rise. 
And  yet,  till  time  shall  fold  her  wing, 

Remain  eartu's  loveliest  paradise. 

The  pioneers  did  more  than  build  homes  for  themselves  and  develop  what  is 
now  known  as  Oregon.  To  them  should  be  accorded  the  honor  of  having  saved 
to  the  United  States  not  Oregon  alone,  but  as  I  believe  our  entire  possessions 
lying  between  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  Pacific  ocean.  It  is  indisputable 
that  without  occupation  we  never  would  have  acquired  the  Oregon  territory, 
and  it  is  doubtful  whether  an  attempt  would  have  been  made  to  add  California 
to  our  national  domain  if  we  had  not  already  secured  large  and  valuable  pos 
sessions  adjoining  it  on  the  western  ocean. 

Senator  Grover,  who  has  given  much  study  to  the  subject,  says:  "It  is  fair 
to  claim  that  our  government  never  would  have  ventured,  with  the  small  force 
it  had  at  command,  to  push  its  arms  to  the  Pacific  through  Mexican  territory 
during  the  war  with  Mexico,  if  we  had  not  already  possessed  a  domain  in  that 
quarter,  and  a  reliable  American  population  in  Oregon." 

For  many  years  Great  Britain  had  been  endeavoring  to  enforce  her  policy  of 
acquiring  territory  in  the  northwest  and  upon  the  Pacific,  including  California; 
and  at  the  time  when  she  was  compelled  to  relinquish  her  claims  to  the  Ore 
gon  territory  her  arrangements  were  completed  for  the  acquisition  of  California. 

Benton  says  that  three  great  operations  were  going  on,  fatal  to  American 
interests,  and  without  remedy  if  not  arrested  at  once.  These  were  the  massacre 
of  the  Americans  and  the  destruction  of  their  settlements  in  the  valley  of  the 
Sacramento;  the  subjection  of  California  to  British  protection;  and  the  transfer 
of  the  public  domain  to  British  subjects.  And  all  this  with  a  view  to  anticipate 
the  events  of  a  Mexican  war,  and  to  shelter  California  from  the  arms  of  the 
United  States.  Juntas  were  in  session  to  transfer  the  country  to  Great  Britain; 
the  public  domain  was  passing  in  large  grants  to  her  subjects;  a  British  fleet 
was  expected  on  the  coast;  and  but  for  the  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the 
American  settlers,  the  country  south  of  Oregon  would  have  been  lost  to  us. 
Such  action  probably  would  not  have  been  taken,  but  for  the  fact  that  in  Ore 
gon  was  a  strong  and  reliable  population,  and  the  further  fact  that  out  of  the 
settlement  of  the  Oregon  question  had  arisen  strong  feelings  amongst  the  peo 
ple  against  England.  Truly  "the  pioneers  of  Oregon  were  really  the  fathers 
of  American  jurisdiction  over  all  that  magnificent  domain  of  the  United  States 
west  of  the  Rocky  mountains — an  empire  in  itself." 


14  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 

I  shall  not  enter  upon  any  lengthy  discussion  of  the  motives  by  which  the 
pioneers  were  governed  in  the  work  which  they  accomplished.  Indeed,  I  sup 
pose  that  if  upon  this  anniversary  occasion  there  should  be  a  roll-call  of  those 
who  have  survived,  and  each  should  come  forward  and  explain  why  he  came  to 
Oregon,  as  many  reasons  would  be  assigned  as  there  are  members  of  your 
society  present.  The  love  of  adventure;  the  search  for  health;  the  monotony 
of  a  fixed  abode,  which  seems  incident  to  a  frontier  life;  the  ambition  to  acquire 
homes  and  lands;  but  whatever  the  reasons  given  or  the  motives  assigned,  they 
all  had  one  aim  and  end — the  improvement  of  the  conditions  of  life.  It  has 
been  said  that  such  motives  are  but  the  ordinary  and  selfish  motives  which 
move  mankind  in  common;  and  that  to  trace  the  stream  of  Oregon's  early  im 
migration  to  such  a  fountain,  is  to  do  injustice  to  the  pioneers.  Not  so.  It  is 
honor  enough  to  say  of  them,  that  while  being  impelled  by  the  motives  which 
ordinarily  control  the  actions  of  men,  they  so  pursued  the  course  which  they 
had  marked  out  for  themselves,  that  they  reflected  honor  upon  their  generation, 
and  conferred  greatness  and  glory  upon  their  country. 

It  is  no  doubt  true  that  "the  Oregon  pioneer  was  not  prompted  to  under 
take  the  toilsome  and  weary  march  across  the  continent  in  the  face  of  dangers 
seen  and  unseen  by  a  patriotic  desire  to  save  this  goodly  land  to  the  United 
States  and  plant  the  banner  of  republican  liberty  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific," 
and  the  statement  of  that  truth  is  not  derogatory  to  the  character  nor  an  im 
peachment  of  the  patriotism  of  the  pioneer;  for  history  records  the  fact  that 
during  all  the  time  which  elapsed  between  the  founding  of  the  first  American 
settlement  and  the  establishment  of  the  authority  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  over  the  country,  the  settlers  regarded  themselves  as  American  citizens, 
and  expected,  and  earnestly  desired  that  the  protection  of  the  government 
should  be  extended  to  them. 

When  in  1843  tne  numbers  of  settlers  had  so  increased,  and  their  interests  in 
the  country  had  assumed  such  importance,  that  some  kind  of  governmental 
system  became  a  necessity,  the  preamble  ofthe  code  of  laws  proposed  and 
adopted  was  a  declaration  of  loyalty  to  their  country:  "We,  the  people  of 
Oregon  Territory,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  protection,  and  to  secure  peace  and 
prosperity  among  ourselves,  agree  to  adopt  the  following  laws  and  regulations 
until  such  time  as  the  United  States  shall  extend  their  jurisdiction  over  us." 
The  truth  is  that  the  Oregon  pioneers  were  seeking  to  improve  the  conditions 
of  their  owfi  lives,  and  were  working  out  their  own  destinies,  in  loyalty  and 
submission  to  and  faith  in  the  government  to  which  they  owed  their  allegience. 
They  believed  that  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  w^ere  more  surely 
guaranteed  by  that  government  than  by  any  other  which  could  be  established; 
to  it  they  looked  for  the  full  realization  of  their  hopes  and  desires.  Under  its 


ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ.  1 5 

protection  they  expected  to  build  homes  for  themselves  and  their  children,  and 
that  they  and  their  children  to  the  latest  generations  would,  under  republican 
government,  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labors.  They  were,  in  the  best  sense  of 
the  words,  loyal  and  patriotic. 

It  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  pioneers  in  the  way  of  making  record  of 
the  hardships  they  endured  and  of  the  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  over 
come  by  them.  We  who  now  enjoy  the  benefits  of  law  and  of  government,  of 
enlightenment  and  of  civilization,  wrought  out  by  them,  will  not  justly  appreci 
ate  these  privileges  until  we  fully  realize  what  they  cost.  If  we  compare 
the  achievements  of  the  pioneers,  and  the  moral  courage,  the  physical  endur 
ance,  the  indomitable  perseverance,  and  the  incomparable  ability  with  which 
they  met  trials  and  conquered  what  seemed  to  be  impossibilities,  with  other 
great  achievements  of  mankind,  the  pioneer  suffers  not  by  the  comparison. 

For  more  than  2,000  years  the  earth  has  resounded  with  the  praise  of  the 
prowess  of  that  body  of  the  Greeks  who  marched  under  the  banners  of  the 
commander  of  the  retreating  ten  thousand.  History  has  devoted  her  brightest 
pages  to  them;  poetry  has  embalmed  *heir  memory;  and  the  arts  of  the  sculptor 
and  painter  have  won  great  glory  in  perpetuating  the  memory  of  their  heroic 
deeds.  But  they  were  10,000  in  number,  while  the  immigrants  of  each  of  the 
early  years  were  less  than  so  many  hundreds.  They  were  soldiers,  organized, 
disciplined,  armed,  marching  under  the  leadership  of  the  most  skillful  captain 
of  his  age;  they  were  trained  in  the  use  of  arms  and  learned  in  all  the  arts 
of  war.  The  pioneers  were  undisciplined,  unorganized  bodies  of  citizens, 
skilled  only  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  life.  The  Greeks  were  an  army  pre 
pared  for  an  attack  and  defense;  marching,  it  is  true,  through  an  enemy's 
country,  but  their  way  led  toward  their  own  country  and  their  homes.  The 
pioneers  were  bodies  of  citizens  who  gathered  together  their  household  gods 
and  went  forth  into  the  wilderness,  surrounded  on  every  hand  by  enemies  more 
ruthless  and  more  relentless  than  Mede  or  Persian.  Their  homes  were  behind 
them.  But  they  were  inspired  with  the  great  purpose  of  building  for  them 
selves  new  firesides  in  the  enemy's  country,  and  of  lifting  up  the  sign  of 
Christianity  and  of  civilization  in  the  center  of  pagan  forests.  The  far  off 
country  was  full  of  yelling  savages;  the  desert  sands  stretching  away  toward 
the  land  of  the  setting  sun  was  the  enemy  alike  of  man  and  of  the  herds  upon 
which  he  depended.  The  awful  Rocky  mountains  stood  between,  rearing  their 
gray,  precipitous  battlements  highin  the  heavens.  Weary  and  laborious  travel, 
hunger  and  thirst,  burning  sands  and  pitiless  storms,  desolating  fire  and  de 
structive  flood — all  these  conspired  with  savage  man  to  defeat  the  purposes  of 
the  pioneers;  but 


l6  ANNUAL    ADDRESS    BY    H.    Y.    THOMPSON,    ESQ. 

Perseverance  is  a  Roman  virtue 
That  wins  each  godlike  act  and  plucks  success, 
Even  from  the,  spear-proof  crest  of  rugged  danger. 

Within  the  year  last  past  another  great  event  has  been  celebrated  which  at 
tracted  the  attention  and  elicited  the  praise  of  all  mankind,  the  completion  of 
railroad  communication  between  Oregon  and  her  sister  States  in  the  East.  That 
was  a  great  event,  and  the  tribute  which  the  nations  paid  to  the  genius  of 
American  enterprise  and  skill  had  been  justly  won.  But  in  the  matter  of  the 
exercise  of  courage,  physical  and  moral;  as  an  example  of  enterprise;  as  a  con 
tribution  to  the  development  of  the  hidden  resources  of  a  great  country;  and  as 
giving  to  the  United  States  an  addition  to  her  domain,  wealth  and  grandeur, 
the  silent  and  unostentious  landing  of  the  first  wagon  on  the  shores  of  the 
Colmbiawasa  greater  achievement  than  the  laying  of  the  last  rail  or  the  driving 
of  the  last  golden  spike.  The  latter  followed  in  the  train,  and  was  but  one 
of  the  many  great  results  of  the  former. 

In  the  years  which  have  gone,  event  has  followed  event  in  rapid  succession. 
Under  the  guiding  hand  of  the  pioneer  who  has  in  the  greater  part  made  and 
administered  the  laws,  controlled  our  policy  and  shaped  our  destiny,  great  States 
and  Territories  have  grown  and  now  flourish,  and  the  desert  places  have  been 
made  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  There  has  been  accomplished  in  a  single  gen 
eration  that  which  formerly  could  only  have  been  wrought  in  centuries  of  time. 
Many  of  those  heroic  men  yet  live  to  reap  the  ripe  harvest  of  the  pioneer's 
sowing.  All  about  us  are  the  gray-haired  men  and  women  who  braved  the  bat 
tle  and  the  breezess  of  life  in  the  wilderness;  who  traced  out  the  course  of  the 
mighty  Columbia,  and  who  built  happy  homes  and  great  States  in  the  voiceless 
wilderness  which  was  mirrored  upon  its  throbbing  bosom.  Worthy  men,  noble 
women,  brave  pioneers!  your  names  are  already  enrolled  along  with  those  whom 
the  world  delights  to  honor. 

The  generation  of  pioneers  is  fast  disappearing.  One  by  one  those  in- 
dominitable  spirits  which  yielded  not  to  the  tempests  and  storms  of  life,  answer 
the  call  of  the  dread  messenger,  and  return  to  the  God  who  gave  them.  But 
their  memories  will  live  to  remotest  ages;  their  deeds  are  a  sublime  monument 
which  shall  remain  white  and  beautiful  when  marble  itself  shall  be  wasting 
under  the  mosses  oftime. 


AFTKRNOON. 

Hon.  F.  O.  McCown,  of  Oregon  City,  then  delivered  the  fol 
lowing  occasional  address  : 


OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


BY   HON.    F.    O.    M'COWN. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Society  : 

It  has  not  been  my  good  fortune  to  enjoy  your  annual  reunions,  but  I  have 
been  none  the  less  interested  in  your  labors.  I  feel  highly  honored  in  having 
been  solicited  by  you  to  put  on  record  some  of  the  many  incidents  of  frontier 
life  experienced  by  the  immigration  of  1852. 

And  in  the  outset  let  me  say  that  personal  recollections  of  the  leading  men 
and  of  the  public  affairs  of  our  State  is  necessarily  limited.  I  was  but  a  boy  of 
13  years  when  I  first  trod  this  fair  land  in  the  fall  of  '52.  My  father  was  not 
ambitious  for  public  life,  and  our  home  was  not  for  many  years  nearer  than  six 
teen  miles  to  a  postoffice.  We  were  poor;  settled  in  the  timber  and  cheerfully 
and  hopefully  took  up  the  task  of  founding  a  home  in  the  great  wilderness. 

Being  the  humble  representative  of  that  very  large  class  of  immigrants  who, 
in  poverty  and  toil,  have  made  Oregon  "blossom  as  the  rose,"  and  who,  though 
in  every  sense  patriots  of  the  first  order,  felt  so  secure  under  the  aegis  of  Ameri 
can  liberty  that  they  knew  little  and  cared  less  who  administered  the  laws.  I 
presume  this  is  th6  reason  I  have  the  honor  of  addressing  you. 

The  love  of  adventure,  restlessness;  a  desire  to  better  our  condition  in  some 
other  place,  are  innate  qualities  in  the  human  race. 

It  is  said  that  the  ceaseless  ebb  and  flow  of  tides  is  a  wise  provision  of  the 
great  Creator  to  keep  pure  and  make  habitable  for  its  living  creatures  the  vast 
oceans  of  water. 

Turning  back  the  pages  of  history  we  find  the  tide  of  humanity  has  been  for 
ages  ever  moving  as  ceaselessly  and  as  irresistibly  as  the  tide  of  waters. 

It  began,  so  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  to  flow  out  from  the  high  plateaus 
of  eentral  Asia  westward  over  the  mountains  along  the  valleys  into  Egypt, 
around  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  through  Greece,  Rome,  and  then  into 
central  Europer  and  ever  onward  across  the  Atlantic,  and  finally  across  the 
American  continent  to  its  western  limit. 


1 8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.    F.    O.    M7COWN. 

With  this  stream  followed  the  growth  of  human  intelligence,  and  out  of  it 
was  evolved  the.  highest  type  of  civilization  and  happiness  at  its  extreme  limit. 

And  in  my  enthusiasm  for  the  laws  of  infinite  wisdom,  which,  through  the 
ages,  have  been  slowly  but  surely  working  out  His  purpose,  I  fancy  I  see  in 
this  far  northwest  coast  in  the  coming  years  the  development,  the  evolution  of 
the  grandest  possibility  of  humanity — a  perfect  manhood  and  womanhood. 

The  mighty  Pacific  whose  waters  lave  the  shores  of  the  two  extremes— Chrs- 
tian  civilization  and  heathenish  barbarism — mountain  chains,  "rock  ribbed  and 
ancient  as  the  sun,''"  vast  plains  and  fertile  vales,  bubbling  waters,  so  pure  that 
they  might  have  come  from  the  fountain  life.  A  smiling  heaven  above  us  and 
a  propitious  soil  beneath  our  feet,  combined  to  make  this  a  second  Garden  of 
Eden,  where  can  grow  and  flourish  in  fullest  vigor,  the  crowning  glory  of  God's 
creation — man. 

That  our  children  may  know  when  enjoying  what  I  have  tried  to  picture  to 
your  minds  who  laid  the  foundations  wemeel  and  record  the  history  of  the  past, 
we  recount  the  story  of  an  arduous,  perilous  journey  over  the  plains,  how  ill 
suffering  and  privation  the  pioneers,  with  a  resolute  heart  and  a  noble  purpose, 
made  their  homes  on  the  shore  of  the  Pacific  ocean. 

My  birthplace  is  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  and  my  father,  Hon.  William 
McCown,  now  of  Wasington  Territory,  with  this  restlessness  of  the  race  after 
ten  years  found  himself,  after  about  thirteen  moves  on  the  checker  board,  located 
at  W'yandotte,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river. 

During  the  summer  of  1851,  while  suffering  with  fever  and  ague,  he  heard  of 
Oregon  as  a  country  where  a  graveyard  could  not  be  started,  because  so  health- 
ful. 

One  of  the  many  stories  of  that  time  I  still  remember.  It  was  gravely  told 
around  our  fireside  that  an  old  man  had  migrated  to  the  Willamette  valley  and 
after  a  few  years,  his  age  being  very  great,  he  wished  to  die  but  could  not,  so 
he  persuaded  his  sons  to  take  him  east  across  the  mountains,  and  after  a  proper 
time  he  died,  and  his  sons  desiring  to  bury  him  at  home  brought  home  his 
corpse  and  he  revived,  and  they  were  compelled  to  take  him  east  of  the  moun 
tains  again  and  leave  him  there  in  orJer  that  he  might  not  live. 

During  the  winter  of  1851,  the  Oregon  fever  had  become  an  epidemic  and  by 
the  first  of  the  following  April  the  steamers  on  the  Missouri  river  came  loaded 
with  immigrants  for  St.  Joseph,  Kansas  City,  Weston  and  Omaho.  These  came 
from  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Many  of  them  came  to  the  frontiers 
and  there  purchased  teams  and  were  ready,  as  soon  as  the  grass  showed  itself, 
to  move. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.    F.    O.    M'COWN.  19 

The  white  -tent  and  covered  wagon,  with  the  usual  outfit  of  a  camp,  were 
seen  everywhere.  By  the  6th  of  May  fifteen  wagons,  nearly  all  drawn  by  four 
yoke  of  oxen,  had  collected  at  our  house,  some  by  pre-arrangement,  and  others 
by  that  law  not  understood,  which  we  sometimes  unwittingly  call  chance. 

There  were  also  horses,  cows  and  young  cattle,  just  such  a  caravan  as  is 
needed  by  those  who  cut  loose  from  old  homes  to  build  new  ones. 

Many  of  the  cattle  were  unused  to  work  and  the  labor  of  driving  them  was 
not  a  pleasant  task.  Out  of  eight  yoke  with  which  we  started  but  three  were 
broke  to  work,  and  the  first  day  one  team  refused  to  go  up  a  hill,  but  turned 
square  off  into  the  woods  and  broke  the  wagon  tongue. 

But  to  the  brave,  resolute  men  who  had  before  them  a  journey  of  2000  miles 
this  only  caused  a  delay  of  a  couple  of  hours.  A  young  hickory  was  quickly 
fashioned  by  the  roadside  and  we  were  on  our  way  again. 

That  night  we  encamped  on  the  open  prairie,  and  the  old  men  with  charac 
teristic  American  instinct  organized  out  of  its  medley  of  strangers  a  moveable 
form  of  government  suitable  to  our  condition. 

Ira  Hunter,  an  old  and  respected  pioneer,  now  living  with  his  good  wife  in 
Corvallis,  was  honored  by  being  made  captain. 

Guards  were  posted  and  regularly  relieved,  and  so  continued  during  the 
whole  journey.  After  passing  Fort  Leavenworth  Indians  were  seen  on  their 
horses  on  the  distant  hills,  watching  the  train  close  by.  This  made  the  old 
heads  a  trifle  anxious,  as  we  were  in  the  Pawnee  country.  But  we  were  cau 
tious,  and  were  not  molested. 

At  Big  Blue  we  came  to  three  fresh  graves,  whose  occupants  had  been  killed 
in  a  border  fight.  One  survivor  still  lingered  near  the  spot  with  his  right  arm 
broken. 

As  these  men  were  a  law  unto  themselves,  and  there  were  no  courts,  it  was 
a  matter  of  no  particular  interest  to  the  orderly,  law-abiding  members  of  our 
company. 

Every thng  worked  smoothly  with  us,  and  we  moved  and  camped  with  the 
regularity  of  a  military  company. 

Just  before  we  reached  Fort  Kearney  a  section  of  a  battery  of  mountain 
howitzers  galloped  past  us  with  a  dozen  Cheyenne  braves  as  prisoners.  This 
alarmed  us,  but  on  reaching  the  fort  during  the  day  we  learned  they  had  been 
on  the  warpath  against  the  Sioux  and  not  against  the  whites. 

One  of  the  prisoners  had  been  shot  through  the  arm  and  it  was  broken.  I 
mention  this  to  show  the  mode  of  surgery  among  the  Indians.  The  broken 


20  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.     F.    O.    M  GOWN. 

arm  had  been  splinted,  and  was  then  closely  and  tightly  lashed  to  the  chest, 
so  that  the  hand  laid  on  the  breast  under  the  chin.  Thus  dressed  the  Indian 
galloped  along  without  any  apparent  discomfort. 

About  ten  miles  west  of  Kearney,  my  brother,  a  child,  fell  froin  a  horse  and 
broke  his  arm,  just  as  the  train  was  ready  to  move  in  the  morning.  Here  was 
a  dilemma — a  broken  arm  and  no  surgeon.  But  the  pioneers  are  always  equal 
to  any  emergency.  Two  old  men  got  into  the  wagon,  and  as  it  rolled  over  the 
smooth  road,  reduced  the  fracture  without  stopping  the  train.  They  had  not 
completed  their  surgical  operation  when  we  had  our  first  stampede. 

A  bull  being  driven  with  the  loose  stock  beside  the  rear  team  in  which  the 
surgeons  were  at  work,  was  frightened  by  stepping  over  a  prairie  chicken.  He 
bellowed  like  a  bull  of  Hasham,  sure  enough,  and  gored  the  oxen  in  the  team 
beside  him,  which  in  turn  became  frightened,  and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to 
tell  it  fifteen  teams  of  slow  plodding  oxen  were  galloping  pell-mell  over  the 
level  Platte  River  bottom,  flying  hither  and  yonder  as  they  willed;  but  as  best 
we  could  they  were  brought  to  a  halt  with  the  loss  of  two  wheels  from  behind 
one  of  the  large  wagons.  How  it  was  done  no  one  could  exactly  tell,  but  there 
was  a  collision  between  two  wagons. 

After  a  council  by  the  "deacons,"  it  was  decided  to  halt  and  send  back  to 
Fort  Kearney  for  a  wagon,  which  was  done  and  we  again  started  on. 

One  of  the  members  of  our  company  was  a  lady,  whose  father  was  a  wealthy 
slave  owner,  and  who  was  unused  to  labor  as  the  matron  of  a  household.  She 
married,  and  leaving  her  slaves,  with  her  husband,  and  a  partially  deaf  Dutch 
man  for  a  cook,  joined  our  company. 

The  cook  did  not  understand  English  very  well,  and  her  orders  about  domes 
tic  affairs  were  such  as  she  used  in  her  plantation  home  and  were  heard  by  the 
whole  camp.  John  one  day  poured  cold  water  into  the  hot  skillet  and  it  broke. 
Poor  John  was  told  so  often  in  the  next  week  of  his  misdeed  that  it  became  a 
byword  of  the  camp,  and  he  left;  but  one  day  a  poor,  forlorn,  weary,  footsore 
footman  was  found  sitting  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  our  good  lady  informed 
the  whole  train  who  he  was  by  shouting  in  his  ears  at  the  top  of  her  voice- 
"John,  you  broke  my  skillet  !" 

During  the  journey  up  the  Platte,  the  cholera  raged  and  many  a  poor  mortal 
was  laid  to  rest.  Graves  were  to  be  seen  every  few  miles. 

Sometimes  a  family  broken  up  by  death  would  burn  all  the  outfit  of  clothing 
to  destroy  the  cholera  germs,  and  then  sadly  and  mournfully  take  up  the  return 
march. 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.    F.    O.     M  COWN.  21 

It  was  to  my  boyish  imagination  the  most  mel  tncholy  spectacle  of  that  long 
journey  to  watch  the  averted  look,  the  weary,  mournful  face  of  fathers,  and  the 
little  children  as  they  sat  in  the  slow  moving  wagon  returning  home  without 
their  mothers. 

One  fact  in  connection  with  this:  I  Jo  not  remember  to  have  seen  one  woman 
thus  retracing  her  steps. 

Many  wives  buried  their  husbands  after  starting,  but  not  one,  of  my  knowl 
edge,  ever  despaired  so  much  as  to  turn  back — they  were  braver  than  men. 

The  South  Platte  was  forded,  or  rather  partly  forded  and  partly  swam.  Then 
Ash  Hollow  with  its  precipitous  sides  and  its  aroma  of  wild  flowers,  was  like  an 
oasis  in  the  desert.  Up  North  Platte,  past  Castle  Rock,  at  Fort  Laramie,  we 
found  a  great  number  of  Sioux  Indians,  but  we  were  not  molested. 

Fourth  of  July  we  had  an  extra  dinner  at  Pacific  Springs.  At  Soda  Springs 
our  company  halted  and  we  debated  anxiously  whether  California  or  Oregon 
should  be  our  destination.  But  homes  in  a  fertile  region  won  the  day  over  glit 
tering  gold  fields,  and  we  bent  our  way  onward.  One  team  gave  out,  belong 
ing  to  Mathew  Meritt,  and  he  abandoned  his  wagon;  and  with  a  generosity 
characteristic  of  pioneers  his  family  and  effects  were  loaded  into  the  wagons  of 
Ira  Hunter  and  William  McCown  and  hauled  through. 

At  the  desert  beyond  Salmon  Falls  we  camped  all  day  and  rested,  and  at 
sundown  started  across  tne  desert.  All  night  long  through  heavy  sand  and  all 
next  day  we  marched  wearily  till  4  o'clock,  when  the  glad  cry  of  "water"  ran 
along  the  train. 

These  pioneers  were  not  teetotalers,  and  I  remember  when  the  children 
were  suffering  from  thirst,  about  2  o'clock,  they  were  furnished  with  whisky  in 
homeopathic  doses  by  their  mothers.  I  can  testify  that  it  was  very  good. 

Then  came  the  ferrying  of  a  train  Across  the  rapid  Snake  River,  in  wagon 
beds — n  most  perilous  fsk.  But  after  three  days  it  was  accomplished  in 
safety. 

On  Powder  River  we  ate  the  last  of  our  parched  corn,  which  we  had  saved 
to  make  soup  from  time  to  time. 

At  what  is  now  Cayuse  Station  we  were  treated  to  an  Indian  scalp  dance. 
The  Cayuses  had  that  day  returned  from  a  successful  raid  against  their  ancient 
foe,  'he  Snakes. 

On  the  first  of  Octobe1"  we  reached  Barlow's  Gate.  It  was  a  beautiful  day, 
and  we  were  all  joyful  that  the  promised  land  was  just  beyond.  Our  provisions 
were  reduced  to  the  minimum  and  we  anticipated  soon  a  bountiful  supply. 


22  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.    F.    O.    M  CQWN. 

The  snow  came,  and  beyond  we  camped  and  seven  of  our  oxen  perished  fro  « 
col  1  and  hunger.  Ate  supper  of  dried  peaches  and  barely  .a  taste  of  meat,  a 
ham  bnne  which  had  bee'-"  closely  trimmed;  "only  'his  and  nothing  more." 
But  father  with  cheerfulness  promised  us  a  big  dinner  in  Oregon  for  this  scant 
one. 

Next  morning  a  supply  train  met  us  with  flour,  sent  out  by  your  generous 
pioneers  to  relieve  the  needy  "without  money  and  without  price."  We  were 
asked  if  we  had  money,  and  getting  an  affirmative  reply,  were  told  to  wait  for 
another  train  which  would  supply  us.  It  came,  $25  Tor  50  pounds  of  flour  re 
lieved  our  immediate  wants.  The  mountains  were  full  of  suffering  immigrants. 
In  this  storm  hundreds  of  cattle  that  had  toiled  long  months  perished. 

Rev.  J.  S.  York  was  camped  on  Summit  Prairie  waiting  the  recovery  cf  a 
sick  child.  'I he  dead  cattle  were  all  around  is  camp,  and  there  were  too 
many  for  the  besieged  travelers  to  haul  off  with  their  starving  teams.  We 
abandoned  wagons,  threw  away  all  property  not  absolutely  necessary  to  exist 
ence,  and  pushed  on  down  the  never-to-be-forgotten  Laurel  hill,  across  ice-cold 
mountain  streams,  over  boulders  as  large  as  a  flour  barrel,  and  em  rged  into 
the  beautiful  Willamette — as  we  then  called  it  Wili-am-ette,  but  as  my  learned 
friend,  Judge  Deady,  would  say  Wallamett — at  Phillip  Foster's.  Right  royally 
did  this  pioneer  treat  his  brethren.  We  were  received  more  like  friends  than 
strangers.  He  has  passed  over  the  river  of  death.  I  love  to  honor  his  name 
for  his  kindness  to  our  friends. 

To  various  counties  our  people  scattered — Presley  Farens  lives  in  Marion, 
Hagood  at  Dallas,  Linvillesin  Douglas,  A.  T.  Young  in  Portland,  L.  W.  Young 
at  Olympia,  Elgins  near  Salem,  Burke  to  Portland,  but  has  since  died;  Mc- 
Covvns  to  Clackamas,  where  with  a  numerous  colony  of  immigrants  of  '52  they 
settled  and  appropriately  named  their  first  postoffice  "Needy,"  and  the  com 
munity  "  Hardscrabble.  "  Twenty-five'  dollars  in  coin,  a  few  poor  oxen,  one 
cow,  two  horses,  a  family  of  eight  persons  in  all,  of  whom  six  were  children, 
your  speaker  being  eldest,  drove  in  the  brush  under  a  large  fir  tree,  unloaded 
their  household  goods  and  began  to  build  a  home. 

Pioneers,  I  need  not  describe  the  log  cabin  with  its  large  fire-place  built  of 
clay;  its  mighty  illumination  by  torches  of  pitch  wood;  its  mahogany  furniture 
made  of  fir  timber,  hewn  from  the  green  tree;  its  feather  beds  of  fern  or  fir 
boughs.  Just  turn  back  the  pages  of  your  history  and  you  have  the  picture 
vividly  be  fore  you. 

Well,  anyhow,  there  was  something  to  eat  and  a  cheery,  warm  shelter  that 
had  a  door  whose  latch  string  was  never  pulled  in.  Any  poor  wayfarer  was 


OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.    F.    O.    M'tOWN.  23 

welcome  to  the  humble  board,  and  these  pioneers  gladly  shared  with  each  other 
in  their  needs. 

Gentlemen  and  ladies,  surrounded  as  we  are  to-day  with  the  bounteous  bless 
ings  of  a  good  providence,  I  look  buck  with  a  glow  of  pride  on  what  these  hum 
ble,  unpretending  homes  have  brought  into  the  commonwealth  from  such  homes 
by  hundreds,  no,  thousands  scattered  as  they  were  from  the  Columbia  river  to 
the  Siskiyou  mountains  has  grown  our  State  of  which  none  need  be  ashamed. 

In  the  growth  of  communities  there  are  always  underlying  principles  which, 
after  the  days  of  prosperity  have  come,  we  are  apt  to  forget.  These  Hard- 
scrabble  homes  were  just  so  many  places  for  the  growth  and  development  of 
manhood  and  womanhood. 

The  Christian  idea  was  the  piedominating  one,  and  when  the  good  weather 
of  March,  1853,  come,  Rev.  Jesse  Moreland,  whom  many  of  you  know  to  honor 
and  respect,  called  his  neighbors  together.  They  cut  the  brush  and  split  logs 
and  laid  them  on  other  logs  under  a  large  fir  tree  with  wide-spreading  branches, 
and  we  had  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Hardscrabble.  Next,  a 
school  house  of  logs,  then  a  teacher,  then  a  Sunday  school  with  its  library. 
Court  houses  and  lawyers  were  unnecessary  in  this  primitive  republic.  From 
such  a  beginning  under  such  homely  civilizing  influences  were  laid  broad  and 
deep  the  foundations  for  character,  and  out  of  these  homes  in  that  immediate 
neighborhood  have  grown  conservative  forces  which  go  to  build  up  and 
strengthen  society. 

And  men  could  grow  up  and  develop  in  strong  characters  for  good.  Hon.  T. 
H.  Brentz  thrice  and  now  member  of  congress,  J.C.  Moreland  and  Benton 
Killin,  lawyers  well  known  for  their  ability  and  success,  Prof.  C.  T.  Finlayson, 
for  long  years  a  leading  educator  of  the  State,  since  dead. 

I  am  not  a  Methodist,  and  therefore  may  without  egotism  attribute  results 
to  their  proper  cause.  There  were  pioneer  preachers  in  those  days,  and  I  am 
not  saying  too  much  when  I  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  such  grand  men 
as  Fathers  Waller,  the  two  Hines,  Pearne,  Roberts  and  Hoyt,  with  their 
energy  and  mental  powers  strove  to  build  up  moral  and  religious  homes  as  well 
as  material  ones. 

In  the  sturdy  yoemanry  who  made  homes  in  valleys  of  Oregon,  they  had  fine 
materials  to  develop. 

My  brother  pioneers,  I  care  not  what  your  religious  views  may  be;  it  would 
be  ungenerous  not  to  accord  to  the  missionary  pioneers  of  every  sect  their  due 
meed  of  praise  as  so  many  factors  in  opening  up  the  northwest  coast,  in  build- 


24  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS    BY    HON.    F.    O.    M'COWN. 

ing  up  the  moral  forces  which  after  all  are  the  bases  of  ever  good  and  stable 
society. 

It  is  not  peace  officers  nor  minions  of  the  law  that  render  life  and  property 
safe,  but  the  respect,  the  sense  of  duty  which  man  feels  that  he  owes  to  himself 
and  fellow-man  has  enabled  us  to  grow  up  into  a  State  of  orderly  and  symmet 
rical  proportions. 

Broad  as  the  foundations  were  laid  by  you  for  the  material  prosperity  of  our 
common  country;  grand  as  were  your  ambitions  and  hopes  for  the  future  of  your 
selves  and  posterity,  they  are  not  to  be  compared  for  a  moment  to  the  moral 
factors  which  enter  into  the  complex  organization  of  society  and  make  possible 
the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Pioneers,  death  has  been  busy  since  your  last  reunion,  many  a  weary  toiler 
has  grow  tired  of  life's  burdens  and  laid  down  to  sleep,  and  your  whitened  hairs 
indicate  that  many  of  you  have  been  warned  by  old  Father  Time  that  the  years 
with  ceaseless  tread  are  sweeping  along,  and  that  soon  your  labor  will  be  done. 

I  congratulate  you,  old  men  and  women  (I  speak  the  words  reverently),  that 
though  your  life's  labor  will  soon  have  ended,  by  opening  up  for  settlement 
this  northwest  coast,  you  have  laid  the  foundations  for  a  mighty  empire  where 
may  be  developed  all  that  is  best  in  man. 

You  have  earned  the  good  fortune  all  about  you.  It  is  yours  to  enjoy  while 
you  live.  May  success  and  prosperity  attend  your  declining  years,  and  may 
you  finally  receive  the  reward  of  all  your  labor  and  sacrifice. 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  TOLMIE. 


The  following,  written  on  the  invitation  of  the  President  of 
the  Association,  was  too  lengthy  to  be  read  at  the  meeting  of 
1884,  but  was  ordered  printed  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Re 
union  of  1884.  It  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  story  of  pio 
neer  days  and  of  pioneers: 
Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

Claiming  to  be  a  pioneer  of  Oregon  since  May  I,  1833,  when  I  landed  at 
Fort  George,  now  Astoria,  and  having  since  successively  been  a  pioneer  in 
Washington  Territory  and  British  Columbia,  I  now  respectfully  present  to  you 
some  facts  and  deductions,  which  may  help  the  compiler  of  that  calm  and  dis 
passionate  history  of  Oregon,  which,  I  regret  to  find,  has  yet  to  be  written. 
That  materials  for  such  a  necessary  work  are  being  collected,  I  have  reason  to 
believe. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Gray,  of  Astoria,  in  1870  published  a  "History  of  Oregon," 
evincing  such  intense  anti-British  and  anti-Roman  Catholic  prejudice,  and  such 
— unwittingly  I  hope — perversion  of  facts  as  to  have  carried  with  it  its  own 
condemnation,  in  the  view  of  pioneers  tolerably  conversant  with  early  events. 
So  far  as  I  know,  thus  has  it  been  regarded  by  Hudson's  Bay  men  heretofore 
when  it  issued  from  the  press,  and  hence  it  has,  until  last  year,  escaped  criti 
cism. 

Softening  of  prejudice,  and  general  mellowing  of  mind,  comes  to  man,  often, 
with  increase  of  knowledge  and  years,  but  it  has  not  been  Mr.  Gray's  good  for 
tune  yet  to  have  undergone  that  wholesome  change  of  heart.  'Last  year  he 
again  "  rushed  into  print  "  in  the  same  old  strain,  and  thereby  drew  on  himself 
a  trenchant  and  able  criticism  from  ex-Senator  Nesmith.  To  this,  and  to  a  let 
ter  of  Mr.  Lair  Hill's,  which  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing,  Mr.  Gray 
replies  in  the  daily  Oregonian  of  Sept.  3,  1883,  reasserting  his  calumnies 
against  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  of  which,  in  the  far  west  then  known  as 
Oregon,  the  late  great  and  good  Dr.  John  McLoughlin  was  for  some  twenty  odd 
years  (1824  to  1845)  the  head  and  front,  the  life  and  soul,  the  guide  and  chief 


26  LETTER    FROM    DR.    TOLMIE. 

director.     Seldom,  indeed,  does  poor  Mr.  Gray  "gently  scan"  his  "brother 
man." 

My  friends,  you  know  what  an  almost  impossible  thing  the  ascription  of  mo 
tives  often  is,  and  what  full  knowledge  any  of  us  should  possess  ere  venturing 
on  imputation  of  base  motives  to  a  fellow  mortal. 

Acute  and  penetrating  as  Mr.  Gray  evidently  deems  himself,  and,  no  doubt, 
considers  that  the  majority  regard  him,  it  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  him 
that,  from  1824  to  1844,  in  Oregon,  whatever  of  praise  or  blame  may  be  as- 
cribable  to  the  conduct  generally  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  must  be  shared 
by  the  London  directors,  Sir  George  Simpson  and  Dr.  McLoughlin,  as  the  Doc. 
tor  could  not  have  been  acting  otherwise  than  in  complete  accord  with  these, 
his  superiors  in  office.  When  Mr.  Gray,  in  his  history  and  letter,  speaks  of 
"the  combination  and  no  harmony,"  he  writes  egregious  nonsense.  No  such 
condition  of  things  could  have  long  existed.  That,  towards  the  end  of  his  rule, 
the  Doctor's  advances  to  American  immigrants  may  have  been  thought  excess 
ive,  I  am  not  prepared  to  deny,  but  of  this  I  know  little  personally,  or  by  au 
thentic  report.  The  Doctor,  must  have  all  along,  been  allowed  much  discre 
tionary  power.  He,  by  calm  and  dignified  firmness  under  difficult  circum 
stances,  yet  without  loss  of  prestige,  preserved  peace  when  provocations  to  local 
rupture  were  not  infrequent. 

In  1866,  when,  by  permission  of  the  late  Daniel  Harvey,  examining  Dr. 
McLoughlin's  private  papers,  I  found  a  letter  to  him  from  Sir  J.  H.  Pelly, 
Bart.,  Governor  of  the  London  Board  of  Directors,  approving  of  his  affording 
from  the  company's  stores,  aid  to  needy  American  immigrants.  This  letter,  to 
the  best  of  my  recollection,  was  written  in  1843.  It  was  my  intention  to  have 
copied  Felly's  short  letter  in  the  present  communication,  but  the  Doctor's  grand 
son,  Mr.  J.  McL.  Harvey,  of  Portland,  Or.,  writes  that  he  has  been  unable  to 
find  the  epistle. 

My  friend  of  forty-four  years'  standing,  Archibald  McKinlay,  now,  like  my 
self,  a  septuagenarian,  writes  in  answer  to  inquiry  (April  28,  1884,  from  Lacla- 
hache,  B.  C.):  "  I  have  no  recollection  of  ever  having  seen  Felly's  letter,  but 
never  had  .any  doubt  of  its  existence,  for  I  have  always  contended  that  the  ad 
vances  made  the  Americans  were  not  so  much  the  cause  of  misunderstanding 
between  the  directors,  Sir  George  Simpson  and  the  Doctor,  as  the  trouble  and 
bickering  occasioned  by  the  latter's  holding  so  persistently  to  the  Oregon  City 
claim.  The  company  were  averse  to  meddling  with  any  part,  of  the  country 
south  of  the  Columbia." 

McKinlay,  in  same  letter,  continues:  "Sir  George  to  myself  verbally,  in 
1841,  and  by  letter  on  more  than  one  occasion  after,  strongly  recommended  the 


LETTER    FROM    DR.     TOLMIE.  2J 

cultivation  of  a  good  neighborly  understanding  with  the  American  immigrants. 
Sir  George  held,  as  a  fact  not  to  be  doubted,  that  the  Columbia  river  would  be 
the  boundary,  and  that  the  company  could,  by  good  management,  establish  a 
very  lucrative  trade  with  the  Americans."  (Morrill,  and  other  tariffs,  were  yet 
in  the  womb  of  futurity.)  So  much,  now,  from  trustworthy  McKinlay. 
He,  from  1841  until  1846,  having  been  in  charge  of  the  company's  then  very 
important  post  of  Walla  Walla,  now  Wallula,  and  for  many  years  after  at  Ore 
gon  City,  is  better  qualified  than  any  surviving  company's  man,  to  report,  as 
herein  he  has.  I  feel  justified  in  generally  corroborating  my  friend's  state 
ments. 

What  is  above  given,  goes  to  disprove  Mr.  Gray's  writing  as  to  the  Doctor's 
having  been  called  to  London,  in  1844,  he  thinks,  "  on  the  charge  of  violating 
a  rule  of  the  company  in  furnishing  supplies  to  naked  and  starving  American 
emigrants  coming  to  Oregon.  Mr.  Gray  tries  to  make  out  the  company  to  have 
been  "a  political  combination  of  iniquity,"  and  their  action  as  of  course  vil 
lainous. 

Neither  "honest  and  true"  John  McLoughlin,  nor  his  subordinates,  middle 
aged  or  young,  would  for  any  corporation  have  ever  thought  of  doing  the  vile 
work  Gray,  out  of  his  one-idead,  bizarre  imagination,  has  conjured  up  and 
charged  against  them.  In  1829,  the  Doctor  took  his  Oregon  City  claim,  soon 
after  commencing  its  improvement.  In  winter  1838-9,  he  was,  in  harmonious 
combination  with  the  directors,  in  London,  organizing  the  Puget's  Sound  Agri 
cultural  Association,  which,  on  Nisqually  plains,  in  what  is  now  Washington 
Territory,  came  into  full  operation  in  1840.  As  early  as  1836,  if  not  before, 
there  were  French  Canadian  settlers,  then  "Britishers,"  on  the  Cowlitz  prairies. 
In  autumn,  1839,  after  his  long  and  tedious  journey  to  London,  going  and  re 
turning,  the  Doctor  resumed  sole  charge  and  undivided  responsibility  over  the 
Columbia  department,  returning  with  "flying  colors,"  much  to  the  satisfaction 
of  us  subalterns  of  Bach'elor's  Hall,  for  we  greatly  liked  him.  Exacting  as  to 
strict  performance  of  duty,  outspoken  to  the  slothful  or  negligent,  the  Doctor 
was  yet  genial,  always  high-toned,  morally,  and  in  the  widest  sense  Catholic, 
as  has  been  most  eloquently  set  forth  by  Judge  Deady  in  one  of  his  pioneer  ad 
dresses. 

By  the  endeavor  Xo  develop,  north  of  the  Columbia,  in  what  they  supposed 
to  be  the  really  "debatable  land,"  permanent  settlement  of  British  agricultur 
ists,  the  company  openly  and  honorably  acted,  in  strict  accordance  with  their 
treaty  rights.  Had  they  promptly  adopted  my  suggestion,  in  1844,  their*flocks 
of  sheep  might  have  overspread  the  unoccupied  prairies  between  Nisqually 


28  LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE. 

and  Cowlitz  ere  the  15th  June,   1846,   in  which  case  their  rights  would  have 
been  confirmed  to  these  lands  by  the  treaty. 

But,  in  that  time,  there  was  a  general  British  supineness,  in  retrospect, 
strongly  contrasting  with  the  enlightened,  thoughtful  energy  of  the  natural 
leaders  of  the  American  pioneers,  and  the  intelligent  readiness  of  all  for  self 
government.  Nothing  else  so  much  struck  me,  on  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  first  comers.  Far  different,  and  much  more  successful,  were  the  company's 
legitimate  efforts  as  British  merchants,  to  defend  their  fur  trade,  widely  devel 
oped  by  years  of  risky  enterprise  and  outlay;  but  here,  also,  they  acted  hon 
orably,  on  the  competitive  principle,  still  in  vogue  among  men. 

On  the  northwest  coast,  where,  as  a  junior,  I  was  stationed  from  late  in  1833 
until  early  in  1836,  wuile  vigilantly  opposing,  we  maintained  pleasant  social 
relations  with,  the  Boston  merchant  captains,  pursuing  their  time-honored  avo 
cation  of  getting  furs  on  America's  western  shores  for  sale  in  China  or  Europe. 
Gladly  accepting  newspapers,  we  bought  from  them  books  and  other  things. 
After,  in  1836,  and  later,  the  company's  steamer  "Beaver,"  by  trading  at  the 
head  of  navigation  on  the  far-extending  firths  or  inlets,  prevented  the  best  furs 
from  reaching  the  outer  coast,  these  ships  soon  ceased  coming. 

Ordered  to  Vancouver  early  in  1836,  and  remaining  there  until  March,  1841, 
I  met  the  estimable  N.  J.  Wyeth,  preparing  to  leave  the  country.  Did  not  fail 
to  observe  the  friendly  feeling  he  entertained  for  the  Doctor,  and  others.  With 
McLoughlin  he  afterwards  corresponded,  and  the  first  production  of  Carlyle's 
I  ever  read,  was  a  volume  Wyeth  sent  from  Boston  to  his  white-haired,  majes 
tic-looking  friend  at  Vancouver. 

However  intellectually  able,  no  zealot,  surcharged  with  either  religious  or 
national  antipathies,  could  have  succeeded  in  the  onerous  postion  so  long  hon 
orably  filled  by  John  McLoughlin.  True,  most  part  of  the  country  sought  for  was 
lost,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that,  between  1834  and  1846,  the  United  King 
dom  had — besides  several  fighting  and  other  troubles  in  various  parts  of  the 
world — great  embarrassment  in  regard  to  Canada,  during  1837-38  in  a  state  of 
open  rebellion. 

What  seems  more  natural,  in  such  a  case  than  that  apathy  as  to  further  acqui 
sitions  of  territory  in  North  America,  should  have  prevailed  in  British  councils? 
From  this  languid  let-aloneism — not  "masterly  inactivity*' — the  government 
was  probably  roused  by  the  incessant,  and  not  unnatural,  nudging  of  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Co.,  and  by  Folk's  loud  crow  of  "  Fifty-four  forty-or-fight "  at  the 
time  so  captivating  to  the  unreflecting  of  your  people.  But  for  these  agencies 
all  might  have  been  yielded.  On  the  other  hand,  had  our  respected  mother, 


LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE.  29 

Britannia,  been  sufficiently  warmed  up  on  the  Oregon  question,  she  might  have 
perhaps  peaceably  obtained  the  desired  Columbia  river  boundary.  Your  gov 
ernment  was  then  on  the  eve  of  war  with  Mexico,  and  a  double  war,  at  that 
time,  might  not  have  been  thought  advisable.  "  Greater  Britain  "  is  now,  with 
her  grand  Fuca  Strait  boundary,  clear  of  special  interest  in  the  Columbia's  bar 
and  inland  navigation. 

I  have  never  yet  heard  a  Briton  deny  that  the  United  States'  men  have  better 
developed  Washington  Territory  since  the  treaty  of  1846  than,  all  things  con 
sidered,  our  people,  British  and  Canadian,  could  possibly  have  done  in  the 
same  period. 

As  it  has  happened,  fill  has  been  for  the  best  under  the  providential  shaping 
of  Him  "whose  ways  are  past  finding  out."  In  God.  and  in  an  improving  fu 
ture  life  for  all  of  woman  born,  as  a  free  religionist  I  devoutly  believe.  Some 
one  has  said  that  all  sensible  men  decline  to  define  what  the  religion  of  sensi 
ble  men  is.  Such  has  never  been  my  way.  Frankness  on  such  a  matter  is  far 
better,  for  individuals  and  communities,  than  either  reticence  or  the  widespread 
hypocrisy  of  our  own  time.  I  respect  honest  faith,  and  honest  doubt  as  well. 
Who  can  respect  mealy-mouthed  hypocrisy  ? 

For  us,  British  Columbians  and  Oregonians,  the  way  is,  as  neighbors  and  no 
longer  estranged  kinsman,  to  aim  at  ever-increasing  amity,  "striving  together 
in  well-doing,"  trying,  each  and  all,  by  individual  and  collective  effort,  to  leave 
morally  better  than  we  found  it  that  part,  whetiier  great  or  small,  of  our  re 
spective  neighborhoods  we  can  influence.  Fitly  now  may  be  given  the  follow 
ing  poetical  extract: 

But  by  the  names  o'  Love  and  Joy, 
An'  Common-Sense,  an'  Lear  an'  Wit, 
Put  back  to  back — and  in  a  crack, 
We'll  mak'  our  world  better  yet! 
The  Knaves  an'  Fools  may  rage  an'  storm, 
The  growling  Bigot  may  deride — 
The  trembling  Slave  awa'  may  rin, 
And  in  his  Tyrant's  dungeon  hide ; 
But  Free  and  Bold,  and  True  and  Good, 
Unto  this  oath  their  seal  have  set— 
"  Frae  Dole  t<f  pole  we'll  free  ilk  soul, 
The  world  shall  be  better  yet! " 

The  lines  voice  the  fervid  democratic  outburst,  ensuing  in  the  old  land,  after 
the  passage  of  Britain's  first  reform  act  of  1832.  The  author,  Robert  Nicoll 
of  humble  parentage,  died  young,  editor  of  a  liberaled  paper  in  a  large  town  in 
the  north  of  England.  He  has  been  called  "Scotland's  second  Burns." 


30  LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE. 

When,  last  year,  first  contemplating  addressing  you,  my  intention  was  limited 
to  giving  some  gossipy  items  about  the  big  doctor  and  his  early  frie  ds.  These 
I  will  now  present: 

Of  John  jVfcLoughlin's  father,  I  have  never  heard  him  speak.  Of  his  ma 
ternal  grandfather,  he  spoke  often.  Most  likely  John  and  his  brother  David 
were  brought  up  in  their  maternal  grandfather's  house.  In  1840,  at  Vancouver, 
the  Doctor,  turning  over  the  leaves  of  Stewart's  History  of  the  Highland  Regi 
ments,  &*c.,  belonging  to  Archibald  McKinlay,  at  page  83,  Vol.  2d,  giving 
names  of  officers  of  the  78th  regiment  or  Fraser  Highlanders,  (embodied  and 
commissioned  in  January,  1707)  pointed  out,  amongst  the  names  of  the  ensigns, 
that  of  Malcolm  Fraser  as  his  grandfather's.  Malcolm,  becoming  by  1763,  or 
perhaps  sooner,  Captain  in  the  8ith  regiment,  settled,  with  several  of  his  coun 
trymen,  officers  and  men,  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  selecting  a  t  act  of  coun 
try  more  remarkable  for  picturesque  seenery,  like  that  of  the  "land  of  their 
sires,''  than  for  fertility  of  soil  and  other  solid  advantages.  This,  with  his 
hearty  laugh,  I  have  heard  the  Doctor  tell  of  more  than  once.  The  Doctor's 
only  maternal  uncle,  Simon  Fraser,  M.  D.,  as  I  gather  from  the  Canadian  Par- 
liamentarv  Companion  of  1874,  page  371,  was  Lieutenant  in  the  Royal  High 
land  Regiment  (Black  Watch)  and  he  "took  part  in  all  the  engagements 
fought  by  that  corps  from  1795  to  I^°3/'  when  Napoleon's  star  was  on  the  as 
cendant. 

Probably  through  their  uncle  Eraser's  influence,  both  the  young  McLough- 
lin's  studied  medicine.  David  served  in  the  British  army,  and,  after  Waterloo, 
practiced  in  Paris.  There,  in  1842,  1  had  much  kindness  from  him.  John, 
the  elder  brother,  joined  the  Canadian  Association  of  Fur  Traders,  termed  the 
Northwest  Company,  rising,  probably,  soon  to  prominence.  When  in  charge 
of  that  company's  great  depot  at  Fort  William,  Lake  Superior,  the  Doctor  had 
for  his  apprentice-cleik  (as  the  term  was)  the  young  James  Douglas,  afterwards, 
for  nearly  twenty  years,  his  able  second  "through  thick  and  thin"  at  Vancou 
ver;  and,  latterly,  the  successful  and  popular  first  Governor  of  British  Colum 
bia,  while  yet  a  crown  colony. 

In  1821,  after  really  fierce  opposition,  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  Northwest  Com 
panies  coalesced.  Our  friend  strove  sturdily  -"for  better  terms  for  those  bear 
ing  the  burthen  of  the  work  in  the  fur  countries,"  as  against  the  London  di 
rectors.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  struggle  between  labor  and  capital.  Not,  by  the 
pusillanimous,  supported  as  he  should  have  been,  McLoughlin  refused  to  sign 
the  deed-poll  or  agreement  between  the  London  shareholders,  then  few  in  num 
ber,  and  their  commissioned  officers  in  Rupert's  land  "and  the  far  Columbia.' 
Notwithstanding  this  self-assertion,  McLoughlin,  on  account  of  his  high  char- 


LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE.  31 

acter  and   known  practical  ability,  was  detailed  for  the  Columbia  in   1823. 
Then  and  later  this,  by  the  timid,  was  looked  on  as  a  sort  of  oanishment. 

I  have  heard  it  said,  too,  that  the  Doctor  was  sent  west,  as  the  old  Hudson's 
Bay  magnates,  who  had  been  slow  coaches  until  roused  by  the  Northwesters, 
did  not  want  so  stirring  a  man  near  them — so  he  was  sent  where  he  would  have 
enough  to  do  and  to  think  about. 

The  need  of  farming  at  Vancouver  (named  by  the  Tshinook  Skit-so-to-ho, 
and  by  the  Klikitat  Ala-si-kas,  or  the  place  of  mud  turtles)  must  have  been 
great.  In  the  journal  of  an  old  friend,  I  find  that  the  English  ship  not  having 
duly  turned  up  in  the  summer  of  1823,  he,  with  a  junior  officer,  having  goods 
and  some  forty  men  in  boats,  was  from  Astoria  sent  up  river  to  the  different 
Indian  fishing  camps  to  feed  the  men  on  fresh  salmon;  and,  these  failing,  on 
Indian  dogs,  or  such  deer  as  the  hunters  of  the  party  could 'shoot.  In  the 
journal,  mention  is  made  on  different  days  of  the  number  of  dogs  traded,  as  >e- 
quired.  Ten  years  after,  at  Vancouver,  there  was  good  cheer,  altho'  the  Doc 
tor,  "autocrat  at  the  breakfast  "  as  well  as  the  dinner  table,  was  said  by  some, 
Ermatin^er  for  one,  to  have  abstained  too  long  from  the  general  use  of  beef 
and  mutton. 

By  1836,  a  circulating  library  of  papers,  magazines,  and  some  books,  set  on 
foot  by  the  officers,  was  in  "  full  blast."  To  myself,  the  removal  to  Vancou 
ver,  that  year,  was  like  restoration  to  civilized  life.  With  Rev.  Samuel  Parker 
I  had  interesting  interviews,  also  with  P.  L.  Edwards,  J.  K.  Townsend,  orni 
thologist,  Courtney,  Meade,  Walker  and  the  Lees,  uncle  and  nephew.  Being 
general  physician  and  Indian  trader,  had,  of  course,  to  do  with  all.  In  autumn 
we  were  cheered  by  the  society  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  his  worthy  partner,  not 
forgetting  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spalding.  By  these  good  people  the  vocal  powers  of 
the  young  and  of  the  school  children  were  developed  and  improved.  Poor 
Mrs.  Whitman  was  prima  donna.  I  still  remember  a  hymn  tune  learnt  from 
her,  and  also  one  that  Mr.  Parker,  ere  he  left,  taught  us:  "Watchman  tell  us 
of  the  night."  Like  his  trug  frie  d  McLoughlin,  Whitman,  indeed,  was  one 
of  nature's  noblemen,  much  enjoyed  o'  nights  in  Bachelor's  Hall  discussions  on 
various  topics.  There  often  came,  and  were  heartily  welcomed,  missionaries 
and  traveling  Americans  I  cannot  now  enumerate.  Grieved  I  was,  on  return 
ing  from  London,  in  1843,  (May),  to  hear  of  the  sad  end  of  my  valued  friend, 
and,  in  Indian  tongues,  fellow-student,  Cornelius  Rogers.  To  come  down  to  a 
later  time  I  must  not  omit  mention  of  Robert  Newell,  with  whom,  in  the  Pro 
visional  Government  Legislature  of  1846-7,  "shoulder  to  shoulder  "  I  opposed 
the  "  fiery  "  T'Vault  and  his  following,  strong  in  numbers  if  not  in  argument. 
I  could  run  on  thus,  but  your  space  forbids.  My  estimate  of  the  facetious, 


32  LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE. 

sound-headed  Newell,  totally  dissenting  from  Gray's,  agrees  with  that  of  Bur 
nett,  Nesmith  and  McKinlay,  whose  dictum  lately  came  to  me  in  pen  and  ink, 
altho'  I  well  precognized  what  it  would  be.  Many  a  hearty  laugh  Newell  has 
given  me.  We  last  met  in  Portland,  in  1856,  when  he  was  evidently  breaking 
down.  Not  long  after,  he  passed  on. 

Very  recently  I  have  glanced  over  Oregon^  tJie  Struggle  for  Possession,  by 
the  Ilev.  Dr.  Barrows,  who  admits  large  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Gray's  book,  and 
also  to  letters,  etc.,  received  from  that  gentleman.  Finding,  from  the  general 
tenor,  that  the  Reverend  Doctor  of  Divinity  has  been  largely  indoctrinated  by 
Mr.  Gray,  I  have  been  led  into  exposing  the  basal  errors  as  to  facts,  and  the 
unsound  imaginings  as  to  hypotheses  out  of  which  Mr.  Gray  has  spun  his 
"strange  story,"  from  first  to  last  traducing  the  Britons  and  Roman  Catholic 
clergy,  once  ir> Oregon  altho'  now  almost  all  "gone  to  the  majority."  Equally, 
in  the  dense  mist  of  his  bamboozlement  of  self-contradiction,  does  Mr.  Gray 
represent  John  McLoughlin,  who.u  he  terms  "the  noblest  of  men,"  as  having 
for,  say,  to  be  very  exact,  thirteen  or  fourteen  years,  operated  in  direct  oppo 
sition  to  fie,  as  by  Gray  alleged,  stringent  instructions  of  those  who  ranked 
him  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  service.  If  our  worthy  departed  friend,  McLoughlin, 
could  or  would  speak  now,  his  word  would  be:  "  Save  me  from  my  much  be 
wildered,  mistaken  friend,  Gray."  Presumably,  he  "recks  not." 

Not  once  does  the  Rev.  Barrows,  that  I  have  observd,  mention  McLoughlin's 
name  Neither  does  he  quote  aught  in  the  H.  B.  Co.'s  favor  from  Parker, 
Greenhow,  Wilkes  and  Montgomery  Martin,  whose  work,  The  Hudson's  Bay 
Territories  and  Vancouver  Island  (London,  1849)  by  quotation,  and  otherwise 
says  much  that  is  true,  though  in  parts  over  laudatory  of  the  much  maligned 
company. 

Dr.  Barrows  devotes  his  thirty-first  chapter,  the  last  but  two,  to  the  "  Whit 
man  Massacre."  To  this  subject  will  be  directed  my  concluding  remarks. 

It  would  be  hard  to  say  in  what  age  of  early  European  progress  men  were  as 
grossly  superstitious  as,  a  quarter  of  a  century  asp,  the  aborigines  of  the  Co 
lumbia  river  and  Puget's  Sound  continued  to  be.  Sorcerers  were  held  in  in 
tense  dread,  and  often  assassinated.  It  gave  a  young  man  renown  to  have 
killed  one  or  more,  his  relatives  in  each  case  making  cus  omary  compensation. 
At  Vancouver,  in  summer  1840,  a  young  hunter  from  Kiesno's  village,  Wakana- 
sissi,  known  to  the  whites  as  "  the  fishery,"  a  few  miles  below  Vancouver,  very 
early  one  morning  paddling  up  stream  in  quest  of  deer,  observed  in  a  sleep 
ing  camp  of  Calapooyas  on  Vancouver  beach,  lying  still,  under  a  faded  green 
blanket,  a  middle-aged  woman  he  was,  under  contract  with  the  Tuality  Indi 
ans,  to  kill  at  sight.  He  shot  the  woman,  and  coolly  continued  his  hunt.  The 


LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE.  33 

Doctor  got  Kiesno  to  bring  the  murderer  to  the  fort,  and  had  him  in  irons;  for 
it  was  considered  an  affront  to  the  whites  for  Indians  to  fight  or  to  kill  each 
other  near  a  company's  post.  Everywhere  such  acts  were  frowned  on,  but  in 
this  single  instance,  to  my  knowledge,  was  the  murderer  meddled  with.  From 
1836  to  1841,  at  Vancouver,  and  until  1859,  when  I  removed  from  Nisqually, 
W.  T.,  to  Victoda,  B..C.,  the  evil  practice  continued. 

Experience  has  satisfied  me  that,  in  those  early  days,  white  physicians  ran 
great  risks  among  the  Indians.  To  illustrate  this,  my  own  case  must  be  in 
brief  detailed.  On  return  from  England,  in  May,  after  a  business  trip  to  Ma 
rion  county,  I  was,  in  July,  1843,  placed^  in  charge  of  the  P.  S.  A.  Assn's  and 
the  H.  B.  Co.'s  business  at  Nisqually,  where  I  remained  for  sixteen  years^ 
That  fall,  the  Indians,  as  was  their  custom  with  a  new  comer,  were  trying  to 
discover  what  manner  of  man  I  was.  Consequently  misunderstanding  ensued 
with  two  young  Indians,  one  the  recognized  chief's  son,  the  other  his  nephew. 
Some  time  after,  the  nephew's  oldest  brother  called  at  the  post  to  see  how  I 
felt.  Received  him  (Lashinia)  kindly,  and  gave  him  some  tobacco.  The  two 
young  men,  cousins,  took  to  spitting  blood  and  died  of  lingering  consumption. 
I  often  sent  food  to  and  saw  the  chief's  son,  who  lived  near  by;  most  likely  I 
also  gave  him  tonics  and  cough  mixtures.  Just  after  the  death  of  the  y -ung 
men  the  nephew's  surviving  able  bodied  brother  killed  an  Indian  sorcerer  and 
healer,  who  had  been  in  attendance  on  both,  and  gave  out  his  intention  of  kill 
ing  some  one  else. 

About  this  time  I  had  notice  from  Vancouver,  sent  by  a  French  Canadian,  to 
look  out,  that  the  Indians  were  talking  oi  assassinating  me.  This  man,  long 
-n  the  company's  service,  had  a  half  breed  family  at  Nisqually,  and  was  in  the 
way  of  knowing.  Made  no  sign  of  suspicion,  although  keeping  watch  on  the 
second  brother,  Snanahal.  One  day,  seeing  some  one  in  the  midst  of  the  yet 
u  picketed  buildings  at  Nisqually,  coiled  up  under  a  blanket  as  if  sound 
asleep,  I  touched  him  with  my  foot,  and,  on  his  springi  g  up,  at  once  au 
thoritatively  ordered  him  to  go  and  sleep  elsewhere.  This  was  Snanahal,  who, 
n  :t  long  after,  while  in  the  act  of  thrashing  his  new  wife,  he  had  anoiher,  was 
shot  dead  by  his  last  father-in-law.  Now  must  be  mentioned  that,  months  or 
more  before,  when  Lastinia  got  from  me  the  tobacco  above  mentioned,  the  firs'! 
smoke  of  it  he  had  in  his  lodge,  five  miles  off',  so  stupefied  him  that,  falling  into 
the  fire,  he  got  severely  burnt,  and  was  laid  up  a  cripple  until  after  his  surviv 
ing  brother's  sudden  taking  off.  I  invited  him  to  camp  near  the  fort,  promising 
to  get  him  on  his  legs  again.  By  dint  of  attention  and  good  feeding,  I  suc 
ceeded,  and  found  him  useful  afterwards.  In  time  I  got  from  him  the  admis 
sion  that  in  1843,  when  he  got  the  tobacco,  he  had  come  to  see  me  with  the 
view  of  ascertaining  how  my  turn  turn,  or  disposition,  was  towards  himself  and 


34  LETTER     FKOM    DR.    TOLMIE. 

brother,  and  that  his  getting  burnt  immediately  thereafter  had  been  by  all  at 
tributed  to  my  supposed  magical  power.  Having  in  London,  in  1842,  at  Dr 
Elliotson's  (he  then  had  practice  worth  $25,000  a  year)  seen  exhibitions  of  ani 
mal  magnetism  in  which  manipulation,  as  in  Indian  "  tamanowas,"  was  the 
only  ostensible  agent,  and  having,  on  the  passage  out,  read  fully  on  the  sub 
ject,  I  never  after  looked  on  the  sorcerer's  work  as  altogether  humbug,  and  in 
doctoring  Indians,  as  I  did  very  often,  instead  of  ridiculing  tamanowas,  I  al 
lowed  it  full  swing  as  well.  A  sick  man's  hope  cannot  be  too  much  encour- 
couraged. 

In  early  1840,  chief  trader  Black,  much  liked  by  his  Indians,  v*as  shot  be 
cause  he  refused  the  loan  of  a  gun  to  an  aged  Indian,  said  gun  having  been  left 
at  Kamloops,  Thompson's  river,  B.  C.,  in  Black's  charge.  The  elderly  appli 
cant  soon  after  died,  and  his  nephew,  spurred  on  by  his  own  mother,  shot  Black 
in  the  post  dining  hall.  Panic-stricken  savages  are  very  impulsive,  and  in 
case  of  suspected  evil  eye  work  or  the  like,  equally  revengeful. 

Much  has  been  said,  in  print  and  in  conversation,  about  Dr.  Whitman's  hav 
ing  been  supposed  by  the  Cayuse  to  be  poisoning  them.  With  friend  McKin- 
lay,  vvho  left  Walla  Walla  in  1846,  and  who  was  a  bosom  friend  of  Whitman's, 
whom  I  also  thought  much  of,  1  have  at  different  periods  conversed  on  the 
Wailatpu  catastrophe.  Remember  well  Mac's  telling  me  that  W.  H.  Gray 
had  once  boasted  to  him  of  the  smart  way  he  had  hit  upon,  by  neatly  insert  ng 
tartar  emeti :  into  ripe  ones,  to  prevent  the  Cayuse  from  stealing  melons  from 
the  Wailatpu  gardens. 

Mac.,  in  two  epistles,  28th  April  and  I2th  May,  1884,  has  written  me  as 
follows,  on  the  melon  business:  "The  drugging  of  the  melons,  to  the  best  of 
my  recollection,  occurred  in  1841.  Gray  spoke  of  the  act  as  a  clever  method 
he  had  taken  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  stealing  melons.  After  this,  Whit 
man  was  suspected  of  being  a  dangerous  medicine  man.  I  left  Walla  Walla  in 
February,  1846.  and  assumed  charge  at  Oregon  City  in  March."  "The  melon 
affair  occurred  in  1841.  The  seriousness  of  the  act  was  little  thought  of  at  the 
time,  but  it  became  known  to  the  Indians,  and  they  frequently  referred  to  it 
»ot  only  to  me  but  to  Whitman  also.  Another  curious  incident  occurred  at 
Wailatpa,  (I  am  sure  I  must  have  told  you  about  it)  in  the  summer  of  1844, 
which  worked  o  )  the  native  superstition  about  doctors,  and  caused  both  Whit 
man  and  myself  no  little  anxiety.  I  shall  mention  it  again.  In  the  summer  of 
that  year  about  all  the  principal  men  of  the  Cayuse  and  Walla  Wallas  went  to 
California  to  buy  cattle.  During  their  absence  the  son  of  one  of  the  absent 
Cayuse  chiefs  headed  a  party  of  young  men  and  proceeded  to  the  Dalles  to 
levy  blackmail  on  that  tribe  by  obliging  them  to  give  horses,  dried  salmon, 


LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLM1E.  35 

blankets,  etc.  The  young  Rob  Roy,  on  his  return  with  his  booty,  called  at 
Whitman's.  The  latter  refused  to  give  his  hand,  saying  he  did  not  shake  hands 
with  robbers.  That  night  the  young  man  went  to  bed  as  usual.  About  mid- 
night  he  roused  his  wife,  asked  for  something  to  eat,  saying  he  felt  hungry. 
She  handed  him  some  dried  buffalo  meat.  While  in  the  act  of  eating  this,  he 
fell  down  and  expired.  Whitman's  ill  will  (medicine)  was  considered  the  cause, 
of  course.  In  the  spring  of  1845  trie  California  expedition  returneu  without 
cattle.  Elijah  Hedding,  Pies  Pis  Mochs  Mochs'  educated  son,  had  been  killed 
by  an  American  at  Fort  Sutter.  As  might  be  supposed,  they  were  not  in  the 
best  of  humors.  The  father  of  the  young  man  whose  death  was  so  sudden  (a 
very  good  Indian)  made  a  feast,  invited  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Whitman;  when  the 
invitation  was  given,  Mrs.  W.  was  very  anxious  and  begged  of  me  to  come  to 
the  feast  also,  so,  being  invited,  I  did  so.  It  was  a  grand  affair.  The  old 
father  in  his  speech  alluded  to  the  opinion  formed  by  the  superstitious,  but  de 
clared  such  an  idea  nev  -r  entered  his  head,  called  the  Doctor  his  best  friend, 
etc.  Still,  the  superstitious  and  evil  disposed  held  to  their  own  opinions,  and 
would  express  those  opinions  when  it  suited  their  purpose  to  do  so.  The  fore 
going,  with  many  other  incidents  with  minor  import,  combined,  in  my  opinion, 
to  work  on  their  feeble  and  suspicious  natures.  Of  all  the  Indians  I  ever  met, 
none  equalled  the  Cayuses  and  Walla  Wallas  in  superstition.  They  shot  seven 
of  their  own  medicine  men  right  by  the  fort  during  my  five  years'  stay  there, 
and  probably  over  three  times  that  number  altogether." 

The  foregoing  is  left  without  comment.  I  regard  the  Catholic  priests  as 
blameless.  The  evil-disposed,  ignorant  people  about  the  mission  at  the  time 
did  much  to  precipitate  the  sad  event. 

With  much  respect  and  best  wishes,  I  am,  Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentle 
men,  yours  for  the  truth. 

W.  FRASEK  TOLMIE. 

Postscript  to  W.  F.  Tolmie's  communication  of  3d  June,  1884,  to  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association,  Salem,  Oregon: 

"Trifles  light  as  air  "  coming  fresh  to  mind  after  the  massacre  of  Wailatpu, 
and  some  more  alarming  incidents  in  the  Cayuse  country,  such  as  the  burning 
of  the  sawmill  belonging  to  the  Whitman  mission,  might  have  warned  whites 
having  much  to  do  with  Indians  from  1843  to  l%47  tnat  the  natives  were  be 
coming  uneasy  as  to  the  ever  increasing  number  of  immigrants.  In  1844, 
Ovvhai  (ai  as  i-  aisle),  the  most  stirring  of  the  Upper  Yakimrs,  said  to  me  at 
Nisqually  t  at  the  trans-Cascade  chiefs  and  leading  men  felt  troubled  at  the 
great  influx  of  Americans  (Shooiapo),  that  a  company's  post  such  as  Walla 
Walla  or  Nisqually  they  liked,  intimating  plainly,  although  in  a  sly,  obscure 


36  LETTER     FROM     DR.    TOLMIE. 

way — perhaps  he  was  in  a  measure  thinking  aloud — that  the  Indinns,  on  a  pinch, 
could  do  what  they  liked  wilh  such  weakly  manned  places.  In  these  days  Nis- 
qually  was  not  palisaded,  such  a  precaution  being  thought  unnecessary.  In 
1845,  Michael  T.  Simmons,  George  Bush,  S.  B.  Crockett  and  a  few  others  set 
tled  on  the  south  end  of  Puget's  Sound,  calling  their  settlement  Newmarket, 
and  by  bringing  cedar  shingles  to  me  for  the  Victoria  and  Sandwich  Islands' 
markets,  got  useful  supplies  in  return.  To  help  them  the  more,  the  Hawaiian 
market  was  more  than  once  by  the  company  glutted  with  shingles. 

Of  course,  settlement  increased  subsequently  to  June  15,  1846,  and  as  people 
scattered  more,  certain  ruffians  of  the  Snokwalimi  Indians  became  more  saucy 
and  troublesome.  The  first  check  was,  in  1849,  tne  hanging,  after  jury  trial  by 
U.  S.  troops,  of  two  Snokwalimi  murderers,  at  Fort  Steilacoorn,  W.  T.  One 
of  the  fellows  had,  wantonly  I  may  say,  shot,  at  Nisqually,  an  excellent  young 
American,  Wallace,  a  shingle  maker.  The  other  had  mortally  wounded  a 
young  Indian,  who,  with  many  men,  women  and  children  had  rushed  tumultu- 
ously  into  the  fort  on  the  approach  of  what  seemed  to  them  a  war  party. 

The  fortifying  of  the  post  happened  as  follows:  In  December,  1847,  probably 
at  an  early  date,  although  this  I  cannot  now  make  certain,  an  interview  was 
sought  with  me  at  night  by  an  Indian  sorcerer,  who  had  prolonged  his  threat 
ened  life,  as  it  came  about,  only  for  a  few  months,  by  flying  in  haste  frcm  a 
Sinahomish  village,  south  end  of  Whidby  Island,  to  his  relatives  working  at 
Nisqually.  This  man  told  excitedly  that  at  a  late  gathering  of  various  north 
ern  tribes  at  Nugwadso  the  village  in  question,  a  proposal  had  been  favorably 
discussed  for  killing  all  the  whites  on  the  Sound.  The  plan  for  Nisqually  was, 
to  post  themselves  well  at  night,  to  set  fire  to  the  bark  roofs  of  the  men's  cot 
tages,  and  from  darkness  to  shoot  us  all  as  we  rushed  forth.  He  named  prin 
cipal  men  of  the  Sinahomish  as  present,  who,  since  the  building  of  Fort  Lang- 
ley,  Fraser's  river,  (1827)  some  twenty  years  earlier,  had  been  professing 
great  friendship  for  the  whites.  Not  unaccustomed  to  palpably  false  alarms 
from  Indians  I  yet  reported  this  notice  to  the  Board  of  Management  at  Vancou 
ver  (Messrs.  Ogden  and  Douglas),  and  had  from  Mr.  Douglas  a  reply  dated 
January  18,  1848,  penned  in  haste,  of  which  the  following  is  ail  extract:  "  The 
Legislature  has  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  sale  of  powder,  lead  and  caps  to 
all  Indians.  I  consider  it  a  dangerous  measure,  which  will  excite  the  Indians 
more  and  more  against  the  Americans;  they  will  starve  without  ammunition, 
and  distress  may  drive  them  to  the  most  dangerous  courses.  They  will  prey 
upon  the  settlements,  and  slaughter  cattle  when  they  can  no  longer  hunt  the 
deer.  Represent  this  to  the  Newmarket  men,  it  is  oppression,  and  not  kind 
ness,  that  will  drive  the  Indians  into  acts  of  hostility.  Use  all  your  influence 


LETTER     FROM    DR.    TOLMIE.  37 

to  protect  the  Newmarket  people  from  harm,  and  tell  them  to  be  kind  and 
civil  to  the  Indians.  Use  your  own  discretion  about  the  powder  and  lead  pro 
hibition;  you  need  not  enforce  the  law  if  it  endangers  the  safety  of  the  country. 
The  Americans  about  this  place  are  all  exclaiming  against  it,  and  are  serving 
out  powder  to  the  Indians  themselves  to  protect  their  stock.  You  ought,  in  my 
opinion,  to  get  the  fort  enclosed  immediately,  and  bastions  put  up  at  two  of 
the  corners.  If  your  own  people  are  not  sufficient,  hire  hands  to  assist  you; 
the  sooner  that  precaution  is  taken  the  better.  The  occurrence  described  in 
your  letter  proves  most  forcibly  the  necessity  of  putting  the  place  in  a  de 
fensible  state."  (Signed)  JAMES  DOUGLAS. 

In  1848,  heard  from  Victoria,  V.  I.,  and  Langley,  Eraser's  river,  of  the  dis 
quieted  state  of  the  Indian  mind  in  consequence  of  the  epidemic  sicknesses  that 
had  prevailed  amongst  them.  On  the  lower  Columbia,  until  I  left,  in  1841,  it 
was  firmly  believed  by  the  natives  that  the  remittent  fever  in  1828  and  after,  so 
decimating  them,  had  been  left  by  a  Boston  shipmaster,  Dominis,  because  they 
had  not  sold  him  all  their  furs.  Talked  with  D.  on  the  coast  about  this,  in  af 
ter  years. 

When,  in  the  month  of  June,  the  "Doctor"  used  to  have  a  graduated  painted 
pole  set  up  on  the  water's  edge,  when  the  summer  freshet  was  thought  to  be 
near  its  maximum,  at  Vancouver,  the  natives  concluded  that  the  pole  was  so 
placed  to  stop  the  river's  further  rise. 

VV.  F.  T. 


OBITUARY. 


Mrs.  Mahala  Wilson  died  June  28th,  1884,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  August 
I5th,  1813;  was  married  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  in  the  year  1833,  to  Mr.  John 
Wilson  who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  March  8th,  1813,  and  who  died  in  Linn 
county,  Oregon,  March  1 7th,  1868.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  removed  from  Indi 
ana  to  Missouri  in  the  year  1842,  and  from  thence  to  Oregon,  crossing  the 
plains  in  1851,  and  settled  in  Linn  county,,  on  their  farm  about  three  iles 
from  what  is  now  the  town  of  Halsey,  and  living  there  up  to  the  time  of  their 
death. 

Mrs.  Wilson  went  to  Eastern  Oregon,  about  two  weeks  previous  to  her  death, 
to  look  after  some  business  interests  she  had  there,  intending  to  return  ifi  a  few 
weeks,  but  was  attacked  with  paralysis  and  never  spoke  afterwards.  Her  re 
mains  were  biought  to  this  place  by  her  son,  Pryor  Wilson.  Her  funeral  took 
place  from  the  residence  of  her  son-in-law,  Hon.  T.  J.  Black,  July  loth,  1884, 
when  she  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  husband  in  Pine  Tree  Cemetery. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  leave  a  large  estate;  also  a  large  family  of  children 
living  in  this  State  and  Arizona,  all  of  whom  are  in  good  circumstances.  Mrs. 
Wilson  also  leaves  two  sisters  in  this  State,  Mrs.  John  Stewart  and  Mrs.  Pryor 
Scott,  of  Corvallis,  Oregon,  who,  together  with  a  large  circle  of  friends,  mourn 
her  very  sudden  death. 

W.  J.  S. 

HALSEY,  July  2oth,  1884. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    SOCIETY.  39 

ELECTION  OF    OFFICERS. 

The  election  of  officers  then  took  place,  with  the  following 
results : 

Hon.  J.   T.  Apperson,  President 

Hon.  J.  W.   Grim,  Vice  President. 

Hon.  R.   P.   Earhart,  Secretary. 

W.   H.   R.ees,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

John  M.   Bacon,  Treasurer. 

F.  X.  Matthieu,  Medorum  Crawford  and  F.  R.  Smith,  Direc 
tors. 

HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 
Resolved — That  the  Honorable  O.  C.  Pratt,  of  California,  who 
was  an  early  Oregon  pioneer,  be  and  he  is  hereby  made  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  for  life,  and  that  the  Sec 
retary  furnish  him  notice  in  writing  to  that  effect,  and  that 
printed  proceedings  of  the  Association  be  sent  to  him. 

Resolved — That  the  Hon.  James  Fields,  now  of  New  York, 
but  a  former  resident  and  pioneer  of  Oregon,  be  made  a  life 
member  of  this  Association. 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 


REGULAR    AND  SPECIAL  MEETINGS. 


OFFICE  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS, 

CAPITOL  BUILDING,  SALEM,  June  18,  1884. 

The  Board  of  Directors  met  in  their  office  for  the  transaction 
of  business,  R.  P.  Earhart,  acting  Secretary  of  the  Board. 

Treasurer  J.  M.  Bacon  presented  the  following  report  of  the 
transactions  of  his  office  for  the  past  year,  which  was  examined 
and  approved: 

TREASURER'S  REPORT. 

OREGON  CITY,  June  14,  1884. 
To  the  President,  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

I  hereby  make  my  annual  report  again  of  the  receipts  and  disbursemnts  of 
cash  received  as  Treasurer  for  the  year  past: 

1883.  KECEIPTS. 

June  15,  To  balance  on  hand $  12  55 

To  amount  collected,  per  self 130  oo 

by  Secretary   1 76  oo 

To  cash,  I.  R .  Moores I  oo 

W.  H.  Harris I  oo 

"       J.  F.  Miller 5  oo 

"       J.  T.  Apperson I  oo 

"       J.M.Bacon I  oo 

Oct.  2.  "       Excursion,  per  Bacon 16100 

"       Odeneal 223  oo 

$7"  55 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS.  41 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

June  1 6,  By  warrant,  Waite   $  47  47 

Waite    198  85 

J.  F.  Miller 10  oo 

T.  B.  Odeneal 5  25 

J.  M.  Bacon    10  oo 

"    .       F.  X.  Matthieu    5  oo 

"          J.  W.  Nesmith 5  oo 

"           T.   B.  Odeneal lo  oo 

«'           J.  W.  Grim   5  oo 

"           Joseph  Watt 500 

E.  M.    Waite 2000 

1884 

J.  M.  Bacon 80  oo 

T.  B.  Odeneal ! ,     8000 

"  Joseph  Watt 8000 

"  J.   W.  Nesmith . .    20  oo 

"          E.  M.  Waite   24  oo 

J.  G.   Wright 13  oo 

By  cash  to  balance 92  98 

—$711  55 

June  1 7,   By  cash  on  hand ...      $  92  98 

J.  M.  BACON,  Treasurer. 

REPORT  OF  SECRETARY. 

There  was  no  report  received  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Asso 
ciation. 

The  following  bills  were  audited  and  ordered  paid: 

Bennet,  labor $  4  oo 

Standard,  advertising 6  50 

Conover  &  Co.,  advertising 3  50 

Waite  &  Co.,  printing 86  40 

Oregonian,  advertising 6  oo 

Parrish,  hauling. 3  75 

John  Green,  services 10  50 

Willamette  Farmer 2  oo 

Whitney  Boise,  services 5  oo 


42  PROCEEDINGS    OF    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS. 

Vidette.  printing 2  oo 

Statesman,  advertising 7  50 

Wood 3  5° 

The  Board  authorized  the  Secretary  to  adjust  on  best  possible 
terms  the  claims  of  the  Board  and  draw  warrants  for  the  amount. 

The  Board  of  Directors  then  adjourned. 


OFFICE  OF  THE  SECRETARY, 
CAPITOL  BUILDING,    SALEM,   February  18,  1885, 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association 
met  at  2  o'clock  p.  M.,  th'e  following  officers  and  members  being 
present: 

J.  T.   Apperson,  President. 

R.  P.  Earhart,  Secretary. 

Jno.  M.   Bacon,  Treasurer. 

E.  M.   Waite,  F.   X.    Matthieu  and  F.   R.  Smith. 

Absent — W.  H.  Rees,  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  Medorum 
Crawford. 

Mr.  Bacon  moved  that  the  Association  hold  its  next  annual 
reunion  at  Oregon  City,  which  motion  prevailed. 

The  following  committee  was  appointed  on  programme  and 
exercises  for  the  reunion: 

Jno.    M.   Bacon,  W.  Carey  Johnson  and  K.  L.  Eastham. 

The  committee  was  further  authorized  to  appoint  such  sub 
committees  as  they  might  deem  proper  to  assist  them  in  arrang 
ing  the  exercises  for  that  occasion 

Upon  motion  Hon.  George  H.  Williams,  of  Portland,  was  se 
lected  to  deliver  the  annual  address,  and  Mr.  E  L  Eastham,  of 
Oregon  City,  the  occasional  address. 

Col.  W.  L.  White,  of  Oregon  City,  was  elected  Chief  Marshal, 
and  Rev.  George  H.  Atkison,  of  Portland,  Chaplain. 

The  President  and  Secretary  were,  upon  motion,  authorized  to 
fill  any  vacancies  that  might  occur  in  the  matter  of  orator,  etc. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    BOARD    OF    DIRECTORS.  43 

The  following  resolution  was  presented  and  upon  motion 
adopted: 

"  Resolved,  That  all  members  of  this  Association  who  shall  pay 
their  annual  dues  for  the  year  ending  June  15,  1885,  shall  be 
considered  in  good  standing,  and  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of 
membership." 

The  Secretary  was,  upon  motion,  authorized  to  procure  all 
necessary  printing,  and  to  arrange  for  rates  of  fares  on  the  various 
lines  of  transportation. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  Board,  on  motion,  ad 
journed. 

R.   P.  EARHART,  Secretary. 


TRANSACTIONS 


THIRTEENTH  ANNUAL  RE-UNION 


OF    THE 


OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION 


FOR 


^  1  8  8  5  j 

@GGas!onal  Address  by  E,  li.  Easbjpam,  Esq. 


AND  THE 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS  BY  HON.  GEO.  H.  WILLIAMS, 


WITH    OTHER    MATTERS    OF    INTEREST. 


SALEM,  OREGON: 

E.  M.  WAITE,  STEAM  PRINTER  AND  BOOKBINDER. 


THIRTEENTH  UNNUfiL  RE-UNION, 


OREGON  CITY,         \ 
June  15,  1885.) 

The  Thirteenth  Annual  Re-union  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  As 
sociation  was  held  at  the  Pavilion  near  Oregon  City,  on  the  isth 
day  of  June,  1885. 

The  officers  of  the  Association  present  were: 

J.  T.  Apperson,  President. 

J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  President. 

R.  P.  Earhart,  Secretary. 

J.   M.   Bacon,  Treasurer. 

E.  M.  Waite,  F.  X.  Mathieu,  Medorum  Crawford  and  F.  R. 
Smith,  Directors. 

The  rain  continued  to  fall  until  eleven  o'clock,  and  the 
trains  and  boats  brought  only  tens,  whereas  if  the  weather  had 
been  pleasant,  they  would  have  brought  hundreds.  Those  that 
come,  however,  were  so  delighted  with  the  welcome  that  the  cit 
izens  gave  them  and  the  fine  grounds  prepared,  that  they  voted 
to  come  again  next  year.  At  about  eleven  o'clock  Col.  W.  L. 
White,  Chief  Marshal,  formed  the  procession,  and  after  march 
ing  through  Main  street,  headed  by  the  Oregon  City  brass  band, 
proceeded  to  Falls  City  Park,  followed  by  the  citizens  of  this 
county.  The  pavilion  had  been  well  prepared  with  seats,  and 
after  all  were  seated,  the  President  called  the  assembly  to  order. 
The  band  played  "Auld  Lang  Syne." 

Then  the  audience  arose  and  Rev.  G.  H.  Atkinson,  D.  D.,  de- 


4:  THIRTEENTH    ANNUAL    RE-UNION. 

livered  an  eloquent  and  fervent  prayer.  He  thanked  the  Cre 
ator  for  the  fair  land  that  was  preserved  to  the  American  nation 
by  the  efforts  of  the  hardy  and  God-fearing  men  and  women  who 
braved  the  hardships  and  perils  attending  the  long  journey  across 
the  plains,  and  who  patiently  waited  in  the  wilderness  for  the 
coming  of  the  flag  they  loved  so  well.  He  also  praised  God  for 
the  provisional  though  republican  government  that  was  early  given 
to  those  adventurous  men  and  women,  and  for  the  present  gov 
ernment  and  its  attendant  advantages,  and  in  conclusion  invoked 
a  continuance  of  the  manifold  blessings  that  had  been  showered 
upon  the  people  of  the  Pacific  coast. 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  ADDRESS. 


Mr.  J.  T.  Apperson,  president  of  the  association,  then  delivered 
the  opening  address,  as  follows: 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  OF  OBEGON,  AND 
FRIENDS. — On  this,  the  thirteenth  annual  re-union  of  this  association,  it  is 
with  great  pleasure  we  welcome  you  to  this  place — a  place  made  memorable 
from  the  fact  that  here  was  organized  the  provisional  government  in  1845. 
This  place  was  the  capital  of  the  vast  territory  then  known  as  Oregon.  It 
was  also  the  capital  of  the  territorial  government  under  the  general  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  for  several  years.  Here,  you  who  in  early  days 
encountered  the  dangers  and  difficulties  incident  to  a  trip  across  the  great 
American  continent,  were  received  and  congratulated  by  those  who  had  pre 
ceded  you,  upon  your  safe  arrival  "the  plains  across." 

Each,  as  you  westward  turned  and  bid  adieu  to  relatives,  friends  and  the 
associations  of  early  life,  looked  anxiously  forward  to  the  time  when  this 
place  should  be  reached,  and  as  day  after  day,  week  after  week  and  month 
after  month  you  continued  your  journey  surrounded  by  great  dangers  and 
many  privations,  you  anxiously  anticipated  the  time  when  this  place 
should  be  reached  and  those  dangers  and  privations  should  be  over. 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  meeting  in  Oregon  City  would  revive  in  the 
minds  of  pioneers  many  events  and  incidents  that  were  almost  faded  from 
your  minds,  in  the  lapse  of  time  since  your  arrival  at  this  place.  While  here 
calling  to  mind  those  events  and  associations  incident  to  the  early  settle 
ment  of  this  vast  territory,  you  will  contrast  in  your  minds  the  great  changes 
that  have  taken  place.  Still  the  great  changes  that  have  or  may  take  place, 
will  never  drive  from  your  memory  while  life  lasts  the  scenes  and  incidents 
that  you,  my  pioneer  friends,  encountered  many  years  long  since  past. 

Time  is  calling  from  our  midst  many  of  those  with  whom  we  were  ac 
quainted  and  associated.  We  miss  many  who  one  year  ago  were  with  us. 

t  reminds  us  of  the  lact  that  we,  the  pioneers  of  Oregon,  will  have  in  a 
few  more  years  all  passed  away. 


0 

The  great  number  of  our  members  who  during  the  past  year  have  been 
gathered  from  among  us,  never  again  to  be  met  in  our  re-unions  on  earth, 
bring  sad  and  melancholy  reflections.  Let  us  treasure  up  and  cherish  those 
names,  not  only  in  our  hearts,  but  upon  the  pages  of  the  history  of  this 
association. 

We  feel  thankful  that  it  is  our  privilege  to  meet  with  you  on  this  day,  and 
on  belalf  of  the  good  people  of  this  place  extend  a  welcome  to  you,  the 
pioneers  of  Oregon,  and  our  friends.  We  trust  this  may  be  a  pleasant 
meeting  for  all.  May  it  be  cherished  in  our  memory  as  one  of  the  pleasant- 
est  and  happiest  annual  re-unions  of  our  members,  and  our  friends.  I  bid 
you  all  welcome. 


THE  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS. 


BY    E.    L.   EASTHAM,   ESQ. 


Mr.  E.  L.  Eastham,  of  Oregon  City,  who  delivered  the  oc 
casional  address,  was  then  introduced  to  the  association,  and 
spoke  as  follows: 

MB.  PRESIDENT  AND  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  — The  pioneers  of  civiliza 
tion  have  in  all  ages  been  too  modest  to  sing  the  story  of  their  own  achiev- 
ments,  or  to  claim  the  honors  and  rewards  so  justly  their  due.  But  the 
sweet  sentiment  of  fraternity  is  a  flower  that  pilgrims  have  ever  loved  to 
cultivate.  Doubtless  the  perils  and  unspeakable  privations  endured  by  the 
children  of  Israel  in  their  wandering  emigration  from  Egypt  to  Canaan 
served  in  large  part  to  bind  them  and  their  descendants  together  for  many 
generations;  and  it  pleases  the  imagination  to  believe  that  the  memories  and 
traditions  of  that  journey  of  journeys  have  been  religiously  treasured  and 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  and  have  served  to  knit  to 
gether  in  bonds  of  enduring  brotherhood  a  race  of  men,  in  all  else  like  other 
men,  whose  spirit  of  universal  fraternization  among  themselves  continuing 
.for  many  centuries  is  even  to  this  day  a  matter  of  profound  wonderment  and 
admiration  to  all  other  civiliz-d  races.  The  crusaders  long  preserved  the 
traditions  of  their  journey  ings  and  their  dangers,  their  successes  and  dire 
defeats;  and  for  generations  their  descendants  kept  alive  the  orders  and  or 
ganizations  and  the  chivalrous  spirit  that  were  born  to  their  ancestors  and 
grew  to  living  strength  on  a  thousand  battle-fields  with  Turk  aud  Saracen, 
and  through  years  of  journeying  in  the  land  of  the  far  east.  Even  to  this 
day  man}'  of  the  tribes  now  enrolled  under  the  national  banner  of  the  great 
white  Czar  proudly  remember  and  boastfully  repeat  the  story  of  that  emi 
gration  invasion  of  their  ancestors  upon  imperial  Rome,  which  resulted  in 
the  dismemberment  of  the  greatest  empire  known  to  history.  And  so  the 
Oregon  pioneers  feel  their  hearts  drawn  together  by  memories  of  untold 
privations  and  countless  dangers  endured  standing  faithfully  together, 


8  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  an  argonautic  expedition  of  so  long  ago  that  of  the 
travelers  none  are  now  young  and  hundreds  are  known  no  more  save  to 
shining  memory.  And  the  sentiments  of  fellowship  and  fraternity  these  re 
unions  are  primarily  intended  to  cultivate  and  renew,  may  well  be  supple 
mented  by  proud  remembrance  of  grand  results,  the  hard-won  fruits  of  their 
bitter  toil. 

These  later  argonauts  have  fallen  lately  into  a  long  disused  custom  of 
getting  together  around  an  improvised  camp-tire  and  having  an  old-time 
friendly  visit.  You  may  remember  that  for  many  of  the  first  years  of  pio 
neer  life  in  Oregon  every  man's  latch-string  was  always  out;  and  the  fash 
ion  of  continual  visiting  kept  green  the  memory  of  their  emigrant  experi 
ences.  In  those  days,  men's  wants  were  simple  and  easily  supplied,  and 
contrary  to  the  usual  order  of  things,  leisure  and  plenty  went  merrily  hand- 
in-hand. 

But  later  on,  the  country  came  to  be  more  civilized,  and  with  increasing 
wants  and  decreasing  leisure  it  came  also  to  be  far  less  neighborly  and  fra 
ternal.  We  had  about  lost  our  reputation  for  being  the  most  hospitable  of 
communities  when  somebody  proposed  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  and  to 
have  all  the  old-time  barn-raisings,  and  long  visits  with  the  ox  team  for  the 
whole  year  in  one,  and  to  call  it  a  pioneer  re-union. 

The  idea  was  carried  out;  and  let  us  hope  that  the  pioneer  re-union  will, 
in  its  turn,  while  rejuvenating  the  memories  of  the  trip  across  the  plains, 
serve  also  to  recall  the  less  selfish  and  more  neighborly  customs  of  the  early 
days  in  the  backwoods  of  Oregon. 

But  the  pioneers  of  the  far  west  will  get  food  for  the  soul  at  these  meet 
ings,  and  will  renew  their  youth  in  discussion  of  the  adventures  of  the  early 
days — adventures  which  in  those  days  of  active  youth  and  high  hope  served 
for  little  more  than  to  whet  their  appetites  for  the  feast  of  untrammeled  ac 
tion  and  glorious  excitement  they — or  many  of  them — had  long  looked  for 
ward  to;  but  which  adventures  now,  after  the  lapse  of  many  years  passed  in 
uneventful  quiet,  loom  up  in  the  distant  past  assuming,  even  in  their  eyes, 
somewhat  of  the  splendid  proportions  long  since  discovered  by  their  far  off 
kinsmen  across  the  continent. 

For,  whatever  the  object  of  that  wonderful  journey  of  2,500  miles  among 
hostile  tribes,  across  unexplored  plains,  under  the  desert  sun,  among  snow 
capped  peaks  of  the  highest  mountain  ranges  on  the  continent,  it  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  these  pioneers  of  civilization  in  the  far  west,  both  in  their 
personal  achievments,  and  in  the  results  obtained,  are  fairly  entitled  to  re- 


THE    OCCASIONAL     ADDRESS.  9 

gard  their  exploits  proudly  as  does  the  soldier  who  bivoucks  the  night  after 
the  battle  on  the  hard-won  field.  For  were  not  the  toils  of  the  journey  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Columbia  greater  than  those  of  any  campaign?  Were 
the  dangers  to  half-armed  emigrants,  with  their  women  and  children,  in  a 
country  infested  with  hostile  and  merciless  savages,  less  than  to  the  full- 
equipped  army  in  quest  of  battle  and  thirsty  for  spoil  ?  Were  even  the  hor 
rors  of  the  march  from  Moscow  not  equaled  by  those  of  Donner  lake  and 
Whitman  station? 

Where  else  in  the  history  of  man,  civilized  or  not,  do  you  read  the  story 
of  a  2,500-mile  march  through  hostile  country,  over  unexplored  desert  and 
mountain?  The  host  led  by  Moses  and  Aaron  wandered  for  years,  but  only 
accomplished  a  direct  journey  of  a  few  hundred  miles.  Xenophon  in  his 
famous  retreat  from  the  Euphrates  had  a  less  distance  to  go  before  he 
reached  safe  harbor  at  home.  No  crusade  ever  extended  over  so  great  a 
distance,  and  most  of  the  way  through  Christian  and  friendly  countries. 
Napoleon  on  his  disastrous  trip  to  Moscow  only  essayed  a  march  of  1,500 
miles.  Truly  it  was  a  performance  of  which  all  mankind  may  well  be  proud. 
Time  is  yet  too  young  for  the  story  to  be  fairly  told.  The  descendants  of 
Oregon  pioneers  shall  yet  hear  their  ancestors'  glories  sung  as  we  now  teach 
our  children  to  glorify  the  heroes  of  the  past. 

And  the  bravery  and  hardihood  of  the  effort  was  only  equaled  by  the  sub 
stantial  fruits  of  the  achievement.  As  a  result  of  the  pilgrimage  of  the  pio 
neers,  England,  ever  on  the  alert  to  extend  her  domain,  was  deprived  of  a 
vast  and  fruitful  territory.  And  so  much  of  the  continent  as  she  failed  to 
grasp  was  added  to  the  dominion  of  our  own  country.  Out  of  thip  splendid 
extent,  one  state  has  already  been  carved  and  two  territories,  destined  some 
day  to  be  added  to  the  original  thirteen  states.  And  if  the  women  of  Wash 
ington  territory  shall  be  as  successful  in  dealing  with  President  Cleveland 
and  his  administration  as  they  have  so  far  been  with  territorial  bachelor 
hood,  and  if  the  territory  and  the  women  shall  get  their  just  deserts,  then 
another  state  will  soon  be  added  to  the  Union,  a  further  offering  of  the  pio 
neers  of  the  far  west  upon  the  alter  of  the  national  prosperity. 

It  was  worth  while  for  men  and  women  to  undertake  a  pilgrimage,  the 
like  of  which  the  world  scarce  ever  saw,  and  to  brave  the  known  dangers 
and  hardships  of  a  journey  from  the  regions  of  the  Alleghany  mountains  to 
the  very  Ultima  Thule  of  the  great  Oregon  Eiver,  that  they  might  proudly 
offer  to  mother  country  the  first  fruits  of  their  perilous  victory  in  the  shape 
of  sovereign  states  and  magnificent  territory  out  of  which  empires  might  yet 


10  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

be  carved.  The  splendid  triumphs  of  the  Csesas  boasted  no  grander  tro 
phies. 

At  this  distance  in  time  from  the  occurrence  of  these  events,  we  habitually 
speak  of  the  pioneers  of  the  far  west  as  a  body — a  unit.  And  in  according 
the  honors  of  the  final  triumph  we  can  do  no  otherwise;  for  it  is  not  idivid- 
ual  effort  but  the  grand  total  effort  and  achievement  that  will  appeal  to  the 
latest  posterity.  But  the  mass  was  composed  of  individuals  as  diverse  in 
aim  as  in  former  occupation  and  character. 

The  doctrine  of  the  conservation  of  force  in  nature  was  never  illustrated 
better  than  by  this  seemingly  accidental  bringing  together  of  all  the  varied 
and  various  elements  necessary  to  found  a  new  community  and  put  almost 
at  once  in  motion  in  the  wilderness  the  complex  machinery  of  modern  gov 
ernment.  It  had  been  a  simple  matter  enough  if  a  whole  community,  al 
ready  organized,  had  emigrated  as  did  the  Puritans  to  New  England;  but  a 
doctor  came  from  one  county,  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  from  another;  a 
farmer  from  one  state,  a  wagonmaker  from  another;  a  lawyer  of  one  nation 
ality,  a  blacksmith  of  a  different  one;  and  when  this  heterogeneous  mass 
came  together  at  its  final  destination  it  was  found  that  every  trade,  profes 
sion,  business  and  occupation  was  represented,  and  all  the  materials  for  an 
enlightened  government  were  ready  at  hand.  And  while  there  was  little  ma 
terial  wasted  or  to  spare,  yet  there  seemed  to  be  enough  of  every  essential 
element,  and  a  full-fledged  modern  society  sprang  almost  at  once  into  ex 
istence. 

While  according  the  highest  praise  for  their  achievements,  and  the  per 
sonal  qualities  that  render  them  possible,  it  is  no  matter  of  demerit  that 
these  people  were  not  originally  moved  by  the  exalted  idea  of  conquering 
empire  or  founding  states.  Their  aims  were  far  more  modest;  their 
achievements  none  the  less  praiseworthy.  Nor  does  their  object  seem  to 
have  been  a  very  selfish  one.  Indeed,  it  seems  sometimes  difficult  to  ac 
count  for  the  migrations  of  civilized  men.  Scarcely  any  of  the  early  pio 
neers  can  give  an  explanation,  satisfactory  even  to  themselves,  why  they 
braved  the  known  and  certain  perils  of  an  unknown  and  uncertain  journey 
from  the  center  of  the  continent  to  its  western  verge;  from  a  land  where 
there  was  plenty,  peace,  good  government  and  bright  prospects,  to  a  land 
that  could  not  possibly  offer  them  much  more,  but  which  might  furnish  them 
much  less  than  this,  even  if  it  did  not  provide  them  with  bloody  graves  at 
the  hands  of  treacherous  savages,  at  the  end  of  a  journey  they  knew  only 
well  enough  to  dread.  Some  came  to  find  health,  but  health  might  be  court- 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  11 

eel  in  a  less  dangerous  atmosphere;  and  it  seems  incongruous  and  mirth- 
provoking  now  to  think  of  the  invalid  of  forty  years  ago  attacking  an  ox- 
team  journey  across  a  continent,  through  desert  sand  and  over  mountain 
ranges,  in  search  of  health.  It  reminds  one  of  Ponce  de  Leon's  search  after 
the  fountain  of  eternal  youth;  or  of  the  man  who  went  abroad  seeking  to 
coax  mild-eyed  Peace  with  a  club.  Others  undertook  the  journey  to  get 
land;  but  there  were  yet  vast  regions  of  vacant  and  accessible  land  east  of 
the  Missouri  river,  and  in  the  very  garden  of  the  world.  Some  say  it  was 
climate  that  lured  them  westward ;  but  in  the  wide  range  of  vacant  or  very 
cheap  land  from  Minnesota  to  Arkansas  it  would  seem  that  the  most  fas 
tidious  climate-seeker  in  the  world  might  have  found  the  exact  shade  suit 
able  to  his  fancy.  Some  wanted  to  take  a  new  start  in  the  world,  having 
met  with  reverses  and  disappointments;  but  the  world  was  wide  and  roomy 
enough,  it  would  seem,  without  crossing  the  Missouri  river,  and  certainly 
without  piercing  the  Kocky  mountains.  Nor  were  they  lured  hither  by  the 
fabulous  stories  of  the  wealth  of  western  goldfields;  for  the  real  pioneers  of 
the  country  came  before  the  California  Argonauts. 

Who  can  say  why  they  came?  When  Bishop  Berkeley  wrote  that  "West 
ward  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way,"  he  only  stated  a  fact  established  by 
the  observation  of  men.  He  stopped  not  to  philosophize  or  theorize  upon 
moving  causes.  That  were  an  endless  task,,  and  as  fruitless  now  as  then. 
And  what  if  they  had  come  in  search  of  the  golden  fleece  ?  Who  cares  to 
stop  to  inquire  into  the  primary  causes  that  led  or  impelled  these  heroic 
men  and  women  to  leave  a  civilization  which  they  knew  and  loved  to  at 
tack  a  far-off  wilderness  hard  by  the  Pacific  ocean — a  land  almost  as  far  off 
to  them  as  the  moon?  But  whatever  their  original  quest,  they  failed  to 
find  the  fountain  of  eternal  youth;  and  the  gray  heads  and  bent  forms  of  the 
the  same  active  youths  who,  with  high  hopes,  started  out  forty  years  ago  to 
thread  the  trackless  wilderness  that  lay  between  them  and  the  Pacific  ocean, 
admonish  us  that  these  re-unions  cannot  long  be  attended  by  great  num 
bers  of  the  Oregon  pioneers;  and  that  in  a  few  years  these  re-unions  must 
be  a  thine  of  the  past.  But  the  pioneers  will  not  die — they  shall  live  in 
story.  Their  struggle  was  a  grand  one,  the  final  victory  was  complete;  and 
the  benefits  to  the  United  States  government  and  to  all  mankind  were  such 
that  they  who  wrought  the  good  woork  shall  not  be  forgotten  for  genera 
tions  yet  to  ceme. 


ODE  TO  THE  PIONEERS. 


BY   8.   A.   CLAEKE. 

The  President  announced  that  at  the  request  of  many  mem 
bers  of  the  association,  Mr.  Samuel  A.  Clarke  had  written  a 
poetic  address  to  the  pioneers,  which  Mrs.  J.  DeVore  Johnson, 
of  Oregon  City,  had  kindly  consented  to  read  to  the  association. 
The  poem,  as  here  given,  necessarily  loses  much  of  the  interest 
with  which  Mrs.  Johnson's  talented  delivery  endowed  it;  but  it 
is  worthy  of  preservation  by  every  one  who  takes  an  interest  in 
the  early  history  of  the  northwest. 

Oh,  watcher  by  the  western  sea, 

Where  orient  are  the  winds  and  waves, 

An  ocean's  wildest  minstrelsy 

Wakes  as  these  shores  the  wild  surf  laves! 

Oh,  dweller  by  the  western  tides, 

Where  fresh  the  breath  of  early  morn 
Comes  o'er  the  blue  sea-depths  and  bides 

The  walking  of  a  day  unborn! 

Oh,  worker  on  the  western  fields, 

Where  all  her  bounty  Nature  fills, 
And  overflowing  harvest  yields 

The  tribute  of  our  plains  and  hills! 

Oh,  singer  by  the  western  main, 

Whose  lark-song  greets  the  flush  of  day, 

Whose  music  thrills  the  hill  and  plain 
Like  bridal  morn  and  nuptial  day ! 


ODE    TO    THE    PIONEERS. 

What  think  ye  of  the  olden  days, 

When  white  sail  did  not  fleck  yon  sea, 

When  lodge  fires,  'neath  night's  silver  rays 
Gleamed  where  to-day  our  cities  be? 

In  times  of  old,  invading  Huns 
Swept  over  Europe's  storied  lands, 

And  Xenophon,  ten  thousand  strong, 
Eetreated  with  his  hero  bands. 

Poets  sang  many  a  famous  story 
Of  times  of  old  and  men  of  might, 

Who  swept  the  Trojan  plain  for  glory 
And  mingled  there  in  deadly  fight. 

We  treasure  songs  of  ancient  days 

By  Virgil  and  by  Homer  told; 
So  lyre?  to  wake  shall  sing  the  lays 

Of  pioneers  with  hearts  of  gold. 

See  yon  gray  heads  who  lean  upon 
The  staff  of  age;  their  brows  of  care 

Tell  us  of  victories  that  were  won, 
Kather  than  of  the  joys  that  are. 

'Twas  long  ago.     Long,  long  ago 

When  they  were  young,  a  world  of  pains 

They  were  predestined,  as  with  slow 
And  patient  step  they  crossed  the  plains. 

Ho,  for  the  west!    The  farthest  west! 

This  starry  flag  did  not  then  float  there; 
They  joined  the  long  march,  to  never  rest 

Until  that  flag  should  kiss  this  air. 

They  knew  no  half  way  right!    They  felt 
'Twas  theirs  to  win  this  fair  domain, 

The  Briton's  hopes  began  to  melt 

When  freemen  'gan  to  cross  the  plains. 

In  freedom's  name  they  journeyed  on, 
To  claim  this  region  for  their  own, 

Where  rolled  the  silvery  Oregon 
And  only  British  rule  was  known. 


13 


14  ODE    TO    THE     PIONEERS. 

And  on  they  came,  by  weary  ways, 
For  many  weary  months  they  trod, 

Westward,  until  the  autumn  days, 
For  home,  for  country,  and  for  God. 

They  found  the  Indian  here  before; 

They  risked  the  danger  of  his  hate 
To  plant  upon  this  farthest  shore 

The  hearths  and  homes  decreed  by  fate. 

Armies  of  old  marched  but  a  span ; 

They  fought  campains  upon  a  space 
So  narrow,  that  a  western  man 

Would  count  the  limits  a  disgrace. 

You  gathered  on  the  far  frontier 

And  there  equipped  for  distant  wilds; 

To  you  the  vistas  that  appeared 

Were  changing  for  two  thousand  miles. 

Footsore  and  weary  you  might  be; 

Hunger  and  thirst  were  worse  than  pain, 
Your  dreams,  like  mirage,  seemed  to  see 

Loved  scenes  restored  to  sight  again. 

By  fear  and  danger  oft  beset, 
Still  westward  went  the  pioneer; 

By  hills  and  plains  he  ofttimes  met 
Unthought  mishaps,  yet  year  by  year 

Were  formed  new  ranks  of  stalwart  men, 
Brave  women  ever  by  their  side; 

This  western  land  saw  founded  then 
The  state  that  is  our  hope  and  pride. 

Now  far  and  near  are  many  homes, 

Orchards  and  fields  that  turn  to  gold, 
And  where  the  Indian  dwelt,  we  come 

To  tell  again  the  tales  of  old. 
We  look  down  on  yon  rising  mist, 

That  sunlight  spans  with  rainbow  hues; 
And  so  the  Siwash  stood,  I  wist, 

At  morning's  sun  and  evening's  dews. 


ODE    TO    THE    PIONEERS. 

His  wigwam  crowns  this  sunny  cliff, 

And  here  the  thunder  of  the  falls, 
Eternal  sounding,  seems  as  if 

'Tis  great  Sahullah's  voice  that  calls. 

Gone  is  the  lodge,  the  red  man  too, 

Melted  away,  while  the  pioneer 
Founded  his  home,,  no  longer  new — 

Planted  the  mill  that  we  see  from  here. 

Money  and  muscle  made  a  fund; 

Built  mills  upon  the  vortex  dread. 
Cut  the  canal  we  see  beyond — 

So  waves  work  our  passage  and  grind  our  bread. 
Methinks  if  a  siwash  should  now  drop  down 

And  seek  turn-water  as  'twas  of  old, 
His  dusky  brow  would  wear  a  frown 

At  sight  of  the  river  earning  gold. 

Of  old  our  congress  heard  debate, 
By  great  men  of  the  age  that's  gone, 

False  oracles  who  spoke  to  state 
The  uselessness  of  Oregon. 

How  could  they  dream  that  two  score  years 

Would  see,  replacing  cattle  trains, 
What  to  our  vision  is  so  clear — 

Swift  iron  coursers  cross  the  plains. 

Nor  dreamed  they  of  the  hidden  ores, 
Of  gold  and  silver,  slumbering  long, 

Iron  and  coal,  whose  long  repose 

Should  wake  to  make  the  nation  strong. 

That  forest  wealth  should  gather  in 
Fleets  that  should  come  at  commerce's  call; 

That  mills,  with  ever-clashing  din, 
Should  furnish  cargoes  for  them  all. 

When  the  old  flag  of  Hudson's  bay 

Was  flaunting  in  the  western  wind, 
When  light  canoes  in  constant  play 

Left  broad  Columbia's  flow  behind — 


ID 


16  ODE    TO    THE    PIONEERS. 

When  Indian  lodge  alone  was  seen 
Along  the  ever-winding  shore, 

And  the  long  lines  of  vivid  green 

Closed  on  the  water's  rushing  store — 

When  snowy  summit  looked  upon 
One  wild,  unchanging  wilderness, 

And  in  his  daily  course,  the  sun, 
Found  no  fair  home  to  warm  and  bless. 

When  wild  deer  ranged  in  grazing  herds 
Upon  these  western  vales  and  hills, 

And  the  glad  songs  of  myriad  birds 
At  morn  and  eve  the  woodland  fills. 

Even  then  the  fates  were  gathering 
Earnest  yeoman  for  the  fray; 

Then  were  frontier  trains  preparing 
To  commence  their  westward  way. 

Time  has  known  heroes  since  the  dawning 

Of  life  itself  upon  the  earth ; 
Men  have  been  brave  since  the  glad  morning 

When  man  received  his  primal  birth. 
Cruel  deeds  were  once  awarded 

Claim  to  be  of  heroic  mold; 
Olympian  honors  were  awarded 

To  the  brutal  men  of  old. 

But,  when  the  pioneers  are  counted, 
And  the  deeds  they  did  are  sung; 

When  the  dangers  they  surmounted 
Are  rehearsed  by  old  and  young; 

When  our  brave  shall  find  in  story 
Place  as  have  the  great  of  old, 

Living  and  dead  will  shine  in  glory — 
Thews  of  steel  and  hearts  of  gold. 

Gone  now,  for  many  a  silent  year, 
Are  the  days  of  which  we  tell; 

Gone,  too,  is  many  a  pioneer, 

From  the  scenes  they  loved  so  well. 


ODE    TO    THE    PIONEERS. 

Gathering  here  we  tell  the  story 

Of  the  men  we  knew  of  old, 
And  we  crown  with  meed  of  glory, 

Those  who  had  true  hearts  of  gold. 

Welcome  give  we  to  the  living — 
Brothers,  sisters  on  the  way — 

By  their  honored  presence  giving 
Ke-union  that  becomes  the  day. 

But,  alas!  Some  who  are  sleeping 

Mingle  with  us  never  more; 
Mind  we,  that  they  once  were  keeping 

Watch  and  guard  from  shore  to  shore. 

Let  the  starry  flag  float  e'er  them 

For  they  planted  it  upon 
Shores  where  we  still  live  who  love  them, 

And  won  for  it  fair  Oregon. 

We  who  are  left — The  way  seems  lonely, 
So  many  hare  gone  on  before; 

We  have  not  lost  them — they  are  only 
Waiting  on  the  other  shore. 


17 


THE  1NNUAL  ADDRESS. 


BY    HON.    GEO.   H.   WILLIAMS. 


After  a  musical  selection,  Hon.  George  H.  Williams,  speaker 
of  the  day,  was  introduced  by  the  President,  and  delivered  the 
annual  address,  which  was  frequently  applauded. 

MK.  PBESIDENT  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  OF  OREGON: — 
You  have  honored  me  with  an  appointment  to  address  you  upon  this  occa 
sion,  expecting,  no  doubt,  that  I  would  contribute  something  of  the  early 
history  of  Oregon  to  the  recorded  remiuescences  of  your  association.  I 
have  been  very  much  perplexed  to  know  what  I  should  say  about  those  who 
are  justly  entitled  to  be  called  pioneers,  without  repeating  what  has  been 
said  at  your  former  meetings,  in  the  varied  forms  of  narrative,  eloquence 
and  song.  To  avoid  gleaning  a  barren  field,  I  have  concluded  to  make  some 
remarks  upon  the  political  institutions  founded  by  the  pioneers,  which  they 
have  helped  to  rear,  and  under  which  we  have  grown  to  be  a  great  and  pros 
perous  community. 

Publicists  and  philosophers,  with  great  elaboration  of  argument  and  di 
versity  of  views,  have  discussed  the  origin  of  human  government — the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  its  different  forms  and  the  respective  du 
ties  and  obligations  of  the  citizen  and  the  state.  Society  for  the  purpose  of 
these  discussions  is  resolved  into  its  original  elements,  and  men  are  sup 
posed  to  be  in  circumstances  where  they  are  subject  to  no  laws  except  the 
laws  of  nature.  Hobbs,  a  celebrated  philosopher  and  eminent  writer,  con 
tends  that  the  primeval  state  of  human  beings  is  a  state  of  war,  and  that 
government  is  the  result  of  an  agreement  among  them  to  keep  the  peace. 
Locke,  another  distinguished  writer,  controverts  this  proposition  and  holds 
that  the  primitive  state  of  man  is  a  state  of  equality  and  liberty  and  that 
government  is  instituted  by  the  voluntary  agreement  of  individuals  to  sub 
mit  themselves  to  its  authority.  Our  Declaration  of  Independence  affirms 
that  all  men  are  endowed  by  their  creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights 


TIIK    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  19 

and  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  and  that 
to  secure  these  rights  governments  are  instituted  among  men  deriving  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  the  fact  is  now  generally 
admitted  that  the  social  compact  is  the  foundation  of  all  just  systems  of  gov 
ernment.  Whatever  may  be  true  of  savages  the  early  settlers  of  this  country 
furnish  a  practical  exemplification  of  the  origin  of  human  government  among 
civilized  men.  When  the  vanguard  of  civilization  came  to  Oregon  it  was  a 
most  suitable  place  for  the  exhibition  of  man's  capacity  for  self  government. 
Vast  and  trackless  regions,  stretched  thernselved  away  for  thousands  of 
miles  toward  the  eastern  horizon,  and  on  the  west  the  Pacific  ocean  spread 
its  boundless  waste  of  waters.  Northward,  penetrating  the  citadels  of  eter 
nal  snow  and  southward  to  the  reign  of  perennial  summer  was  a  counti-y, 
whose  native  mildness  was  only  disturbed  by  traders,  trappers  and  em 
ployes  belonging  to  the  service  of  trans-Atlantic  nations.  All  the  associa 
tions  of  early  life,  of  kindred  and  of  home  were  cut  off  by  a  practically  im 
passable  barrier.  All  the  encouraging  and  restraining  influences  of  educa 
tional,  religious  and  social  institutions  died  out  upon  the  confines  of  the 
distant  plains,  or  lingered  only  in  the  recesses  of  a  loving  memory.  Sur 
rounded,  excluded  and  isolated  in  this  way,  Oregon  with  its  mountain  soli 
tudes,  its  unshorn  meadows  and  its  deep  and  solemn  woods,  seemed  to  be 
fitted  up  by  almighty  wisdom  for  the  implantation  of  those  elementary  prin 
ciples  which  form  the  basis  of  a  just  and  free  goveinment.  Coming  as  they 
did  from  the  different  states  of  the  union,  each  settler  naturally  brought 
with  him  the  prejudices  and  predilections  of  the  locality  from  which  he  em 
igrated,  and  therefore  there  were  many  possibilities  of  conflict  and  conten 
tion  in  their  thoughts  and  actions. 

Various  motives  have  been  assigned  to  the  pioneers  of  Oregon  for  their 
action  in  organizing  a  provisional  government,  but  it  is  altogether  probable 
that  different  persons  were  actuated  by  different  motives.  Some  may  have 
thought  that  a  government  would  be  necessary  in  case  of  a  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  or  a  war  between  the  settlers  and  the  In 
dian  tribes.  Others  may  have  thought  a  government  necessary  to  protect 
their  rights  of  person  and  of  property  from  the  aggressions  of  other  indi 
viduals;  but  whatever  their  motives  may  have  been,  they  were  sufficient  to 
lead  the  people  to  the  creation  of  a  civil  community.  Primarily  in  the  in 
ception  of  this  movement,  there  must  have  been-  a  meeting  of  two  or  more 
minds.  Individuals  must  have  agreed  to  come  together  for  the  purpose  of 
interchanging  views  and  consulting  with  each  other  as  to  their  future  action. 


20  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

This  is  the  germ  of  the  social  compact.  To  assemble  is  an  easier  thing  than 
to  agree  upon  the  resolves  of  the  assembly .  Personal  ambition  obtruded 
itself  upon  the  pioneers  at  the  very  threshhold  of  the  discussion  as  to  the 
establishment  of  a  civil  polity.  To  organize  a  government  implies  the  in 
vestiture  of  some  individual  or  individuals  with  extraordinary  distinction 
and  power,  and  human  nature  is  so  constituted  that  it  is  not  probable  that 
any  government  was  ever  attempted  upon  earth  without  difficulties 
growing  out  of  rival  aspirations  for  the  offices  of  the  government.  Many 
times  in  the  history  of  mankind  these  differences  have  been  settled  by 
an  appeal  to  arms,  and  some  individual  more  able  and  daring  than 
others  has  been  chosen  by  the  wager  of  battle  to  be  the  chief  of  a  tribe 
— the  law-giver  of  a  people  or  the  ruler  of  a  country.  Every  association  of 
men  in  church  or  state,  to  be  permanent  ar\d  effective,  must  designate  some 
one  or  more  persons  to  execute  its  will,  and  the  selection  of  one  of  a  num 
ber  by  his  associates  implies  confidence  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity,  and  is 
therefore  justly  regarded  as  a  position  of  eminence  and  honor.  When  the 
little  band  of  state  builders  first  came  together  in  1843  to  initiate  a  political 
organization  none  of  them  wanted  to  be  a  Moses,  a  Caesar,  or  a  Cromwell, 
but  more  than  one  of  them  wanted  to  be  the  Governor  of  the  proposed  com 
munity,  and  for  this  reason,  with  others  of  less  moment,  their  first  attempt 
was  a  failure.  Subsequently,  however,  and  presumably  to  secure  harmony 
in  their  proceedings,  an  executive  committee  of  three  was  appointed.  Theo 
retically  and  under  ordinary  circumstances  this  was  an  unwise  arrange 
ment,  but  as  a  temporary  expedient  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  exercise  of 
good  judgment.  All  governments  must  be  organized  in  a  spirit  of  compro 
mise.  Unity  of  action  can  only  be  accomplished  by  mutual  concessions. 
Anarchy  is  the  necessary  result  of  a  stubborn  adherence  to  individual  views 
and  interests.  Devotion  to  what  is  called  principle  in  matters  of  state  is 
generally  praiseworthy,  but  sometimes  it  may  become  but  little  more  than  a 
display  of  extreme  obstinacy.  He  is  a  statesman  who  knows  when  to  yield 
and  when  to  stand  firm. 

Law  is  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  all  organic  bodies  in  nature  and 
among  men,  and  therefore  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  law-making  as  well  as 
a  law-executing  power  in  the  new  community.  Simple  as  the  ceremony 
seems  to  be,  it  is  a  sublime  spectacle  to  see  men  voluntarily  take  upon  them 
selves  obligations  and  restraints  with  an  agreement  that  whoever  disregards 
these  self-imposed  duties  shall  suffer  punishment  even  unto  death  if  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  so  require.  Nine  persons  were  appointed  to  make 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  21 

laws,  and  this  little  parliament  laid  the  foundation  stones  of  a  political  edi 
fice  within  whose  strong  and  symmetrical  walls  countless  generations  shall 
enjoy  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

Notwithstanding  society  is  the  result  of  an  agreement  among  its  members, 
individual  contentions  are  inevitable  and  the  existence  of  a  disinterested 
tribunal  for  their  settlement  becomes  a  public  necessity.  Accordingly  a  ju 
dicial  system  was  devised  consisting  of  a  supreme  judge  and  two  justices  of 
the  peace,  whose  decisions  as  to  the  suitors  in  their  courts  though  perhaps 
not  so  learned,  were  as  binding  as  those  of  a  Mansfield  or  a  Marshal.  To 
separate  the  executive,  legislative  and  judicial  departments  of  a  government 
and  make  them  independent  of  each  other  is  one  of  the  great  safeguards  of 
freedom  and  justice.  Despotism  is  essentially  the  unification  of  all  these  de 
partments  in  the  hands  of  one  man.  No  credit  is  due  the  Oregon  pioneers 
for  any  discovery  in  this  matter,  but  they  are  entitled  to  commendation  for 
adhering  to  safe  precedents  when  it  was  so  easy  and  natural  with  but  few 
people  to  control  for  one  person  or  one  official  to  absorb  an  undue  propor 
tion  of  governmental  authority.  Plato  says  that  "Nothing  great  is  easy." 
and  it  is  no  easy  task  under  any  circumstances  to  construct  the  framework  of 
a  good  government,  and  the  persons  of  whom  I  am  speaking  found 
many  obstacles  to  overcome  in  this  work.  Religious  differences,  prejudices 
of  nationality,  and  personal  likes  and  dislikes  were  potent  antagonisms  to 
harmony  of  action  ;  but  their  good  sense,  self-control  and  charity  were 
equal  to  the  emergency  and  crowned  their  labors  with  complete  success. 

Underlying  every  form  of  government  there  are  certain  fundamental  prin 
ciples  which  are  as  necessary  to  its  character  and  vitality  as  living  fountains 
are  to  the  rivers  that  run  into  and  replenish  the  sea.  Emperors,  kings, 
princes  and  potentates  rule  by  hereditary,  or,  as  they  impiously  claim,  by 
divine  right,  and  without  any  personal  or  direct  responsibility  to  the  sub 
jects—cabinet  ministers,  consellors  and  courtiers  may  err,  but  the  king  can 
do  no  wrong.  There  is  a  high  wall  and  a  deep  ditch  between  the  rulers  and 
the  ruled.  Power  is  lodged  in  privileged  classes.  Birth  and  not  merit  is 
the  badge  of  distinction.  These  conditions  are  essential  to  the  existence  of 
a  monarchy  or  an  aristocracy,  but  the  conditions  of  a  democracy  or  a  re 
public  are  of  a  different  nature  and  tendency. 

"Provisional"  was  the  name  applied  to  the  pioneer  government  to  signify 
that  it  did  not  sustain  those  relations  to  the  general  government  which  were 
applicable  to  the  organized  localities  in  the  Union,  but  it  was  not  ex 
pected  that  the  principles  established  or  rights  acquired  under  the  govern- 


ZZ  THE    ANNUAL    ADDKKSS. 

ment  would  be  disturbed  by  any  federal  or  other  authority.  States,  schools 
of  doctrine  and  systems  of  religion  must  stand  or  fall  according  to  the  prin 
ciples  upon  which  they  are  founded.  Our  Saviour  illustrates  this  idea  by  the 
parable  which  represents  the  foolish  man  as  building  his  house  upon  the 
sand,  and  when  the  floods  came  and  the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that 
house  it  fell,  but  when  the  floods  came  and  the  wind  blew  and  beat  upon 
the  house  that  the  wise  man  had  built  it  fell  not,  because  it  was  founded 
upon  a  rock.  Builders  in  wood  and  stone  lay  their  foundations  deep  ^nd 
strong  and  the  builders  of  our  state  commenced  their  work  upon  the  endur 
ing  principles  of  equality  and  justice,  as  the  following  brief  abstract  of  their 
resolutions  will  show: 

They  resolved  that  no  person  should  be  disturbed  on  account  of  his  mode 
of  worship  or  religious  sentiments;  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
should  always  have  the  benefits  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  and  the  right  of 
trial  by  jury;  that  they  should  have  the  right  of  just  representation  in  the 
legislature  and  of  judicial  proceedings  according  to  the  course  of  the  com 
mon  law;  that  no  man  should  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  but  by  the  judg 
ment  of  his  peers  or  the  law  of  the  land;  than  no  man's  property  or  services 
should  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation  therefor;  that  pri 
vate  contracts  should  be  sacred,  and  schools  and  the  means  of  education  en 
couraged,  with  freedom  of  discussion  and  freedom  of  the  press;  that  slavery 
or  involuntary  servitvde  should  not  exist;  and  that  good  faith  should  be  ob 
served  towards  the  Indian  tribes. 

I  feel  safe  in  saying  that  a  government  established  and  administered  upon 
these  principles  with  their  legitimate  amplifications,  would  be  the  perfec 
tion  of  human  government.  All  the  institutions  of  man  are  imperfect,  and 
the  best  of  governments  is  a  comparative  evil  made  necessary  by  the  weak 
ness  and  wickedness  of  mankind. 

No  problem  has  been  presented  to  the  political  world  more  difficult  of  so 
lution  than  the  determination  of  the  proper  relations  of  a  government  to  the 
religion  of  a  people.  Statesmen,  scholars  and  churchmen  from  the  days  of 
Constantino  have  discussed  this  question,  some  contending  that  it  was  the 
right  and  duty  of  the  state  to  take  charge  of  the  religion  as  well  as  of  the  ed 
ucation  and  morals  of  the  people — others  holding  that  it  is  the  right  of 
every  person  to  choose  for  himself  his  own  belief  upon  such  matters,  with 
out  any  interference  by  the  state,  and  this  discussion  in  many  instances  has 
been  carried  on  the  field  of  battle.  Assuming  that  the  religious  interests  of 
the  people  are  of  more  importance  than  any  other,  which  is  the  Christian 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  23 

doctrine,  there  is  force  in  the  argument  that  the  state  ought  to  provide  for 
such  interests,  but  experience  shows  that  a  state  religion  is  apt  to  become 
the  passive  tool  of  selfish  and  ambitious  prelates  and  politicians.  Political 
power  in  the  hands  of  religious  bigotry  is  dangerous  to  human  liberty.  Re 
ligious  convictions  seem  to  be  of  such  an  absorbing  power  that  when  church 
and  state  are  united,  magistrates  who  ought  to  be  impartial,  phrensied  by 
their  zeal  make  decrees  of  intolerance  and  kindle  the  fires  of  persecution. 
Citizens  of  a  state  may  be  forced  by  law  to  an  outward  conformity  with  a 
prescribed  religion,  but  the  state  can  not  by  compulsion  destroy  the  belief 
of  the  human  mind,  or  change  the  convictions  of  an  honest  conscience. 
When  the  pioneers  came  to  Orogon  they  found  no  church  establishment  to ' 
which  they  were  compelled  to  submit,  nor  any  dogmatic  creed  which  they 
were  forced  to  acknowledge,  but  they  found  a  temple  prepared  by  an  al 
mighty  architect,  whose  rituals  were  as  pure  as  its  eternal  snows,  and  as 
free  as  its  varying  winds,  and  this  temple  they  dedicated  forever  to  freedom 
of  conscience,  and  when  they  are  gone  it  can  be  said  of  them  with  more  of 
truth  than  it  was  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers: 

"  They  have  left  unstained  what  there  they  found — 
Freedom  to  worship  God." 

One  of  the  great  bulwarks  of  human  liberty  is  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 
History  affords  abundant  proof  of  this  fact.  There  is  a  multitude  of  ways  in 
which  one  may  be  deprived  of  his  liberty.  People  of  all  countries  are  liable 
to  arrest  and  imprisonment  by  the  edicts  of  arbitrary  power — the  violence  of 
popular  passion  or  the  machinations  of  wicked  men,  and  to  the  end  that 
such  persons  may  not  be  coudemned  or  punished  without  a  hearing  before 
an  impartial  tribunal,  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  brought  into  existence. 
Once  it  was  the  practice  in  all  countries,  and  so  it  is  now  in  some,  as  in  Rus 
sia  for  example,  for  the  public  authorities  to  seize  a  citizen  and  hurry  him 
away  to  a  dungeon  or  into  exile  without  any  hearing  and  without  his  know 
ing  who  his  accuser  was  or  of  what  he  was  accused.  Some  spy  or  detective 
reports  what  he  considers  an  act  of  disloyalty  or  delinquency  to  the  govern 
ment,  and  upon  this  secret  representation  the  suspect  is  thrown  into  prison 
or  banished  from  his  country.  Where  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  obtains,  the 
bastiles  of  France  and  the  towers  of  London  can  never  come  to  serve  the 
purposes  of  despotic  power.  No  matter  how  humble  or  obscure  the  peti 
tioner  may  be,  the  court  is  bound  to  inquire  into  his  case  and  determine 
whether  or  not  he  is  lawfully  restrained  of  his  liberty.  Cognate  to  this  high 
privilege  of  the  citizen  is  the  right  of  trial  by  jury.  The  necessity  and  value 


24:  THE    ANNUAL    ADDKESS. 

of  the  jury  system  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion  of  late  years,  and 
there  are  many  good  reasons  for  dispensing  with  a  jury  in  civil  cases  involv 
ing  alone  the  right  of  property,  but  when  the  life  or  liberty  of  the  citizen  is 
involved,  its  utility  ought  not  to  be  questioned.  Whether  an  act  is  criminal 
or  not,  depends  in  very  many  instances,  upon  the  motive  with  which  it  is 
committed.  Men  of  practical  experience  in  life  can  judge  of  this  matter  as 
well,  if  no  better,  than  judges  learned  in  the  law.  Sometimes  when  the 
law,  by  its  strictness  and  rigidity,  bears  hard  upon  one  who  is  technically  but 
not  morally  guilty  of  crime,  the  sympathies  of  the  jury  for  the  accused  may 
subserve  the  ends  of  justice;  and  again,  the  good  common  sense  of  a  jury 
comes  in  play  where  guilt  seeks  to  screen  itself  from  deserved  punishment 
through  the  technicalities  of  the  law.  When  a  man  charged  with  crime  is 
tried  by  his  peers,  there  is  not  only  a  recognition  of  equality  of  right  under 
the  law,  but  the  jurors  in  the  spirit  of  the  golden  rule  are  expected  to  do 
unto  the  accused  as  they  would  have  him  do  unto  them  if  their  circumstan 
ces  were  reversed.  Criminal  prosecutions  are  conducted  by  the  state,  and  it 
frequently  happens  that  the  zeal  of  its  officers  overstep  the  bounds  of  right 
and  duty,  but  injustice  in  such  cases  is  prevented  when  the  empaneled  citi- 
zenhood  of  the  country  holds  the  scales  of  justice  with  a  steady  hand,  and 
interposes  its  deliberate  will  between  the  weakness  of  the  individual  and  the 
power  and  influence  of  the  government.  No  man  shall  be  deprived  of  his 
liberty  except  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers  or  the  law  of  the  land,  is  a  decla 
ration  that  sounds  the  death  knell  to  tyranny,  but  rings  in  tones  of  silvery 
sweetness  to  the  ears  of  freedom. 

When  the  pioneers  declared  for  the  right  of  just  representation  they  recog 
nized  the  vital  principle  of  republican  institutions.  Despotism,  which  is 
the  absolute  subjection  of  a  country  to  the  capricious  will  of  a  single  indi 
vidual,  is  unbearable,  and  democracy  which  is  the  absolute  and  direct  sway 
of  the  people  is  impracticable,  but  republicanism  is  the  golden  mean  be 
tween  these  two,  and  is  intended  to  unite  the  vigor  and  efficacy  of  the  one 
with  the  safety  and  justice  of  the  other.  Every  citizen  under  a  republican 
system  has  indirectly  a  voice  in  making  the  laws  by  which  he  is  goverued, 
and  also  a  voice  in  choosing  those  who  shall  interpret  and  execute  those 
laws.  Man's  capacity  for  self  government  is  the  basis  of  this  system,  and 
if  these  fail  the  whole  superstructure  falls  to  the  ground.  Some  deep 
thinkers  have  expressed  doubts  upon  this  subject,  but  the  tendency  of  en 
livened  thought  everywhere  is  to  the  supremacy  of  this  theory. 

Civilization  and  education,  however,  are  indispensable  to  its  ascendency 


THE    ANNUAL     ADDRKSS.  25 

and  perpetuity,  and  therefore  the  pioneers  resolved  to  encourage  schools 
and  the  means  of  education.  Intellectual  cultivation  or  the  mere  acquisi^ 
iion  of  knowledge  is  not  the  most  essential  part  of  the  education  which  fits 
men  for  self  government.  Scripture  tells  us  that  "he  who  ruleth  his  spirit  is 
better  than  he  who  taketh  a  city,"  and  in  so  far  as  individuals  control  them 
selves  they  can  with  safety  control  the  government.  Knowledge  is  power, 
but  power  without  moral  restraint  is  like  the  wild  elephant  that  hasteneth 
to  his  prey.  To  cultivate  clear  perceptions  of  right  and  wrong,  a  high  sense 
of  personal  honor,  a  due  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  and  an  unfaltering 
legally  to  law  and  good  order,  are  the  saving  qualities  of  a  freeman's  educa 
tion.  Republican  institutions  are  not  in  danger  from  pioneers  who  sub 
dued  the  wilderness,  or  their  descendents  who  beautify  the  lands  with  fields 
of  grain,  and  orchards  and  gardens,  but  the  disorders  of  the  old  world  bring 
to  the  surface  a  scum  of  population  which  drifting  away  to  these  shores  are 
a  constant  menace  to  our  domestic  tranquility.  Our  welcome  to  the  indus 
trious  and  law  abiding  is  not  inconsistent  with  a  vigorous  repression  of  this 
disturbing  element.  Republicanism  is  liberty  regulated  by  law,  and  is  as 
much  opposed  to  that  licentiousness  which  some  mistake  for  liberty,  as  it  is 
to  despotism  which  some  mistake  for  a  conservative  organism. 

The  right  of  representation  is  the  right  preservative  of  all  political  rights. 
We  are  told  that  when  the  righteous  are  in  authority  the  people  rejoice,  but 
when  the  wicked  beareth  rule  the  people  mourn,  and  whether  the  wicked  or 
the  righteous  shall  rule  is  for  the  people  to  say  under  a  representative  gov 
ernment.  They  can  have  a  patriotic,  wise  and  honest  administration  of 
public  affairs,  or  otherwise,  as  they  choose.  They  can  lift  their  country's 
standard  to  the  mountain  tops  of  greatness  and  glory,  or  lower  it  into  the 
dark  valleys  of  shame  and  dishonor. 

Society  cannot  exist  as  an  organized  body  unless  the  rights  of  property 
are  respected,  and  therefore  the  pioneers  resolved  that  private  property 
should  not  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation  therefor,  and 
that  no  law  should  be  passed  to  impair  the  obligation  of  contracts,  and  that 
the  people  should  be  entitled  to  judicial  proceedings  according  to  the  course 
of  the  common  law.  Personal  liberty  is  carefully  guarded  by  the  resolves 
before  referred  to,  and  these  provisions  are  intended  to  guard  with  equal 
solicitude  the  righls  of  private  property.  Lands,  goods  and  contracts  are 
alike  property,  and  alike  are  to  be  protected  from  the  aggressions  of  the 
government  and  the  invasion  of  individuals.  All  men  have  instinctive  con 
victions  of  their  rights  to  possess  and  enjoy  that  which  they  acquire  by 


26  THK    ANM'AL     ADDRESS. 

their  own  labor  and  skill,  and  this  right  is  recognized  among  savages  as 
well  as  among  civilized  people.  Many  communistic  theories  have  been  pro 
posed,  the  most  notable  of  which  are  Plato's  republic  and  Sir  Thomas 
Moore's  Utopia  and  many  efforts  have  been  made  to  reduce  these  theories  to 
practice,  but  the  experiments  in  all  cases  have  proved  to  be  wretched  fail 
ures.  Social  institutions  as  a  general  rule  are  not  made  but  grow,  and  any 
thing  like  the  right  of  private  property  which  originated  in  prehistoric  times, 
and  has  been  perpetuated  in  all  ages  and  in  all  countries,  must  grow  out  of 
the  natural  wants  and  necessities  of  mankind.  Consequent  upon  this  right 
is  the  unequal,  and  what  appears  to  be  un  unjust,  distribution  of  property. 
Some  are  immensely  rich  and  others  miserably  poor,  and  with  this  state  of 
things  many  are  greatly  dissatisfied;  but  though  it 'may  be  modified,  it  is 
one  of  those  inherent  conditions  of  human  life  which  cannot  be  prevented. 
Any  effort  to  make  and  maintain  an  equality  of  conditions  between  industry 
and  idleness,  energy  and  sloth,  wisdom  and  folly,  would  be  as  impotent  as 
an  attempt  to  change  the  equinoxes,  or  control  the  tides  of  the  ocean.  There 
can  be  no  peace  in  a  community  where  private  property  is  not  protected. 
Laws  may  be  created  to  control  monopolies,  corporations  and  accumulated 
wealth,  but  it  is  a  law  implanted  in  human  nature  no  legislation  can  over 
come,  that  every  man  has  a  right  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor.  So 
ciety  would  stagnate  and  sink  into  a  state  of  dead  uniformity  if  the  incen 
tive  to  action  which  the  acquisition  of  property  affords  was  removed.  As 
sociated  with  this  right  is  the  institution  of  the  family;  a  laudable  desire  to 
have  a  permanent  home,  an  ambition  to  be  independent,  and  a  feeling  of 
devotion  to  country. 

Among  the  things  inducing  an  emigration  to  Oregon  in  an  early  day,  was 
the  expectation  that  each  pfoneer  would  become  the  proprietor  of  a  piece  of 
land  upon  which  he  could  set  up  his  household  gods  and  live  in  peace  and 
contentment.  To  multiply  the  landholders  in  any  country  is  to  promote 
the  strength  and  purity  of  society  and  the  stability  of  government.  Laws 
were  passed  by  common  consent  to  confirm  and  protect  the  rights  of  settlers 
to  their  possessions;  and  under  these  laws  the  wild  prairies  and  the  dark 
woods  have  been  converted  into  beautiful  farms,  and  the  homes  of  Oregon 

stand 

"By  thousands  on  her  plains; 

They  are  smiling  o'er  the  silvery  brookd 
/     And  round  the  hamlet  fanes; 

Through  glowing  orchards  forth  they  peep 
Each  from  its  nook  of  leaves, 

And  fearless  there  the  lowly  sleep 
As  the  birds  beneath  their  eaves," 


THE    ANJSUAL    ADDRESS.  27 

The  pioneers  resolved  in  favor  of  judicial  proceedings  according  to  the 
course  of  the  common  law.  They  doubtless  intended  by  this  that  no  man 
should  be  condemned  without  a  hearing,  and  that  parties  to  judicial  proceed 
ings  should  have  their  day  in  court,  with  a  right  of  trial  by  witnesses  before 
a  fair  and  impartial  tribunal,  but  in  this  matter  it  is  probable  that  "they 
builded  better  than  they  knew."  We  hear  much  of  the  uncertainty  of  the 
law,  and  its  administration  is  not  always  free  from  just  criticism;  but  as  a 
scheme  for  ascertaining,  determining  and  vindicating  the  rights  of  persons 
and  of  property,  the  common  law  system  is  the  best  that  has  been  devised, 
and  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  can  be  devised  by  human  wisdom.  Theoreti 
cally  this  system  proceeds  upon  the  idea  that  where  there  is  a  wrong  there  is 
a  remedy,  or  in  other  words,  when  one  man  injures  another  in  his  person, 
reputation  or  estate,  the  law  will  compel  the  wrong-doer,  as  far  as  practica 
ble,  to  make  reparation. 

Millions  of  people  inhabit  the  earth,  and  yet  it  is  difficult  if  not  impos 
sible  to  find  two  human  faces  exactly  alike,  and  so  the  infinitude  of  cases 
that  arise  to  which  this  doctrine  is  to  be  applied  vary  more  or  less  in  their 
details  and  circumstances.  The  glory  of  the  common  law  is  its  adaptability 
to  these  cases.  It  is  as  perfect  a  combination  of  certainty  and  elasticity  as 
can  be  made.  It  struggles  to  maintain  a  rule  once  established,  but  yields 
to  modification  under  imparative  circumstances,  and  when  the  reason  for 
the  rule  fails,  it  refuses  longer  to  recognize  the  rule. 

Common  law  is  the  logic  of  man's  necessities  verified  by  experience.  Ar 
guments  borrowed  from  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  law,  customs  whose  value 
have  been  tested  by  immemorial  use,  traditions  that  have  stood  the  test  of 
time,  treatises  by  men  of  great  and  varied  learning,  and  the  desisions  of  in 
numerable  judges  have  contributed  to  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  those  rules 
which  are  administered  in  judicial  proceedings  according  to  the  course  of 
the  common  law.  Our  code  and  statutory  enactments  for  the  most  part  are 
declaratory  of  rules  resulting  from  the  processes  of  the  common  law.  Taking 
into  consideration  its  comprehensiveness,  its  adaptability  toJ  human  affairs 
and  its  certainty,  so  far  as  the  fallible  judgments  of  men  can  make  it  so,  the 
pioneers  established  for  themselves  and  their  posteiity  a  system  of  juris 
prudence  kindred  to  that  more  universal  law  "whose  seat  is  in  the  bosom  of 
God  and  whose  voice  is  the  harmony  of  the  world." 

While  both  of  the  political  parties  in  the  east  were  bowing  their  heads  to 
the  power  of  the  slave-holding  States,  the  pioneers  of  1844  boldly  declared 
that  human  slavery  should  not  exist  in  Oregon,  and  that  good  faith  should 
be  observed  toward  the  Indian  tribes.  They  sacrificed  their  race  prejudices 
upon  the  alter  of  liberty  and  justice.  I  believe  there  has  been  a  universal 


28 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 


acquiescence  in  all  of  the  conditions  of  the  compact  made  by  the  early  set 
tlers  here  for  their  government,  except  that  determined  efforts  have  been 
made  to  resist  and  overthrow  the  inhibition  upon  slavery.  Among  the  first 
cases  I  was  called  upon  to  decide  when  I  came  to  Oregon  in  1853,  was  an  ap 
plication  by  a  colored  family  in  Polk  county,  to  be  liberated,  upon  habeas 
corpus  from  their  Missouri  owner,  who  had  brought  and  held  them  here  as 
slaves.  They  were  held  upon  the  claim  that  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  protected  slave  property  in  the  territories;  but  it  was  my  judgment  that 
the  law  made  by  the  pioneers  upon  the  subject  was  not  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution,  and  was  the  law  of  the  land,  and  the  petitioners 
were  set  free;  and  so  far  as  I  know  this  was  the  last  attempt  at  slaveholding 
in  Oregon.  When  the  State  government  was  formed,  strenuous  efforts  were 
put  forth  to  make  Oregon  a  slave  State,  but  inspired  by  the  example  and 
sentiments  of  the  early  pioneers,  we  decided  to  go  into  the  Union  as  a  free 

State— 

"With  freedom's  soil  beneath  our  feet 

And  freedom's  banner  streaming  o'er  us." 

Looking  at  the  organic  resolutions  of  the  pioneers  as  an  entirety,  and  it  is 
evident  that  liberty  and  justice  were  the  beacon  lights  of  their  policy.  All 
their  surroundings  were  favorable  to  an  expansion  and  liberality  of  thought 
and  action.  Immensity,  diversity  and  beauty  were  the  characteristic  fea 
tures  of  the  country.  Mountains,  rivers  and  woods  were  of  vast  proportions. 
There  was  a  lofty  grandeur  in  ths  scenery.  The  unadulterated  breath  of 
heaven  sweetened  the  face  of  the  earth  and  all  the  forms  and  forces  of  na 
ture  were  full  of  freshness,  life  and  vigor.  There  was  no  pressure  of  popu 
lation;  no  crowded  cities,  towns  or  thoroughfares;  none  of  the  strife,  tumult 
and  rush  of  commercial  life;  everything  was  new,  free  and  unconstrained. 
Naturally  enough  the  civil  polity  adopted  by  the  pioneers  would  be  in  con 
sonance  with  these  circumstances. 

On  the  llth  day  of  August,  1848,  congress  created  for  Oregon  a  territorial 
goverment,  but  the  organic  act  expressly  provided  that  all  the  laws  of  the 
provisional  government  not  inconsistent  with  the  constitution  and  laws  of 
the  United  States,  should  remain  in  force;  so  tint  while  the  government  was 
changed  in  form  it  was  not  changed  as  to  the  principles  of  its  administra 
tion.  Slowly  but  steadily  the  population  of  the  territory  increased.  Every 
year  brought  additional  immigrants,  and  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
pioneers  were  entering  upon  the  stage  of  active  life.  There  is  a  curious 
similarity  between  individual  and  state  development.  Boyhood,  when  it 
begins  to  appreciate  its  growth,  begins  to  be  ambitious  to  throw  off  parental 
domination  and  exercise  the  privileges  of  a  full  grown  man;  and  so,  here, 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  29 

not  long  after  the  territory  was  organized,  a  restlessness  under  federal  re 
straints  soon  ripened  into  a  desire  to  make  Oregon  an  independent  State  of 
the  Union.  On  the  third  Monday  of  August,  1857,  a  convention  of  sixty 
delegates,  chosen  from  the  different  counties  of  the  territory,  assembled  at 
Salem  to  form  a  State  constitution.  Many  of  the  delegates  were  pioneers 
Some  of  them  had  helped  to  organize,  and  a  majority  of  them  had  lived  un 
der  the  provisional  government.  All  of  the  principles  upon  which  that 
government  was  founded  were  incorporated  into  the  constitution  then  made, 
and  no  doubt  will  stand  as  long  as  the  State  continues  to  exist.  Most  of  the 
pioneers  were  in  favor  of  a  simple,  unostentatious  and  inexpensive  govern 
ment,  and  their  views  prevailed. 

Considerable  effort  has  been  made  of  late  to  disparage  the  work  of  that 
convention,  and  a  proposition  has  been  made  in  the  legislature  to  call  a  new 
convention  to  frame  another  constitution;  but  while  it  may  be  admitted  that 
the  present  constitution  has  its  defects,  it  may  be  doubted,  taken  as  a  whole, 
whether  any  other  State  has  a  better  one.  I  have  always  thought  that  the 
salaries  fixed  by  the  constitution  were  too  low;  but  notwithstanding  this  its 
workings  in  the  aggregate  have  been  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  State. 
Chief  among  its  salutary  provisions  are  the  restrictions  which  it  places  upon 
public  indebtedness.  Experience  shows  that  municipal  corporations  have  a 
fatal  tendency  to  plunge  into  debt.  Corporations  of  various  kinds,  and 
especially  transportation  companies,  fill  the  ears  of  the  people  with  syren 
songs  of  wealth  and  prosperity;  but  when  rude  and  inevitable  reality  breaks 
the  spell,  they  find  themselves  bound  hand  and  foot,  at  the  mercy  of  their 
charmers.  Thousands  of  millions  of  indebtedness  have  been  piled  up  in 
this  way  upon  States,  counties,  cities  and  towns  of  the  United  States. 

To  pay  the  principal  and  interest  of  these  debts,  makes  taxation' unbear 
able,  and  the  "courts  are  overwhelmed  with  the  litigous  efforts  of  the  people 
to  repudiate  these  obligations,  and  some  municipalities  have  resorted  to  the 
desperate  expedient  of  dissolving  their  local  governments  to  avoid  the  de 
mands  of  corporation  creditors. 

Our  constitution  prohibits  a  State  indebtedness  exceeding  $50,000,  and 
declares  that  no  county  shall  incur  a  debt  exceeding  $5,000,  and  without 
these  provisions,  for  which  we  are  greatly  indebted  to  the  influence  of  the 
pioneers  in  the  convention,  there  is  little  doubt  that  Oregon  to-day  would  be 
floundering  in  an  unfathorned  sea  of  insolvency. 

Neither  the  State  nor  any  county,  city  or  town  is  allowed  to  be  a  stock 
holder  in  any  private  corporation,  and  this  divorcement  of  the  government 
from  stock  jobbing  interests  is  greatly  conducive  to  purity  in  public  affairs. 
State  banking  institutions  are  prohibited,  in  consequence  of  which  we  have 


30  THE     ANNUAL     ADDRESS. 

not  been  victimized,  like  the  people  of  many  other  States,  by  irredeemable 
paper  currency  issued  by  irresponsible  speculators  upon  public  .credulity. 
Taken  altogether,  the  constitution  of  this  State  is  adequate  to  nil  the  pur 
poses  of  good  government,  and  if  it  is  administered  in  the  spirit  with  which 
it  was  made,  public  justice  and  prosperity  will  be  promoted  and  preserved. 
I  do  not  claim,  of  course,  for  the  pioneers  of  Oregon  that  they  invented 
any  new  theories  of  government.  I  only  say  that  in  its  formation  they 
adopted  correct  principles. 

Washington  did  not  invent  morality,  but  he  is  none  the  less  entitled  to 
credit  for  his  exemplary  life.  Jefferson  and  his  compatriots  made  no  new 
discovery  when  they  established  free  institutions.  Grant  did  not  invent  the 
art  of  war.  but  he  used  what  he  had  learned  effectively  for  the  Union  cause, 
and  so  the  pioneers,  with  practical  good  sense,  distinguished  the  true  prin 
ciples  of  government,  and  applied  them  to  the  exigencies  of  their  country. 

Responsive  to  reflections  upon  this  subject,  the  electric  chords  of  memory 
bring  to  our  view  many  of  the  interesting  scenes  of  the  early  immigration  to 
and  settlement  of  Oregon.  We  look  through  the  misty  shroud  of  departed 
years  and  see  the  ancestral  homes,  with  fathers,  mothers,  sisters  and 
brothers  around  the  family  fireside,  and  there  is  a  talk  of  a  land  of  fertility 
and  beauty,  far  away  on  the  sunset  side  of  the  continent.  Young  people 
starting  in  life  are  apt  to  be  sanguine  and  romantic,  and  no  sooner  is  a  set 
tlement  in  this  distant  country  suggested  than  there  is  an  earnest  opposition; 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  way  are  pointed  out;  fathers  remonstrate 
and  mothers  plead,  and  the  thought  is  made  prominent  that  the  ties  of 
affection  thus  severed  will  never  be  reunited  upon  earth.  Preparations, 
however,  are  made;  teams  and  provisions  are  procured,  and  when  the  hour 
of  departure  arrives,  there  are  tender  words,  and  tears,  and  farewells,  and 
the  long  journey  is  commenced  from  which  not  a  few  of  the  hopeful  and 
high-hearted  are  never  to  return.  We  can  look  back  and  see  in  the  dim  dis 
tance  the  slowly  moving  train,  the  wagons  with  their  once  white,  but  now 
dingy  covers,  the  patient  oxen,  measuring  their  weary  steps;  men  travel- 
stained  and  bronzed  by  exposure;  women  with  mingled  hope  and  care  de 
picted  upon  their  anxious  faces;  and  children  peering  from  their  uneasy 
abodes,  and  wondering  when  their  discomforts  will  cease.  These  are  pio 
neers  on  their  way  to  the  promised  laud.  Moons  wax  and  wane,  again  and 
again,  but  day  after  day  the  toilsome  march  is  resumed.  Sometimes  there 
are  Indian  scares  and  depredations,  unbridged  streams  are  encountered: 
rugged  ascents  and  steep  declivities  occur;  teams  give  out  and  wagons 
break  down,  but  finally  through  "moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field"  and 
when  the  year  has  glided  into  the  gold  and  russet  of  autumn  they  reach  the 


TF1E    ANNUAL    ADbRESS.  31 

long-looked-for  end  of  their  journey.  To  some  all  this  did  not  happen;  to 
others,  more  than  this  happened.  And  there  were  those  who  looked  back 
with  sad  hearts  and  remembered  where  they  had  left  the  wild  winds  to  chant 
its  funeral  requiem  over  a  lonely  and  deserted  grave. 

When  the  pioneers  arrived  here  they  found  a  land  of  marvelous  beauty. 
They  found  extended  prairies  rich  with  luxuriant  verdure.  They  found 
grand  and  gloomy  forests,  majestic  rivers  and  mountains  covered  with 
eternal  snow;  but  they  found  no  friends  to  greet  them,  no  homes  to  go  to, 
nothing  but  the  genial  heavens  and  the  generous  earth  to  give  them  conso 
lation  and  hope.  I  cannot  tell  hpw  they  lived,  with  what  tools  and  materials 
they  built  their  houses,  where  they  procured  their  plows  and  farming  uten 
sils;  who  furnished  them  with  seed  in  the  spring,  or  help  in  the  harvests,  or 
how  in  their  isolated  condition  they  supplied  the  numerous  wants  of  family 
life.  All  these  things  are  mysteries  to  everybody  excepting  to  those  who 
can  give  their  solution  from  actual  experience.  When  I  came  to  Oregon 
most  of  the  pioneers  were  living  in  comparative  comfort  and  prosperity. 
They  had  lauds  and  herds  and  horses  and  were  rapidly  subjecting  the  native 
exuberance  of  the  soil  to  the  productions  of  civilized  life.  I  have  enjoyed 
the  personal  friendship  and  confidence  of  these  people.  I  have  summered 
and  wintered  with  them  and  have  been  permitted  to  share  their  generous 
hospitalities.  Much  of  this  comes  back  to  me  now,  like  the  dying  echoes 
of  distant  melodies.  I  have  been  in  close  relations  with  the  highest  digni 
taries  of  State;  I  have  been  much  among  those  whose  social  gatherings  glit 
tered  with  gold  and  diamonds  and  guy  equipages;  I  have  sat  at  sumptuous 
entertainments  in  palatial  mansions,  where  wine  and  music  and  flowers 
enlivened  and  beautified  the  scene,  bat  deeper  and  dearer  than  the  recollec 
tion  of  these  are  the  memories  of  those  numberless  times  when,  weary  with 
travel  and  chilled  by  inclement  weather,  I  have  been  welcomed  to  the  warm 
fireside  and  substantial  comforts  of  a  pioneer's  home.  There  is  a  great  mis 
take  extant  upon  this  subject.  Many  people  imagine  that  the  powerful  and 
and  rich,  those  who  occupy  the  high  places  of  earth,  are  to  be  envied  for  their 
happiness,  but  the  fact  is  that  ambitions,  jealousies,  rivalries  and  the  enven 
omed  tongue  of  slander  poison  these  apparent  pleasures,  and  those  who 
know  from  experience  can  testify  that 

"  Tis  better  to  be  lowly  born 
And  range  with  humble  livers  in  content 
Than  to  be  perked  up  in  glistering  grief 
And  wear  a  golden  sorrow." 

Inexorable  time  is  thinning  the  ranks  of  the  early  settlers  of  Oregon,  and 
not  a  few  of  them,  after  long  and  useful  lives,  have  gone  down  to  that  silent 


32  THE  ANNUAL  ADDRESS. 

valley  in  whose  mysterious  shadows  "the  weary  are  at  rest."  Happily  a 
goodly  number  have  been  spared  to  meet  and  greet  each  other  upon  this 
thirteenth  anniversary  of  their  society. 

Venerable  friends — You  are  representative  men  and  women.  You  imper 
sonate  the  history  of  this  country  for  nearly  half  a  century.  You  represent 
that  hardy  and  fearless  class  of  people  who  have  carried  the  banners  of  civi 
lization  from  Plymouth  rock  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  You  meet  to-day  at  a 
place  replete  with  stirring  associations.  Forty  years  ago  the  legislative  com 
mittee,  as  it  was  then  called,  assembled  here  to  commence  the  work  of  stat 
utory  enactments.  This  is  the  birthplace  of  Oregon  legislation.  Here  is 
where  a  government  of  laws  for  Oregon  was  inaugurated.  There  was  no 
procession,  with  music  and  banners,  to  celebrate  the  day;  no  salvos  of  ar 
tillery  to  distinguish  the  event.  On  the  narrow  strip  of  land  below  here  be 
tween  the  eternal  rocks  overhanging  their  heads  and  the  ever-flowing  river 
at  their  feet  a  few  plain  men  quietly  assembled  to  c  mmence  a  business  big 
with  the  fate  of  empire.  Now  as  then  the  same  rocks  lift  their  rugged  brows 
in  unchangeable  serenfty.  Now  as  then  the  same  river  leaps  with  foam  and 
mist  and  muffled  thunder  down  the  steep  declivities  of  its  bed.  Now  as 
then  spring-time  brings  forth  its  flowers  and  the  autumn  yields  its  fruits, 
but  all  the  msmbers  of  that  committee,  your  old  associates  and  friends, 
have  gone  forever  from  our  gaze.  Your  lives  are  rounded  with  the  fullness 
of  years.  The  heat  and  burden  of  the  day  are  over  and  your  final  exit  from 
labor  is  at  hand.  There  is  nothing  in  this  that  should  disturb  your  com 
posure.  You  are  only  yielding  to  a  law  that  operates  alike  upon  all.  Kings 
and  nobles,  beggars  and  slaves  are  borne  by  the  resistless  current  of  time 
down  to  the  same  common  destiny.  The  sunset  of  a  useful  life  is  as  beau 
tiful  as  the  sunset  of  a  cloudless  day.  Whenever  one  in  his  old  age  can 
look  back  with  pleasure  upon  his  past  life  he  may  look  forward  with  hope 
into  the  unknown  future.  Be  our  faith  what  it  may,  a  voice  from  the  in 
visible  world  whispers  to  our  reason  that  if  there  is  a  life  beyond  the  grave 
its  beatitudes  are  for  those  to  whom  it  can  be  said,  "Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servants."  Human  life  has  its  varied  aspects,  but  there  is  none 
more  pleasing  than  to  see  one  whose  years  are  full  of  duties  fulfilled,  await 
ing  with  calmness  the  closing  scenes,  and  when  the  hour  of  his  departure 
arrives  going  to  his  rest  like  one  who  "wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about 
him  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams."  You  have  lived  through  a  period 
productire  of  great  events ;  you  have  witnessed  achievements  in  war  and 
peace  among  the  greatest  known  to  history.  Steam  has  revolutionized  the 
modes  of  travel  and  transportation,  and  electricity  the  transmission  of  intel 
ligence.  Our  country  has  passed  through  the  throes  of  a  terrible  civil  war, 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

resulting  in  the  overthrow  of  slavery  and  the  establishment  in  all  our  bor 
ders  of  universal  freedom,  equality  and  justice.  Our  constitution  has  been 
radically  amended,  the  union  consolidated  and  strengthened  and  our  flag 
covered  with  imperishable  glory.  You  have  seen  ten  great  States  added  to 
the  American  union  and  more  than  20,000,000  of  people  to  its  population. 
When  you  came  to  Oregon  there  were  no  farms,  fields,  houses  or  barns  ;  no 
gardens,  orchards  or  vineyards  ;  no  roads,  stages,  steamboats  or  railways  ; 
no  villages,  towns  or  cities  ;  no  institutions  of  learning,  and  "the  sound  of 
a  church-going  bell  these  valleys  and  rocks  never  heard."  Now,  as  you  look 
in  any  direction  you  see  plentiful  and  fragrant  gardens  of  fruit  trees,  vege 
tables  and  flowers  ;  stretching  away  to  the  borders  of  the  State  you  see  the 
cultivated  productions  of  the  soil  invite  the  ripening  kisses  of  the  sunshine 
and  the  breeze.  Where  the  timid  deer  grazed  in  conscious  freedom  and  se 
curity,  and  the  stealthy  wolf  prowled  through  his  solitary  haunts,  you  may 
.now  see  the  peaceful  husbandman  at  work  in  the  field,  and  little  children 
playing  in  safety  around  his  unguarded  home.  You  have  seen  the  highway 
and  the  stage  coach  supplant  the  trail  and  the  Cayuse  horse,  and  you  have 
heard  the  rushing  steamboat  make  the  hills  echo  with  its  exultant  whistle, 
where  aforetime  no  craft  but  the  softly  gliding  canoe  vexed  the  bosom  of 
your  waters.  Occasionally,  when  you  first  came  here,  a  vessel  ventured 
over  the  Columbia  bar,  but  now  magnificent  steamships,  ocean  bound,'  ar 
rive  and  depart  from  your  ports  at  short  and  regular  intervals,  and  the  col 
ors  of  many  foreign  ships  may  be  seen  at  all  times  floating  over  your  har 
bors.  Many  of  you  made  the  trip  to  this  place  in  a  few  hours  to-day  which 
formerly  it  took  you  days  to  perform,  and  you  have  lived  through  the  pro 
gressive  stages  of  travel  till  you  now  see  the  boundaries  of  your  State  tied 
together  with  iron  bands,  upon  which  you  can  ride  with  the  fleetness  of  the 
wind  from  the  Columbia  river  to  the  Siskiyou  mountains.  When  you  immi 
grated  to  Oregon,  it  took  you  six  mouths  to  make  the  journey  across  the  con" 
tinent,  which  immigrants  now  make  in  six  days.  Every  twenty-four  hours 
the  iron  horse  comes  thundering  into  your  State  with  a  train  of  cars  whose 
passengers  but  a  week  before  started  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Iron  and 
steel,  steam  and  electricity  have  merged  the  States  of  the  Union  into  one 
great  municipality  of  thought  and  action.  Since  you  came  here  and  found 
nature  undisturbed,  flourishing  towns  have  sprung  up  in  every  part  of  the 
State  like  the  poet's  Venus  from  the  sea,  radiant  with  life,  vigor  and  happi 
ness,  and  within  a  few  miles,  where  some  of  you  have  seen  the  full  grown 
forest  standing  in  silent  grandeur,  the  tides  of  trade  and  commerce  from 
different  parts  of  the  world  collide  with  each  other,  and  thousands  of  busy 
people  contribute  to  the  roar,  and  rattle,  and  noise  of  a  large  city.  One  of 


34  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

the  early  resolves  of  the  pioneers  w\s  to  encourage  education,  and  this  has 
been  faithfully  carried  into  effect.  You  have  established  an  excellent  com 
mon  school  system.  Your  wise  and  liberal  provisions  upon  this  subject  en 
able  the  rising  generation  to  drink  at  the  fountain  of  knowledge  without 
money  and  without  price.  Seminaries  and  colleges  are  growing  in  number 
and  influence,  and  the  numerous  church  spires  in  your  towns  and  cities  in 
dicate  a  vigilant  care  for  the  religious  improvement  of  the  people.  All  these 
wonderful  changes  in  our  State  are  identified  with  your  history.  They  are 
the  developments  of  your  policy  and  the  expansion  of  your  principles. 
When  future  generations,  whose  approach  now  breaks  upon  onr  ears  like 
the  murmur  of  distant  seas,  shall  come  forward  to  fill  this  beautiful  State 
with  millions  of  people,  the  work  that  you  have  wrought  in  laying  its  foun 
dations  will  be  remembered  with  gratitude,  and  the  story  of  the  struggles, 
sacrifices  and  successes  of  the  pioneers  will  always  be  the  most  interesting 
part  of  the  history  of  Oregon . 


CLOSING  EXERCISES. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Williams'  address,  a  selection  of 
music  was  given,  and  the  exercises  were  closed  with  a  benedic 
tion.  Then  the  bounteous  baskets  were  opened,  and  the  pio 
neers  and  their  friends  partook  of  one  more  dinner  beneath  the 
open  sky,  and  amid  the  green  woods. 

The  annual  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  was  then 
held  with  the  following  result: 

J.  T.  Apperson  was  re-elected  President. 

J.  W.  Grim  was  re-elected  Vice  President. 

R.  P.  Earhart  was  re-elected  Secretary. 

J.  M.  Bacon  was  re-elected  Treasurer. 

W.  H.  Rees  was  re  elected  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Medorum  Crawford,  F.  X.  Matlhieu  and  F.  R.  Smith  were 
re-elected  Directors. 

Mr.  Waite  declining  re-election. 


OBITUARIES. 


JEROME  JRCKSON, 


The  subject  of  this  brief  notice  was  the  son  of  Brigadier  General  John  M. 
and  Hester  Jackson,  and  was  born  in  Booneville,  Oneida  county,  New  York, 
on  October  4,  1823.  Gen.  Jackson  was?  connected  with  the  26th  Brigade, 
New  York  Infantry,  and  dying,  left  a  family  of  seven  children.  Jerome 
lived  with  an  uncle  for  several  years  and  then  commenced  life  as  a  sailor  in 
the  coasting  trade  between  New  York  and  southern  ports.  His  eyesight 
falling  him,  he  abandoned  the  seafaring  life,  and  going  to  Connecticut  com 
menced  work  for  the  Springfield,  Hartford  and  New  Haven  K.  R.  Company, 
where  he  was  employed  when  the  mining  excitement  broke  out  in  Cali 
fornia.  Himself  and  brother  Abram  secured  an  interest  in  the  Montague 
Milling  and  Trading  Association,  then  organizing  in  New  Haven,  and  pur 
chasing  a  vessel,  which  they  loaded  with  provisions,  they  sailed  for  San 
Francisco  in  January,  1849.  Mr.  Jackson  shipping  as  a  sailor.  They  were 
153  days  in  making  the  voyage,  reaching  San  Francisco  in  the  following 
June.  The  two  brothers  went  into  the  mines  where  they  remained  until 
October  of  1850,  when  sickness  compelled  them  to  sever  their  connection 
with  the  company.  They  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  took  passage  on 
the  brig  "Forest"  for  Portland,  Oregon.  The  vessel  made  eleven  ineffectual 
attempts  to  cross  the  Columbia  river  bar,  and  was  finally  piloted  in  by  the 
pilot  boat  "Mary  Taylor."  In  the  fall  of  1850,  Mr.  Jackson  bought  a  farm 
near  Butteville,  where  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  mar 
ried  in  January,  1860,  to  Mary  Costello,  daughter  of  Hugh  Cosgrove,  who 
with  five  children  still  survives  him.  He  divided  his  attention  between 
farming  and  the  manufacture  of  cider,  his  success  being  marked.  Strict 
attention  to  business  interests  secured  for  him  the  comforts  of  a  pleasant 


36  OBITUARIES. 

home,  and  his  strict  integrity  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  his  neighbors  and 
friends.  He  accumulated  considerable  property  and  was  a  representative 
man  of  the  sturdy  pioneer  class  by  whose  efforts  our  fair  young  State  was 
redeemed  from  oblivion  and  fairly  started  upon  its  now  firmly  established 
career  of  prosperity  and  importance.  His  death  occurred  quite  recently  and 
his  body  reposes  in  the  rural  quietude  of  the  cemetery  near  St.  Paul,  while 
the  result  of  his  handiwork  and  his  numerous  virtues  are  matters  of  histori 
cal  interest  in  the  recollection  of  days  gone  by. 


HENRY  WARREN 


Died  at  McMinnville,  Oregon,  September  13,  1885.  He  was  born  in  Novia 
Scotia  in  1817,  of  English-Scotch  parentage.  He  left  home  at  an  early  age, 
and  thenceforth  sustained  himself  by  his  unaided  exertions.  He  found  his 
way  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y  ,  and  afterwards  resided  for  a  time  in  Illinois  and  Mis 
souri.  In  the  fall  of  1847,  he  left  the  latter  State  for  Oregon,  and  arrived  in 
the  spring  of  1848,  settling  in  Yarnhill  county.  Here  he  pursued  farming 
for  nine  years,  and  in  1857  was  chosen  Sheriff  of  Yamhill  county,  which  of 
fice  he  held  for  seven  years.  Since  that  time,  he  has  been  successively  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  State  Legislature,  receiver  of  the  land  of 
fice  at  Oregon  City  for  ten  years,  recorder  and  mayor  of  McMinnville,  and 
finally  State  Senator.  Mr.  Warren  was  married  twice.  He  wedded  Miss 
Nancy  Palmer  in  Missouri,  who  died  in  1859,  leaving  five  children,  and  was 
married  the  second  time  to  Mrs.  Nellie  Schrader  in  1867. 


ALFRED  MOYENDEN 


Died  at  his  home  in  Hubbard,  Oregon,  December  10,  1835.  He  met  sud 
den  death  from  the  running  away  of  his  team,  was  a  man  of  unusual  force 
of  character  and  great  energy,  who  realized  far  more  than  ordinary  success 
in  the  pursuit  of  life.  Mr.  Hovenden  was  a  pioneer  and  took  great  interest 
in  the  Pioneer  Association  of  Oregon.  He  was  born  in  England,  county 
Kent,  in  1824,  and  came  to  America  in  1844,  when  twenty  years  old.  In 
those  days  he  was  six  weeks  in  crossing  the  ocean.  He  settled  in  Peoria 
county,  Illinois,  when  he  worked  at  farming  and  traded  horses  until  he  was 


01J I 'IT  ARIES.  37 

twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  then  in  1849,  crossed  the  plains  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  not  certain  if  he  would  go  to  California  or  Oregon.  He  and  a  brother 
named  Charles,  who  is  now  a  resident  of  Siskiyou  county,  California,  out 
fitted  with  an  ox  team  and  were  six  months  on  the  way.  They  had  several 
narrow  escapes  from  Indians  on  the  plains.  Sometimes  they  traveled  alone 
and  at  times  with  a  company.  Mr.  Hovenden  was  a  man  who  had  sufficient 
indepencence  of  character  to  act  on  his  judgment  even  in  travel  on  the 
plains.  One  of  their  companions  for  a  great  part  of  the  journey  was  David 
Logan,  who  was  to  be  in  the*  near  future  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in 
Oregon.  Logan  was  gifted  with  remarkable  talent  and  became  a  distin 
guished  lawyer  and  politician.  Mr.  Hovenden  settled  near  Hubbard,  on  his 
donation  land  ckim  of  320  acres,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  In  1856 
he  wes  married  in  Polk  county  to  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Loden,  who  survives  him. 
He  was  one  of  twelve  brothers  and  sisters  and  eleven  still  survive.  He  was 
sixty-one  years  old  and  possessed  rugged  health  with  every  prospect  that 
his  life  would  be  long  in  the  land,  when  it  was  suddenly  terminated  by  ac 
cident.  He  leaves  a  wife  and  four  children,  his  son,  George  B.  Hoveuden, 
is  left  heir  to  the  home  farm  and  his  current  business.  Mr.  Hovenden  had 
several  good  farms  and  being  a  practical  and  careful  business  man  was  suc 
cessful  in  acquiring  property.  They  had  three  daughters,  all  married,  Mrs. 
John  Dennis,  of  Hubbard,  Mrs.  M.  L.  Jones,  of  Brooks,  and  Mrs.  F.  N. 
Gilbert,  of  Salem.  He  had  shown  the  greatest  care  for  his  family  and  is 
mourned  by  them  as  an  affectionate  father  and  husband.  His  brother, 
Amos  Hovenden,  also  located  near  Hubbard  and  has  resided  there  for  many 
years. 

Mr.  Hovenden  was  a  man  valuable  to  the  community  and  deeply  inter 
ested  in  all  that  concerns  the  public  welfare.  He  was  earnest  in  working 
for  honest  government,  fully  appreciated  our  free  system,  and  was  anxious 
to  preserve  its  purity  and  correct  all  that  threatened  harm.  He  was  a  man 
who  appreciated  honesty  and  did  all  he  could  to  maintain  it  in  State  and 
nation.  A  man  of  foreign  birth,  he  appreciated  liberty  and  popular  govern 
ment  as  very  few  do  who  are  "to  the  manor  born." 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS, 


OFFICE  OF  THE  SECRETARY, 

CAPITOL  BUILDING, 

SALEM,   February  23,  1886. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association 
met  at  2  o'clock  p.  M.,  the  following  officers  and  members  being 
present: 

J.  T.  Apperson,  President, 

J.  W.  Grim,  Vice  President, 

R.  P.  Karhart,  Secretary. 

John  M.  Bacon,   Treasurer, 

F.  R.  Smith,  E.  M.  Waite  and  F.  X.  Matthieu. 

Absent:  VV.  H.  Rees,  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  Medorum 
Crawford, 

The  annual  reports  of  the  Secretary  and  Treasurer  were  read, 
and  upon  motion  adopted. 

Upon  motion,  the  Secretary  was  authorized  to  publish  in  the 
annual  proceedings  obituary  notices  of  such  members  of  the 
association  as  may  have  died  during  the  preceding  year,  that 
have  been  reported  to  him. 

A  communication  was  received  from  W.  H.  Gray,  Esq.,  re 
questing  permission  to  reply  through  the  annual  proceedings  as 
published  in  1886  to  Dr.  Tolmie's  communication  as  printed  in 
proceedings  of  1885. 

The  communication  being  read,  Mr.  Waite  moved  that  Mr. 
Gray  be  requested  to  forward  his  manuscript  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Association,  and  that  it  be  referred  to  a  special  committee 
consisting  of  the  President,  the  Secretary,  the  Treasurer  and  F. 


I'KOCKEDJXGS    OF     BOARD    OF     DIRECTORS.  39 

R.  Smith  and  F.  X.  Matthieu,  and,  if  approved  by  them,  to  be 
given  a  place  in  the  published  proceedings  of  the  association  of 
1886,  free  from  charge,  which  motion  prevailed. 

A  proposition  was  received  from  H.  S.  Lyman,  Esq.,  in  rela 
tion  to  writing  a  history  of  the  association.  The  patter  was 
taken  under  consideration  and  respectfully  declined. 

Mr.  Bacon  moved  that  the  association  hold  its  next  annual 
re  union  at  Oregon  City,  which  motion  prevailed. 

The  following  committee  was  appointed  upon  the  programme 
and  exercises  for  such  re-union:  Messrs.  J.  G.  Pilsbury,  John  M. 
Bacon  and  William  Elliott. 

The  committee  was  further  authorized  to  appoint  such  sub 
committees  as  they  might  deem  necessary  to  assist  them  in 
arranging  for  the  re  union. 

Col.  John  A.  Kelsay,  ot  Corvallis,  was  selected  to  deliver  the 
Annual  Address,  and  Hon.  M.  C.  George,  of  Portland,  the 
Occasional  Address. 

Col.  VV.  L.  White,  of  Oregon  City,  was  elected  Chief  Marshal 
and  Rev.  John  W.  Sellwood,  of  East  Portland,  Chaplain. 

The  President  was  authorized  to  fill  any  vacancies  that  might 
occur  in  the  selection  of  orators,  etc. 

Upon  motion,  it  was  resolved  to  extend  an  invitation  to  the 
Indian  War  Veterans  to  unite  with  the  Pioneers  at  its  next  an 
nual  re  union,  and  the  President  of  the  association  was  author 
ized  to  confer  with  the  officers  of  the  Indian  War  Veterans,  and 
make  such  arrangements  as  he  may  deem  advisable  in  the 
premises. 

Upon  motion,  R.  P.  Earhart,  E.  M.  Waite  and  F.  R.  Smith 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  report  amendments  to  the  con 
stitution  to  the  next  annual  meeting  for  action  thereon. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  meeting,  upon  motion, 
adjourned.  .R.  P.  EARHART, 

Secretary. 


REPORT  OF  SECRETARY. 


To  the  President  and  the  members  of  the   Oregon  Pioneer  Asso 
ciation : 

GENTLEMEN — I  have  to  submit  to  you  the  following  annual 
report  of  the  transactions  of  this  office  during  the  past  year. 

The  office  of  the  association  is  now  located  permanently  in 
the  roqm  assigned  to  the  society  in  Capitol  Building  in  Salem, 
where  the  records  and  papers  of  the  association,  such  as  have 
been  received  by  me,  are  carefully  kept. 

I  find  upon  the  rolls  the  names  of  551  members,  a  decrease 
from  former  reports.  No  deaths  of  members  have  been  reported 
to  me  during  the  year. 

Your  Board  of  Directors  at  their  regular  meeting  in  February 
last,  passed  the  following  resolution  concerning  dues  of  members: 

Resolved,  That  all  members  of  this  Association  who  shall  pay  their  annual 
dues  for  the  year  ending  June  15,  1885,  shall  be  considered  in  good  stand 
ing,  and  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  membership. 

This  resolution  was  embodied  in  my  circular  of  April  i5th, 
giving  notice  of  the  annual  re-union,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to 
each  person  found  upon  the  roll  of  membership. 

I  have  caused  to  be  printed  500  copies  of  the  proceedings  of 
last  annual  re-union,  which  are  now  in  my  hands  for  distribution. 
I  would  recommend  that  I  be  authorized  to  send  a  copy  to  each 
member. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  moneys  which  have  been 


REPORT    OF    SECRETARY.  4:1 

received  by  me  during  the  past  year  up  to  June  i3th;   the  entire 

sum  is  for  dues  only;  no  moneys  have  been  paid  me  for  any  other 

purpose: 

R.  P.  Earhart,  Secretary,  in  account  with  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

1885  DR. 

June  15,  To  amount  received  by  him  on  account  of  dues  from  mem 
bers $107  00 

CONTRA  CR. 

June  15.   By  amount  transferred  to  Treasurer  Bacon 99  00 

By  cash  paid  for  postage  and  book 8  00 

$107  00 

Warrants  have  been  drawn  upon  the  Treasurer,  Mr.  Bacon,  since  June  15, 
1883,  as  follows: 

1884 

No.  1,  E.  M.  Waite,  printing  proceedings $  86  40 

2,  Standard,  advertising 6  50 

3,  N.  B.  Parrish,  expressage 3  75 

4,  Conover,  advertising 3:50 

5,  Willamette  Farmer,  advertising k  00 

6,  J.  Green,  labor ...    10  50 

7,  W.  L.  Boise,  services  as  Secretary 5  00 

8,  J.  Bennett,  labor. 3  00 

9,  Salem  Band,  service 40  00 

These  were  expenses  at  Salem,  June,  1883-4. 

1,   Secretary,  expense,  incidental. 1000 

•2,  Miller,  services 7  00 

3,  Bronghlin,  services 22  84 

4,  Himes,  printing 12  00 

5,  G.  Miller,  lumber,  etc 13  50 

B,  J.  M.  Bacon,  sundry  incidental  expenses. 6  00 

7,  J.  M.  Bacon,  sundry  incidental  expenses 7  00 

8,  E.  M.  Waite,  printing  proceedings,  1884 104  55 

9,  O.  C.  Band,  service    .  41  00 


42  '    REPOKT    OF    SECRETARY. 

No.  10,  G.  H.  Himes,  printing $  12  00 

These  were  for  expenses  of  1884-5. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

K.  P.  EARHART, 
SALEM,  June  15,  1885.  Secretary. 


REPORT  OF  TREASURER. 


OBEGON  CITY,  June  15,  1885. 

J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  in  account: 
1884.  DR. 

June  17,  To  balance,  on  hand  as  per  report $  92  98 

To  cash  received,  J.  W.  Meldrum,  dues 1  00 

"             "          Jno.  Meldrum,         "    .«. .    .  1  00 

"       collected,  self .'.    .    .  4100 

gate 52  20 

CB.  $188  18 

By  warrant  No.  1,  E.  M.  Waite   $  86  40 

"     2,  Standard 6  50 

"     3,  Parrish 3  75 

"           "     4,  Conover 350 

"     5,  Farmer 200 

11     6,  Green 10  50 

"     7,  Boise 5  00 

"     8,  Bennett 3  00 

"     9,  Band 4000 

Cash  on  hand 27  53 


June  15,  To  cash  on  hand $  27  53 


-$188  18 


J.  M.  Bacon,  in  account  with  Oregon  Pioneer  Association: 

1885. 
June  15,  To  balance  on  hand  as  per  report $  27  53 


44  REPORT    OF    TREASURER. 

June  15,  To  cash  received  from  Secretary .$  94  00 

"             "        contribution,  Oregon  City 65  50 

from  ball 14  50 

"    J.  W.  Grim,  dues 1  00 

"     F.  X.  Mathieu 100 

'•     F.  O.  McCown 100 

tl     Dan.  Stewart 100 

V     W.  Barlow 1   00 

11     Thos.  Powell 100 

"•    Chris.  Taylor 1  00 

•'     C.  O.  Boynton 100 

"     W.  K.  Willis ,  1  00 

June  29,         "                           "•     Secretary    • 5  00 

"             "•             '*     lumber  sold •      .  400 

'*       advanced  by  Bacon 1881 


$238  34 

June  15,  By 'paid  warrant  No.  lr  Secretary $  10  00 

"     2,  Miller 7  00 

"         "3,  Broughtou '22  84 

"     4,  Himes 12  00 

"     5,  G.  Miller 13  50 

"     6,  Bacon 6  00 

il     7,  Bacon 7  00 

**.   8,  Waite 104  55 

,      "         "     9,  Band 41  00 

'  *  "         "         Nails S  45 

July  7,  "         "  10,  Himes.    ..- 1200 

*238  34 

Balance  due  J.  M.  Bacon $  18  81 

Respectfully, 

J.   M.  BACON, 

Treasurer, 


.    J     \V. 


"TRANSACTIONS 


FOURTEENTH  ANNUAL  REUNION 


OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION 


Annual  Address  by  Hon.  John  Kelsay, 


The  Occasional  Address  by  Hon.  M.  C.  George, 


WITH  OTHER  MATTERS  OF  INTEREST. 


PORTLAND,   OREGON: 
PRESS  OF  GEO.  H.  HIMES,  169-171  SECOND  STREET. 

1887. 


FOURTEENTH  ANNUAL  REUNION, 


OREGON  CITY,  OREGON, 
Tuesday,  June  15,  1886. 

The  fourteenth  annual  reunion  of  Oregon  Pioneers 
took  place  at  the  beautiful  park  between  Oregon  City  and 
Can emah,  directly  opposite  and  in  full  view  of  the  Wil 
lamette  Falls.  The  place  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
convenient  in  the  State  for  general  assemblage,  adapted  in 
every  respect  for  such  proceedings. 

The  following  officers  were  present  : 

J.  T.  Apperson,  President. 
J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer. 
J.  W.  Grim,  Vfce-President. 

F.  X.  Matthieu,  Joseph  Watt,  Medorem  Crawford, 
Directors. 

The  attendance  was  large  (there  being  no  less  than  1500 
people  on  the  grounds  at  midday)  and  the  day  was  perfect. 
The  people  of  Oregon  City  had  made  bountiful  provision 
for  entertainment  of  their  visitors,  providing  a  grand  bar 
becue  dinner  of  roast  ox,  mutton  and  salmon.  The  prepa 
ration  of  this  feast  was  a  novel  performance,  and  formed 
a  distinct  feature  in  the  interests  of  the  day.  A  trench 
forty  feet  long  and  perhaps  three  feet  deep  was  filled  with 


4  FOURTEENTH  ANNUAL  REUNION. 

live  hardwood  coals,  and  covered  with  a  monster  gridiron. 
Upon  this  was  laid  the  meats  in  prodigious  hunks,  which, 
in  the  course  of  an  hour,  was  roasted  to  perfection.  This 
toothsome  and  wholesome  food  was  served  out  free  to  all, 
and  formed  a  most  acceptable  supplement  to  the  daintier 
tilings  which  filled  some  hundreds  of  lunch  baskets. 

The  formal  ceremonies  of  the  day  began  with  a  proces 
sion,  which  organized  in  the  main  street  of  Oregon  City 
shortly  after  11  o'clock,  and  marched  to  the  park  after  the 
lead  of  a  brass  band.  The  procession  was  made  up  of 
squads  representing  every  immigration  from  1841  to  1854, 
each  under  its  banner,  bearing  the  year  and  some  appro 
priate  device.  It  was  an  unusual  and  attractive  sight. 
The  column  was  made  up  almost  entirely  of  men  gray  and 
venerable  with  length  of  years.  There  was  little  of  mili 
tary  order  in  the  straggling  band,  but  it  had  an  interest  of 
its  own,  rarer  and  more  thrilling  to  the  lover  of  his  State 
and  country  than  the  most  martial  display.  For  every 
man  in  the  line  there  we're  ten  men  and  women  on  the 
sidewalk,  and  the  columns  moved  together  to  the  park, 
where  the  whole  body  assembled  about  the  speaker's  plat 
form. 

After  prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.  J.  W.  Sellwood,  the 
President  of  the  Association,  Captain  J.  T.  Apperson,  de 
livered  an  address  of  welcome,  which  was  followed  by 
the  annual  address  by  Col.  John  Kelsay,  of  Corvallis,  and 
the  occasional  address  by  Hon.  M.  C.  George,  of  Portland. 

In  accordance  with  the  invitation  extended  by  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Association,  at  their  February  meet- 


OREGON    PIONEER    ASSOCIATION.  .  O 

ing,  the  annual  reunion  of  the  Indian  War  Veterans  was 
held  at  this  time.  This  body  was  presided  over  by  Col. 
T.  B.  Wait,  of  Salem,  Grand  Commander,  and  was  ably 
addressed  by  Col.  L.  F.  Mosher,  of  Roseburg.  The  pres 
ence  of  this  organization  added  interest  to  the  occasion. 

These  exercises,  with  music  by  the  band,  occupied  the 
time  till  2  o'clock,  when  the  company  dispersed  to  enjoy 
the  grand  dinner.  The  barbecued  meats  were  done  to 
perfection.  Two  hours  were  given  up  to  feasting  and 
strolling  about  the  beautiful  park. 

At  4  o'clock  the  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year 
was  held.  M.  Wilkins  was  chosen  President ;  J.  W.  Grim, 
Yice-President ;  Geo.  H.  Himes,  Secretary  ;  J.  M.  Bacon, 
Treasurer  ;  F.  X.  Matthieu,  Joseph  Watt  and  Clarke  Play 
Directors. 

The  evening  was  devoted  to  a  grand  ball  in  a  fine  danc 
ing  hall  at  the  grounds,  and  to  a  camp-tire.  Both  were 
well  attended,  the  young  people  (sons  and  daughters  ot 
pioneers  for  the  most  part)  choosing  the  more  frivolous 
entertainment,  while  the  pioneers  and  their  good  wives  sat 
about  the  blazing  logs  and  talked  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
The  camp-fire  entertainment  was  mostly  conversational, 
but  there  were  a  few  informal  speeches.  B.  F.  Dowell  of 
'50,  J.  M.  Bacon  of  '43,  Medorem  Crawford  of  '42,  Joe 
Watt  of  '44,  and  James  Winston  of  '46,  spoke  of  amusing 
pioneer  experiences,  and  Mr.  Watt  "  brought  down  the 
house  "  with  a  comical  song. 

The  ground  upon  which  the  reunion  was  held  is  historic. 
Through  the  grove — the  growth  of  the  last  thirty  years — 


6  FOURTEENTH  ANNUAL  REUNION, 

where  the  platform  and  seats  were  situated  winds  the 
wagon  road,  along  which  the  pioneers  of  the  early  forties — 
some  of  whom  were  present  upon  this  occasion — toiled 
and  struggled  as  they  were  about  to  enter  what  they 
thought  to  be  the  land  of  Paradise,  the  far-famed  Willam 
ette  Valley.  It  was  here  that  Dr.  Samuel  Parker  stood  on 
November  24th,  1835,  when  he  looked  down  upon  the 
falls  at  his  feet  and  wrote  the  following: 

"  We  arrived  at  the  falls  of  the  Willamette  at  2  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  hired  eight  Clough-e-wall-hah  Indi 
ans  to  carry  the  canoe  by  the  falls,  the  distance  of  half  a 
mile,  and  proceeded  about  five  miles  farther  before  eve 
ning.  These  falls  with  the  scenery  around  them  have 
much  to  charm  and  interest.  The  river  above  spreads  out 
into  a  deep,  wide  basin,  and  runs  slowly  and  smoothly  un 
til  within  a  half  mile  of  the  falls,  when  its  velocity  in 
creases,  its  width  diminishes,  eddies  are  formed  in  which 
the  water  turns  back  as  if  loth  to  make  the  plunge,  but  is 
forced  forward  by  the  water  in  the  rear,  and  when  still 
nearer,  it  breaks  across  the  channel;  then,  as  if  resigned 
to  its  fate,  smoothes  its  agitated  surges,  and  precipitates 
down  an  almost  perpendicular  of  twenty -five  feet,  present 
ing  a  somewhat  whitened  column.  It  was  a  pleasant  day, 
and  the  rising  mist  formed  in  the  rays  of  the  sun  a  beau 
tiful  bow  ;  and  the  grass  about  the  falls,  irrigated  by  the 
descending  mist,  was  in  fresh  green.  The  rocks  over 
which  the  water  falls,  and  along  the  adjacent  shore,  are 
amygdaloid  and  basalt.  The  opportunities  here  for  water 
power  are  equal  to  any  that  can  be  found.  There  cannot  be 


OREGON    PIONEER    ASSOCIATION.  7 

a  better  situation  for  a  factory  town  than  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river,  where  a  dry  wide-spread  level  extends  some 
distance,  and  the  basaltic  shores  form  natural  wharves  for 
shipping.  The  whole  country  around,  particularly  on  the 
east  side,  is  pleasant  and  fertile.  And  can  the  period  be 
far  distant  when  there  will  be  a  busy  population  ?  I  could 
hardly  persuade  myself  that  this  river  had,  for  many 
thousand  years,  poured  its  waters  constantly  down  these 
falls  without  having  facilitated  the  labor  of  man.  Ab 
sorbed  in  these  contemplations,  I  took  out  my  watch  to  see 
if  it  was  not  the  hour  for  the  ringing  of  the  bells.  It  was 
two  o'clock,  and  all  was  still,  except  the  roar  of  the  falling 
water.  I  called  to  recollection,  that  in  the  year  1809,  I 
stood  by  the  falls  of  the  Genesee  river,  and  all  was  silence 
except  the  roar  of  the  cataract — but  it  is  not  so  now,  for 
Rochester  stands  where  I  then  stood." 


THE  ANNUAL  ADDRESS, 


BY  HON.  JOHN  KELSAY,  OF  CORVALLIS. 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION 

You  know  as  well  as  I  do  the  facts  about  which  I  shall  speak  this  day, 
and  are  kindly  disposed  toward  those  who  performed  them.  You  may  think 
them  somewhat  imperfectly  set  forth,  compnred  with  what  you  both  saw  and 
knew.  You  who  are  not  pioneers,  and  are  unacquainted  with  the  trials  and 
dangers  encountered  by  them,  may  think  that  some  points  and  facts  are  exag 
gerated  by  me.  It  was  once  said  by  a  great  Athenian  orator  and  statesman, 
that  "  Praises  spoken  of  others  are  only  endured  so  far  as  each  one  thinks  that 
he  is  himself  capable  of  doing  any  of  the  things  he  hears  ;  but  that  which  ex 
ceeds  their  own  capacity  rouses  at  once  envy  and  displeasure." 

I  will  endeavor  to  meet  the  views  and  wishes  of  every  one  as  far  as 
possible.  I  will  begin  by  referring  to  the  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River  by  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston.  In  May,  1792,  he  crossed  the 
bar,  being  the  first  to  enter  the  river,  which  he  ascended  some  twenty-five  miles, 
bestowing  on  it  the  name  of  his  vessel,  the  Columbia.  This  was  the  first 
discovery  of  the  river,  and  the  strongest  element  in  the  title  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  coast. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  the  father  of  explorations  in  the  United  States. 
While  lesser  minds  were  absorbed  in  minor  things,  his  profound  sagacity 
penetrated  forests,  and  sought  to  reveal  hidden  resources  and  add  to  the 
extent  of  the  new  nation.  When  Jefferson  returned  to  America  in  1789,  his 
imagination  was  filled  with  brilliant  pictures  of  the  Far  West,  whose  early 
discovery  his  judgment  pronounced  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  common 
wealth.  Taking  his  seat  as  president  in  1801,  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  pet 
project.  The  rapid  change  in  the  ownership  of  Louisiana,  as  the  great 
wilderness  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  then  called,  transferred  by  Spain  to 
France  in  1800,  and  by  France  to  the  United  States  in  1803,  stimulated  still 
more  the  ardor  of  the  president. 

By  a  confidential  message  of  January  18,  1803,   the  president,   among 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  9 

other  things,  recommended  to  congress  that  an  expedition  be.  sent  to  explore 
the  Missouri  to  its  source,  and  thence  crossing  the  continental  highlands,  to 
the  westward  flow  of  waters,  and  follow  them  to  the  Pacific.  Congress  ap 
proved  of  the  measure,  and  made  an  appropriation  to  cover  the  estimated 
expenses.  Captain  Lewis,  who  had  been  private  secretary  of  the  president 
for  two  years,  requested  that  he  might  command  the  party.  Jefferson 
knew  him  well,  and  granted  his  desire.  In  order  to  place  the  success  of  the 
expedition  beyond  the  risk  of  accident,  he  requested  that  some  competent 
person  should  be  associated  with  him  as  second  in  command,  and  named 
Lieutenant  William  Clarke,  also  of  the  United  States  Army,  who  was 
appointed  to  that  post  with  the  commission  of  captain.  Instructions  to  Capt. 
Lewis,  drafted  by  the  president's  own  hand,  were  signed  on  the  2Oth  day  of 
June,  1803.  By  the  instructions  he  was  directed  to  provide  himself  with 
arms,  ammunition,  provisions,  boats,  tents  and  medicines  for  ten  or  twelve 
men,  who  were  to  be  selected  from  such  soldiers  as  volunteered  for  the  service, 
and  over  whom  he  should  have  the  command.  A  part  of  the  company's  pro 
posed  movements  was  to  explore  the  Missouri  river,  and  such  principal 
streams  of  it  as  by  its  course  and  near  communication  with  the  waters  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  whether  the  Columbia,  Oregon,  Colorado,  or  any  other  river, 
might  offer  the  most  direct  and  practicable  water  communication  across  the 
continent  for  purposes  of  commerce,  and  to  take  formal  possession  in  the 
name  of  their  government.  A  journal  was  to  be  kept,  in  which  notes  and 
observations  were  to  be  accurately  entered. 

Ten  days  after  the  instructions  were  signed  by  the  president,  information 
was  received  of  the  consummation  at  Paris  of  the  treaty  placing  the  United 
States  in  possession  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  country  to  be  explored,  which 
gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  exploration. 

The  party  encamped  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri.  The  winter  was  spent  disciplining  the  men.  On 
the  I4th  of  May,  1804,  the  party  embarked  in  their  boats  and  set  out.  To 
the  natives  along  the  river  the  change  of  ^government  was  announced.  The 
toils  and  dangers  of  this  expedition,  as  given  in  history,  read  like  fiction. 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1804-6,  accomplished  for  the  United  States  what  Mac 
kenzie  had  done  for  England  in  1793  ;  that  is,  they  made  an  overland  explor 
ation  to  the  Pacific.  Their  route,  after  crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  was 
down  the  Clearwater,  Snake  and  Columbia  rivers,  touching  also  the  Salmon 
and  Clarke  branches  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  discovery  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River  by  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston,  in  1792,  and  the  first  dis- 


10  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

covery  of  the  sources  of  that  river  and  the  exploration  of  its  course  to  the  sea 
by  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  in  1805-6,  did  much  to  strengthen  the  claims 
of  the  United  States.  Having  spent  the  winter,  from  November  to  March, 
in  camp  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Columbia  near  its  mouth,  the  company 
returned  in  1806  by  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  eastern  states. 

The  American  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  was  made  in 
1811.  It  was  an  act  of  private  enterprise  on  the  part  of  John  Jacob  Astor, 
of  New  York,  and  the  young  town  was  christened  after  his  name,  Astoria. 
It  was  done  with  the  countenance  and  stipulated  approbation  of  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  Stales,  and  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Navy  was 
allowed  to  command  his  (Astor's)  leading  vessel,  in  order  to  impress  upon  the 
enterprise  the  seal  of  nationality.  This  town  was  captured  in  the  war  of  1812, 
by  a  ship  of  war  detached  for  that  purpose  by  Commodore  Hillyar,  com 
manding  a  British  squadron  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
recover  it  during  the  war.  It  was  testored  in  accordance  with  the  first  article 
of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  in  1814,  which  provided  that  all  territory,  places  and 
possessions  whatever,  taken  by  either  party  from  the  other  during  the  war, 
should  be  restored  without  delay.  This  restitution  was  made  on  the  6th  of 
October,  1818. 

The  Louisiana  purchase  did  not  extend  beyond  the  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Our  title  to  all  that  large  area  which  is  included  in  the  State  of 
Oregon  and  in  the  Territories  of  Washington  and  Idaho,  rests  upon  a  different 
foundation,  or  upon  a  series  of  claims,  each  of  which  was  strong  under  the 
law  of  nations.  We  claimed  it,  first — by  right  of  original  discovery  of  the 
Columbia  River  by  an  American  navigator  in  1792  ;  second — by  original 
exploration  in  1805  ;  third — by  original  settlement  in  1810,  kby  the  enterpris 
ing  company  of  which  John  Jacob  Astor  was  the  head  ;  and  lastly — by  the 
transfer  of  the  Spanish  title  in  1819.  Many  years  after  the  Louisiana  purchase 
was  accomplished.  The  treaty  with  Spain  was  confirmed  by  treaty  of  1828, 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  which  had,  in  the  meantime,  become 
independent  of  Spain. 

In  the  autumn  of  1818,  and  about  the  time  of  the  nominal  restitution,  a 
convention  was  concluded  in  London,  between  the  United  States  and  the 
British  government,  giving  joint  occupation  of  any  country  that  might  be 
claimed  by  either  party  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  westward  of  the 
Stony  Mountains,  together  with  its  harbors,  bays  and  creeks,  and  the  navi 
gation  of  all  rivers  within  the  same,  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  the  date  of 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  11 

the  signature  of  the  convention  to  the  vesssls,  citizens  and  subjects  of  the 
two  powers. 

It  was  also  agreed  that  nothing  in  the  contract  should  be  construed  so  as 
to  affect  the  claim  of  either  party,  the  only  object  of  the  contracting  parties 
being  to  prevent  disputes  and  differences  among  themselves.  As  far  west  as 
the  Rocky  Mountains  the  parallel  of  49°  was  made  the  permanent  boundary. 

The  session  of  1820-21  was  the  first  at  which  any  proposition  was  made 
in  congress  for  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  our  territory  on  the  Colum 
bia  River.  It  was  made  by  Dr.  Floyd,  a  representative  from  Virginia,  a  man 
of  great  ability.  He  brought  forward  the  question  ol  occupation  and  moved 
for  a  select  committee  to  consider  and  report  upon  tbe  subject.  The  commit 
tee  was  granted,  and  the  report  was  made.  Public  attention  was  awakened, 
and  the  geographical  and  historical  facts  were  set  forth  in  the  report. 

In  1827  another  convention  was  concluded  between  the  United  States 
government  and  Great  Britain,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  all  the  provisions 
of  the  third  article  of  the  convention  concluded  between  the  United  States  of 
America  and  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  on  the  2Oth  of  October,  1818,  shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  further 
indefinitely  extended.  It  was  also  agreed  between  the  same  parties  at  the 
same  time  that  it  shall  be  competent  for  either  of  the  contracting  parties,  if 
either  should  think  fit  at  any  time  after  the  2Oth  of  October,  1828,  on  giving 
due  notice  of  twelve  months  to  the  other  contracting  party,  to  annul  and  abro 
gate  the  agreement  of  ihis  convention  ;  and  in  such  case  it  shall  be  annulled 
after  the  expiration  of  the  time  of  notice.  Before  the  treaty  of  1826  was  pub 
lished,  there  was  reported  by  the  congressional  committee  on  the  Oregon 
Territory,  of  which  Floyd  was  chairman,  a  bill  to  authorize  the  occupation  Of 
the  Oregon  River,  which  came  up  for  discussion  soon  after  the  treaty  was 
made  public,  and  occupied  the  attention  of  the  house  of  representatives  almost 
exclusively  from  December,  1828,  to  January,  1829. 

This  bill  provided  for  the  military  occupation  of  the  Northwest  Coast 
from  latitude  42°  to  54°  40',  and  the  erection  of  a  fort  ;  for  the  establishment 
of  a  territorial  government  over  that  extent  of  country,  and  the  appointment 
of  civil  officers  ;  for  the  establishment  of  a  port  of  entry,  with  custom  house, 
revenue  officials,  and  for  grants  of  land  to  American  settlers.  No  speaker  in 
congress  at  that  time  expressed  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  perfect  validity 
of  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the  Northwest  Coast.  Floyd,  as  in  earlier 
times,  was  one  of  the  chief  defenders  of  Oregon,  he  claimed  that  Oregon  was 
a  desirable  possession  in  every  respect. 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  1839,  Mr.  Linn,  of  Missouri,  presented  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  a  memorial  from  citizens  of  Oregon  Territory, 
signed  by  J.  L.  Whitcomb  and  thirty-five  others,  dated  March  i6th,  1838. 
It  is  alleged  in  the  memorial  that  a  large  portion  of  the  territory  from 
the  Columbia  Rivet  south  to  the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Mexican  Republic,  and  extending  from  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  miles  to  the  interior,  is  either  well  supplied 
with  timber  or  adapted  to  pasturage  or  agriculture;  that  the  fertile  valley*  of  the 
Wallamette  and  Umpqua,  are  varied  with  prairies  and  woodland;  perhaps 
no  country  of  the  same  latitude,  is  favored  with  a  climate  so  mild.  A  good 
description  of  the  climate,  soil  and  commercial  advantages  of  the  Territory  of 
Oregon  is  fully  set  forth  in  the  memorial. 

The  Methodist  missionaries  who  were  sent  to  Oregon  in  1835  by  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  were  followed  by  Presbyterians  ministers  in  1837, 
followed  by  more  Presbyterians  in  1838,  and  by  Catholics  in  1839.  The 
Methodists  settled  in  the  Willamette  Valley  and  at  the  Dalles  ;  the  Presbyte 
rians  among  the  Cayuses,  and  on  the  Walla  Walla  and  Lapwai  rivers.  There 
were  Catholics  among  the  early  settlers  who  needed  only  priests.  Jason  and 
Daniel  Lee  were  the  pioneer  missionaries  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  and  they 
arrived  in  September,  1835,  and  began  operations  by  planting  a  mission  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Willamette  River,  twelve  miles  below  where  Salem  now 
stands. 

Linn,  of  Missouri,  introduced  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the 
2gth  of  December,  1839,  a  resolution  claiming  that  the  title  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Territory  of  Oregon  was  indisputable  and  that  it  never  would 
be  abandoned  ;  also,  requesting  the  President  of  the  United  States,  "  to  give 
notice  to  the  British  Government  that  the  conventions  of  1818  and  1827, 
which  give  the  right  to  use  and  occupy  the  Oregon  Territory,  its  bays,  rivers, 
harbors,  etc.,  to  both  parties  indiscriminately,  should  cease  in  twelve  months 
after  such  notification." 

"That  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  should  be  granted  to  every 
white  male  inhabitant  of  said  territory  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  who  shall 
cultivate  and  use  the  same  five  consecutive  years,  and  to  his  heirs  at  law  in 
the  event  of  his  death."  At  the  time  these  resolutions  were  introduced  there 
were  only  a  few  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  were  residing  in  Oregon  Ter 
ritory  except  missionaries.  From  1829  to  1839  nothing  was  said  of  the  Ore 
gon  question  in  Congress  ;  and  the  topic  was  much  longer  neglected  in 
diplomatic  circles. 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  13 

In  1842,  incited  by  numerous  newspaper  publications,  upwards  of  a 
thousand  American  emigrants  came  to  this  country,  making  their  long  pil 
grimage  overland  from  the  frontier  of  Missouri  with  their  wives  and  children, 
their  implements  of  husbandry  and  weapons  of  defense;  traversing  the  long 
inclined  plain  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  oossing  over  the  summit, 
and  descending  the  wide  slope  which  declines  from  the  mountains  to  the  Pa 
cific.  Six  months  were  consumed  in  this  journey,  filled  with  hardships,  and 
beset  by  dangers  from  savage  hostility,  and  only  to  be  prosecuted  in  caravans 
of  strength  and  determination  to  meet  the  perils.  The  wave  of  immigration 
in  1842  broke  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  mingled  with  the  Pacific. 
The  Burnetts,  Nesmith  and  the  Applegates  were  among  the  first  leaders,  and 
in  1843  some  two  thousand  more  joined  the  first  emigration.  As  early  as 
January,  1841,  Linn  of  Missouri,  introduced  in  the  senate  a  joint  resolution 
to  authorize  the  adoption  of  measures  for  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  the 
Territory  of  Oregon,  and  for  extending  certain  portions  of  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  over  the  same.  At  the  beginning  of  the  second  session  of  the 
same  congress  he  introduced  a  bill  providing  for  its  occupation  and  settle 
ment,  and  again  in  December  he  reported  another  bill  for  the  same  purpose, 
and  made  a  speech  in  support  of  the  bill  in  April,  1842.  This  bill,  which  pro 
vided  for  a  gift  of  land  as  a  reward  for  occupying  the  country,  passed  the 
senate  in  February,  1843,  and  had  the  effect  of  stimulating  emigration  to 
Oregon. 

Col.  Benton,  in  a  speech  in  the  senate  in  favor  of  this  bill,  said  that 
"we  must  give  inducement  also,  and  our  inducement  must  be  lands  and  pro 
tection.  Grants  of  land  will  carry  settlers  there,  and  the  senator  from  Ohio 
(Mr.  Tappan)  was  treading  in  the  tracks  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  perhaps  without 
having  read  his  recommendation,  when  he  proposed  in  his  speech  of  yesterday 
to  plant  fifty-six  thousand  settlers  with  their  fifty  thousand  rifles  on  the  banks 
of  the  Oregon."  Mr.  Jefferson,  had  proposed  the  same  thing  in  regard  to 
Louisiana.  He  (Jefferson)  proposed  we  should  settle  that  vast,  domain  when 
we  acquired  it,  and  for  that  purpose  donations  of  land  should  be  made  to  the 
first  thirty  thousand  settlers  who  should  go  there. 

Benton  said  in  the  senate  in  1843,  that  this  was  the  right  doctrine  and 
the  only  doctrine.  "The  white  men  were  a  land-loving  people  and  had  a 
right  to  possess  it,  because  they  used  it  according  to  the  intentions  of  the 
Creator.  The  white  race  went  for  land  and  they  will  continue  to  go  where 
hey  can  get  it.  The  valley  of  the  Columbia  is  a  vast  field  open  to  the  set 
tlers.  It  is  ours  and  our  people  are  beginning  to  go  upon  it.  They  go  under 


14  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

the  expectation  of  getting  land,  and  that  expectation  must  be  confirmed  to 
them.  This  bill  proposes  to  confirm  it,  and  if  it  Jails  in  this  particular,  it  fails 
in  all ;  there  is  nothing  left  to  induce  emigration,  and  emigration  is  the  only 
thing  which  can  save  the  country  from  the  British,  acting  through  their  power 
ful  agent,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company." 

Some  of  you  who  hear  me  this  day  were  residents  of  Oregon  then,  and 
remember  well  that  then  the  trappers  and  fur  traders  were  making  ready  to 
retire  from  this  country,  and  in  lieu  of  them  the  tradesman,  the  shop-keeper, 
the  plow-boy  and  the  school  mistress  were  coming  in  to  take  their  places. 
On  the  5th  of  July,  1843,  tne  organic  laws  of  Oregon  were  adopted.  Law 
and  order  prevailed  in  this  country  then  and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  rising 
tide  of  emigration  from  the  Western  States  to  this  coast.  You  old  pioneers 
all  remember  Dr.  Linn,  for  he  was  the  champion  of  Oregon  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  He  entered  that  body  in  1833.  Death  dissolved  his  connec 
tion  with  it  in  1843.  It  is  due  to  his  memory  that  I  should  say  he  had  a 
judgment  which  penetrated  both  man  and  things,  and  gave  him  clear  views 
of  far  distant  events.  He  was  the  author  and  mover  of  many  great  measures, 
some  of  them  for  the  great  West  including  Oregon.  The  pages  of  the  legis 
lative  history  of  Congress  will  bear  the  evidence  of  his  meritorious  services 
for  Oregon  to  a  remote  and  grateful  posterity. 

The  new  comer  to  Oregon  could  not  fail  to  see  that  nature  has  displayed 
in  Oregon  her  most  magnificent  powers.  Each  succeeding  year  bi ought  with 
it  an  increased  immigration  from  the  Western  States.  The  long  and  dangerous 
road  you  had  to  travel  in  coming  to  this  country  will  never  fade  away  from 
your  memory.  At  the  distance  of  forty  years  and  more  how  fresh  and  vivid 
now  on  memory's  page  the  exciting  scenes  of  that  long  and  dangerous  road. 
You  saw  your  friends  die  and  buried  on  the  way-side  far  out  on  the  desert.  Some 
of  your  property  was  stolen  by  savage  Indians,  never  to  be  recovered.  You 
came  along  that  road  not  like  the  weary  pilgrim,  too  faint  to  go  and  too  afraid 
to  stop.  You  found  this  country  a  wilderness,  filled  with  Indians,  some  of 
them  hostile.  You  cleared  up  the  forests.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  your 
toils  and  dangers  in  the  early  settlement  of  this  country.  They  will  live  in 
history  as  long  as  the  Columbia  River  shall  flow  into  the  ocean  ;  as  long  as 
the  shadows  shall  move  around  the  convex  mountains,  and  as  long  as  the  stars 
shall  gem  the  heavens. 

After  the  organic  law  was  amended  in  1845,  George  Abernethy  was 
elected  governor  by  the  people  in  1846,  and  re-elected  in  1848.  He  admin 
istered  the  affairs  of  the  provisional  government  during  the  time  he  was  in 


THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS.  15 

office  faithfully  and  well.  The  rapid  increase  of  population  from  the  West 
ern  States,  which  immediately  followed  the  establishment  of  civil  government 
by  the  American  settlers  in  Oregon,  virtually  settled  the  question  of  our  right 
to  the  country,  and  won  back  for  the  United  States  the  title  to  the  undisputed 
territory  which  their  diplomacy  with  England  had  well  nigh  lost.  The  ad 
ministration  of  James  K.  Polk  came  into  power  on  the  4th  of  March,  1845. 
Soon  after  the  president,  in  a  message  to  congress,  called  attention  of  that 
body  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Oregon,  and  recommended  that  notice  be 
given  to  the  British  government  of  the  desire  of  the  United  States  to  abrogate 
the  treaty  of  joint  occupation.  He  was  authorized  by  congress  to  give  the 
notice.  The  notice  was  given,  and  negotiations  were  then  commenced  at 
Washington  City  by  the  representatives  of  the  two  governments,  which  re 
sulted  in  making  the  treaty  of  June  I5th,  1846,  whereby  the  long  di.puted 
question  of  title  and  joint  occupation  was  settled.  The  boundary  line  thus 
established  was  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude.  Forty  years  ago  this  day 
the  question  of  boundary  and  joint  occupation  of  this  country  was  settled. 
It  was  settled  in  harmony  with  Col.  Benton's  views.  All  the  questions  about 
the  title,  etc.,  to  Oregon  were  as  familiar  to  Benton  as  household  words.  Mr. 
Benton,  in  his  speech  delivered  in  the  senate  upon  the  ratification  of  this 
treaty,  stated  that  "It  is  a  marvellously  proper  line." 

Mr.  Jefferson  offered  this  line  in  1807  ;  Mr.  Monroe  made  the  same  offer 
in  1818,  and  again  in  1825;  Mr.  Adams  offered  it  in  1826,  Mr.  Tyler  in  1842, 
and  Mr.  Polk  in  1845.  The  occupation  of  this  country  by  American  settlers 
did  much  to  induce  the  final  settlement  of  this  line.  On  the  I4th  of  August, 
1848,  congress  passed  an  act  creating  the  territorial  government  of  Oregon, 
which  extended  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  terri 
tory.  You  all  remember  the  donation  land  law  of  the  27th  of  September, 
1850.  Mr.  Thurston,  our  first  delegate  to  Congress,  was  a  pioneer,  and  pro 
cured  the  passage  of  the  donation  law. 

Gen.  Lane,  who  met  the  peril  at  Buena  Vista  and  many  other  hard  fought 
fields  in  the  war  of  the  United  States  against  Mexico,  was  appointed  by 
President  Polk  Governor  of  Oregon.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1849,  Governor 
Abernethy  turned  over  the  records  of  the  provisional  government  and  archives 
to  Governor  Lane,  and  the  provisional  government  ceased  to  be.  During  the 
provisional  government  it  had  constructed  public  roads,  it  organized  counties, 
it  had  defined  the  extent  of  land  claims,  it  had  established  post-offices,  it  had 
levied  war  against  the  hostile  Indians,  and  had  concluded  peace.  You  all 
remember  the  Cayuse  War  of  1848 — some  of  the  veteran  soldiers  of  that  war 


16  THE    ANNUAL    ADDRESS. 

are  this  day  here  as  well  also  as  some  of  the  Indian  War  Veterans  of  1853, 
1855-6.  Your  fame  as  veteran  soldiers  will  never  grow  less,  but  will  live  as 
long  as  the  mountains  shall  stand  around  the  country  you  defended. 

In  an  annual  address  delived  by  Hon.  James  K.  Kelly  in  1882,  he  said  : 
"  Mr.  President,  many  of  us  have  seen  Oregon  grow  up  from  a  wilderness  in 
habited  by  a  feeble  band  of  missionaries  and  adventurous  trappers,  without 
any  laws  for  their  protection,  to  a  prosperous  state  with  all  the  comforts  of 
civilized  life." 

The  autumn  winds  of  time  blow  hard  upon  you  now  ;  many  of  you  are 
far  down  on  the  sunset  side  of  Time  and  will  soon  pass  from  this  life.  Long 
will  you  and  your  acts  be  remembered  by  a  grateful  posterity.  Your  early 
settlement  of  this  country  and  the  many  dangers  and  difficulties  you  had  en 
countered  will  outlive  the  English  language. 


OCCASIONAL  ADDRESS, 


BY  HON.   M.  C.   GEORGE. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  : 

I  presume  I  was  honored  with  an  invitation  to  deliver  the  occasional  ad 
dress  on  account  of  my  distinguished  trials  and  tribulations  as  an  infant  pio 
neer  in  the  year  1851.  I  assume  that  such  was  the  case,  although  candor,  as 
well  as  necessity,  compels  me  to  confess  that  of  all  that  has  been  written  or 
told  of  the  daring  heroism  and  dauntless  devotion  of  pretty  much  everybody 
else,  I  have  yet  to  see  or  hear,  either  in  prose,  poetry  or  song,  even  the  slightest 
allusion  to  any  thing  that  I  ever  did  on  that  memorable  occasion.  Your  in 
dulgent  invitation  now  affords  me  the  long  sought  opportunity  of  sounding 
my  own  trumpet.  Personal  experience,  I  believe,  is  in  order  in  an  occasional 
address. 

My  record  hitherto  upon  the  historic  rolls  of  the  Pioneer  Association  has 
been  remarkable  principally  for  its  brevity — "  Born  in  Ohio  in  1849  J  emigra 
ted  to  Oregon  in  1851."  Simple  and  expressive  ;  and  yet  I  apprehend  that  it 
has,  alas!  too  often,  been  carelessly  passed  over  by  the  eye  of  the  gay  and  the 
thoughtless,  without  due  appreciation  of  its  deep  significance.  It  certainly  was 
an  arduous  undertaking  for  one  so  young — only  a  year  and  a  half  old.  Even 
now,  as  we  look  back  through  the  dim  vista  of  thirty  odd  Oregon  mists,  we 
can  but  wonder  that  one  so  tender — so  verdant,  perhaps — could  have  had  the 
nerve  and  fortitude  to  endure  it  all.  It  was  a  time  that  tried  even  men's 
souls  ;  yet  there  was  no  such  thing  as  faltering,  and  he  who  stands  before  you 
was  undaunted.  Eye  witnesses  bear  testimony  that  the  youthful  hero  who  is 
the  "subject  of  these  few  remarks,"  evinced  no  fear  whatever,  unless  per 
chance,  on  some  special  occasion  the  wagon  on  some  side  hill  was  in  danger 
of  upsetting. 

Considerable  controversy  was  elicited  a  few  years  ago  between  Hon.  Wm. 
Lair  Hill  and  others  as  to  the  motive  of  the  earlier  pioneers — whether  it  was 
to  save  this  country  to  American  freedom  from  British  subjection,  or  to  simply 
better  their  condition. 


18  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDEESS. 

These  conflicting  views  have  caused  much  discussion,  and  have  led  to 
deep-historical  research  to  settle  the  controversy,  and  I  had  thought  that,  in 
all  probability,  the  testimony  of  a  participant  would  be  hailed  with  great  ap 
preciation  and  joy.  My  motive  in  emigrating  from  Ohio  to  Oregon  was  a 
little  of  both.  It  was  no  one-sided  affair,  as  both  these  motives  were  properly 
balanced— "equitably  adjusted,"  as  it  were.  It  was  my  deliberate  determin 
ation  that  Oregon  must  and  should  be  saved  to  the  grand  old  Sisterhood  of 
States.  On  our  escutcheon  covering  the  wagon  could  doubtless  have  been 
read  the  well  known  but  somewhat  faded  motto,  "  Fifty-four  forty  or  fight." 

And  in  saving  Oregon,  we  knew  we  could  secure  to  ourselves  a  priceless 
inheritance.  The  two  birds,  we  felt  assured,  could  be  brought  down  with  one 
stone.  Not  only  would  we  deprive  the  British  Lion  of  a  choice  dominion, 
but  we  would  also  secure  to  ourselves  and  to  our  posterity  all  that  nature  had 
so  bountifully  done,  and  all  that  man  could  do  in  this  age  of  governmental 
progress. 

Having  by  my  birth  in  Ohio  entitled  myself  to  whatever  political  distinc 
tion  awaited  Ohio  men,  I  was  ready  to  assist  in  redeeming  this  country  and 
to  cast  my  lot  as  a  carpet-bagger  in  this  young'  and  growing  State. 

History  has  been  kind  to  our  fellow-citizens  for  their  noble  efforts  to  save 
this  country  from  British  dominion  ;  but  its  silence  in  respect  to  matters 
which  modesty  forbids  me  to  mention  is  painful  in  the  extreme.  However,  it 
seems  now  quite  probable  that,  after  delivering  this  occasional  address,  poster 
ity  will  give  a  historical  twist  to  events  of  those  days  that  will  send  the  achieve 
ments  of  such  a  youthful  pioneer  as  myself  a  jogging  along  down  the  pathway 
of  time,  side  by  side  with  other  notable  events.  History  has  told  us  of  the 
remarkable  exploits  of  other  youthful  heroes — of  William  of  Normandy,  the 
boy  Knight — of  Charles  of  Sweden,  the  youthful  Conqueror — of  Harry  of  Mon- 
mouth,  the  boy  General — of  Baldwin  of  Jerusalem,  the  young  Crusader — and 
many  others,  probably  less  notable  and  more  worthy,  but  I  have  scanned  its 
pages  in  vain  for  any  mention  of  any  youthful  achievements  of  any  youngster 
from  Ohio. 

History  cannot  afford  much  longer  to  remain  silent.  The  beneficial  re 
sults  of  our  united  efforts  to  conquer  the  wilderness  are  seen  on  every  hand. 
Behold,  what  wonderful  progress  and  advancement ! 

Fellow  Pioneers,  did  you  ever  reflect  how  the  wisest  of  us  never  could 
predict  the  future  ?  Little  did  I,  as  a  pioneer,  ever  foresee  the  mighty  results 
of  our  self-sacrifices.  As  I  rode  along  through  those  wide  plains,  and  over 
the  mountains  behind  the  patient  plodding  oxen  (except  when  (stampeding  on 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  19 

the  Platte),  little  did  I  expect  ever  to  see  a  railroad  across  this  continent.  I 
can  assure  you  that  it  never  entered  my  head — in  fact,  I  never  had  the  remotest 
conception,  even,  that  any  of  my  friends  would  ever  lose  any  money  in 
"  Transcontinental."  Never,  even  in  the  most  vivid  fancy  of  my  mind's  eye, 
did  I  foresee  the  famous  and  rapid  ride  over  hill  and  plain  from  Oregon  to  the 
National  Capitol  by  our  esteemed  fellow  citizen,  Governor  Whiteaker. 

My  friends,  it  was  all  over  years  ago,  and  we  can  afford  now  to  be  face 
tious  ;  but  you  who  were  older  well  know  how  painfully  true  were  many  of 
the  trials  and  vicissitudes  of  that  long  journey. 

I  hope  I  am  not  misunderstood  in  a  little  pleasantry.  I  trust  I  feel  duly 
thankful  that,  though  I  passed  through  it,  I  was  unconscious  of  its  unpleasant 
features.  Day  after  day,  week  after  week,  month  after  month,  we  plodded 
along  with  teams,  weary  and  worn,  hungered  and  faint.  Those  of  us  who 
came  in  1851  were  more  fortunate  than  those  of  1852,  when,  in  addition  to  all 
the  ills  usually  attendant,  the  dreadful  cholera  made  the  journey  one,  indeed, 
through  a  dark  valley  and  shadow  of  death.  It  was  a  laborious  and  fearful 
trip,  even  at  the  best ;  but  how  much  worse  when  pestilence  was  hovering 
around.  It  is  terrible  to  even  contemplate  the  ravages  of  cholera  and  disease 
amidst  all  the  surrounding  comfort  and  conveniences  of  civilization ;  but,  oh  ! 
how  much  more  so,  when  compelled  to  battle  with  them  away  out  on  desolate 
wilds,  single-handed  and  alone.  Dark  desolation  gathered  about  many  and 
many  an  emigrant  grave,  and  tears  of  utter  and  expressible  wretchedness  fell 
on  every  side. 

This  pioneer  city  was  the  pivotal  point  around  which  revolved  the  events 
of  times  known  in  the  classics  of  Webfoot  as  at  or  near  the  "  Fall  of  '49  or  the 
Spring  of  '50."  A  weird  romantic  interest  clusters  about  the  rocks  and  walls 
and  falls  of  Oregon  City.  Many  years  ago  I  wandered  over  these  bold  and 
sightly  bluffs,  with  mind  freighted  with  pleasant  thoughts  ;  and  to-day  there 
is  the  same  enchanting  interest.  Here  the  busy  recollections  of  the  historic 
past  crowd  upon  us.  We  still  look  and  listen  to  that  roaring  waterfall,  while 
memories  of  the  past  and  visions  of  the  future  whirl  in  its  spray  and  float  with 
its  silvery  mist.  Within  the  brief  period  of  our  short  memory  has  occurred  a 
transition  from  barbarism  to  civilization.  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  the  roar 
of  those  tumbling  waters  broke  the  solitude  of  a  wilderness  ;  but  now  it  bears 
harmony  with  the  busy  hum  of  advancing  civilization.  The  native  savage 
could  see  no  utility  in  that  wonderful  water  power,  save  |the  opportunity  to 
spear  a  passing  salmon  ;  but  now  it  requires  no  far-seeing  eye  to  pierce  the 


20  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

near  future,  and  with  prophetic  glance,  to  view  the  grand  advancement  of  this 
Lowell  of  the  West. 

Yet  after  all,  there  was  an  air  of  freedom  about  that  savage  that  pioneers 
must  ever  appreciate.  Civilization,  in  her  progress,  is  very  exacting  in  her  de 
mands.  There  are  claims  and  fetters  on  every  hand.  All  these  things  the 
native  escaped.  As  he  stood  there  upon  those  rocks  in  the  "  Fall  of  '49  or  the 
Spring  of  '50,"  as  the  morning  sun  was  tipping  the  eastern  firs  with  gold,  with 
a  Chinook  wind  whistling  amid  his  abbreviated  clothing — as  he  stood  there 
with  spear  in  hand  and  eye  fixed — standing  as  it  were  in  silent  salmonic  ex 
pectancy — no  thoughts  ever  troubled  his  brain  about  the  proper  ratio  that 
silver  should  bear  to  gold,  and  little  cared  he  how  went  the  battle  between 
the  "ins  "  and  the  "  outs."  Civil  service  reform  was  a  matter  of  total  indif 
ference,  and  precious  little  did  he  care  whether  Cornelius  or  Pennoyer  would 
be  elected  governor. 

And  I  fear  that  far  too  many  of  us  in  the  active  struggle  for  life,  and  in 
the  pursuit  of  wealth  or  fame,  forget  nature,  forget  to  drink  from  those  de 
lightful  fountains  that  everywhere  spring  from  her  open  fields  and  grand  for 
ests  and  majestic  mountains  surrounding  us.  Civilization,  and  the  blind  pur 
suit  of  what  is  too  often  unobtainable,  have  bound  us  captive.  The  bent  form 
of  the  merchant  at  his  desk — the  pale  face  of  the  student  at  his  books — the  de 
generated,  the  demented,  the  diseased  everywhere — tell  us  of  the  slavery  of 
modern  civilization. 

On  an  occasion  like  this,  it  is  expected  of  the  speaker,  I  am  told,  that  he 
recite  some  of  his  personal  experience  of  his  trip  across  the  plains.  Here, 
then  is  a  stumbling  block,  indeed.  The  rules  of  evidence  do  not  admit  of 
hearsay  testimony,  and  my  poor  memory,  never  good  at  best,  totally  fails  me 
now.  Possibly  I  was  a  trifle  rash  in  accepting  the  task  of  delivering  an  oc 
casional  address ;  certainly  I  know  I  w*s,  in  filing  a  record  among  your  ar 
chives  that  I  emigrated  to  Oregon  in  1851,  less  than  two  years  after  I  was 
born.  For  the  life  of  me,  were  I  now  put  on  oath,  I  couldn't  swear  that  I 
knew  such  to  be  a  fact ;  however,  there  are  those  among  our  oldest  and  most 
respected  inhabitants,  who  can  and  do  testify  that  I  made  the  trip — that  they 
not  only  saw  me,  but  heard  me  ;  and  they  heard  me,  moreover,  according  to 
their  accounts,  to  their  personal  discomfort  :  and  I  am  told  that  their  affidavits 
to  that  effect  can  be  forthcoming  at  any  time.  Tradition  has  it  that  my  infant 
lung  powers  from  reports  too  frequently  diplayed  on  that  trip,  gave  every  indi 
cation  of  future  capacity  for  making  a  noise  in  the  world — of  future  capacity 
even  for  congressional  candidacy. 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  21 

No,  my  friends  ;  so  far  as  relating  my  personal  experience  is  concerned, 
I  shall  be  forced  to  turn  the  task  of  narrating  the  events  of  those  days  over 
to  some  one  else — perhaps  over  to  some  one  of  our  many  noble  old  Indian 
fighters — God  bless  them — who  has  told  it  over  and  over,  until  he  really  be 
lieves  it  himself. 

My  friend,  Col.  Kelsay,  has  given  me  some  interesting  history.  One  his 
torical  instance  may  not  come  amiss.  Some  very  strange  events,  viewed  in 
the  light  of  subsequent  progress,  have  occurred.  The  question  of  the  occu 
pancy  of  this  Territory  was  considered  in  the  Congress  of  1825.  Astoria  had 
been  founded.  Great  commercial  advantages  would  be  gained  it  was  thought 
by  the  occupation  of  this  country.  It  was  claimed  that  it  would  enable  us  to 
command  the  trade  of  China  and  other  parts  of  eastern  Asia,  and  the  fur  trade 
of  the  North  Pacific.  A  military  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  would, 
it  was  thought,  go  far  in  aid  of  these  desired  ends. 

On  the  contrary,  fears  were  expressed  that  the  American  Confederacy 
might  become  too  widely  extended  ;  that,  while  our  Federal  representative 
system  was  adapted  to  the  government  of  extensive  territory,  yet  that  there 
were  limits  which  we  could  not  safely  pass  ;  that  we  should  not  go  beyond  a 
certain  limit  of  mutuality  of  interest ;  that  to  carry  it  further  than  this,  would 
weaken  our  bond  of  union  and  endanger  our  welfare  ;  and  that  it  was  very 
questionable,  in  view  of  all  things,  whether  we  should  strive  to  extend  our  do 
minion  west  of  the  Stony  (Rocky)  Mountains — the  natural  barrier  on  the  west. 
As  to  the  future  condition  of  Oregon,  or  of  her  people,  centuries  hence,  that 
was  a  matter  of  no  immediate  concern,  and  posterity  could  provide  for  its 
own  danger. 

The  demands  of  those  favorable  to  the  settlement  of  Oregon  were  not, 
however,  thus  quieted  ;  and  soon  a  bill  granting  land  to  settlers  was  intro 
duced  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  was  voted  down  two  to  one. 

In  the  Senate  a  bill  to  aid  in  the  establishment  of  a  military  post  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  provoked  serious  and  interesting  discussion.  Senator 
Barbour  argued  in  our  behalf  ably  and  at  length.  He  defended  America's 
claim  to  jurisdiction,  as  against  that  of  Great  Britain.  He  thought  the  pro 
posed  establishment  of  obvious  advantage  to  our  navigation  interests.  It 
would  furnish,  he  claimed,  a  friendly  asylum  for  our  vessels  in  an  otherwise 
strange,  distant,  and  perhaps  hostile,  region.  It  would  be  valuable  as  a  de 
pot  for  internal  commerce,  and  highly  advantageous  in  event  of  war.  He  said 
however,  that  he  would  not  disguise  the  fact  that  he  looked  with  the  deepest 
anxiety  on  this  vast  extension  of  our  empire,  and  to  its  possible  effects  on  our 


22  THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS. 

political  institutions.  Whatever  they  may  be,  however,  our  forefathers  decided 
the  experiment  should  be  made.  He  claimed  that  our  advance  at  that  time 
had  already  cancelled  the  dogmas  of  theory.  We  had  already  ascertained  by 
our  happy  combination  of  a  national  and  state  government,  and  a  wise  arrange 
ment  of  the  representative  system,  that  republics  are  not  necessarily  limited 
to  a  small  territory,  and  that  a  government  thus  arranged  produces  not  only 
more  happiness,  but  more  stability  and  more  energy  than  those  the  most  arbi 
trary.  As  to  whether  it  was  capable  of  indefinite  extent  must  be  left  to  pos 
terity  to  decide. 

Senator  Dickerson  opposed  the  bill,  on  the  ground,  mainly,  that  Con 
gress  should  not  provide  for  the  settlement  of  any  country  that  could  never 
become  a  portion  of  the  American  Union.  Oregon,  he  said,  never  could.  It 
was  too  far  away.  It  never  could  have  a  representative  in  Congress.  The 
distance  was  so  great  that  he  never  could  reach  Washington  in  time.  He  es 
timated  that  a  congressman  would  have  to  travel  9,300  miles.  Allowing 
him  thirty  miles  a  day,  with  Sabbath  rests,  he  figured  that  it  would  take  him 
350  days  in  each  year,  to  go  and  cerae,  leaving  him  only  a  week  or  so  in  Wash- 
jngton — scarcely  time  enough  to  see  the  elephant.  Owing  to  the  rugged  snow- 
covered  mountains  that  must  be  climbed,  and  swollen  rivers  that  must  be 
crossed,  he  thought  thirty  miles  a  day  a  hard  duty.  Yet  he  thought  that  per 
haps  a  young  able-bodied  senator,  like  Dolph  or  Mitchell,  for  instance,  might 
scale  the  mountains  or  swim  the  rivers  in  that  time.  He  thought  a  more  ex 
peditious  way,  however,  would  be  by  water,  either  around  Cape  Horn  or  up 
north  through  Behring's  Strait,  and  a  little  south  of  the  north  pole  to  Baffin's 
Bay,  and  down  through  Davis'  Strait  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  thence  to 
Washington.  It  was  true,  he  said,  that  no  open  passage  that  way  had  been 
discovered  except  on  paper,  but  it  would  be  soon  as  Oregon  was  ready  to 
have  a  representative  from  her  as  a  State.  The  wise  senator  concluded  his 
remarks  by  moving  that  the  whole  bill — business  and  all — be  laid  on  the  table* 
which  motion  prevailed  by  a  vote  of  nineteen  to  seventeen.  And  all  that 
happened  in  the  United  States  Senate  but  a  little  over  half  a  century  ago  ! 
What  wonders  time  has  wrought  ! 

My  friends,  it  seems  but  a  short  period  ;  and  yet,  in  another  light  ;  it  seems 
an  age.  Standing  before  you  in  the  vigor  and  prime  of  manhood,  and  recall 
ing  the  many,  many  pioneer  faces  that  have  faded  from  sight,  how  the  old  list 
of  the  brave  and  hardy  and  the  noble  have  been  so  sadly  and  repeatedly  deci 
mated,  I  realize  that  time  is  passing.  These  annual  meetings  are  like  family 
gatherings.  While  many  joys  attend  them,  yet  there  is  a  touch  of  sadness  about 


THE    OCCASIONAL    ADDRESS.  23 

it  all.  Of  many  a  pioneer  it  may  be  said  that  dust  has  returned  to  dust  and  the 
spirit  to  God  who  gave  it.  The  forms  of  nearly  all  now  living,  who  bore  ac 
tive  part  in  the  early  struggle,  are  bent  with  reclining  years,  and  their  heads 
are  whitening  with  age.  Respect  and  veneration  are  but  feeble  tributes  which 
the  remainder  of  us  may  tender  them.  Westward  the  star  of  the  empire  has 
come,  until  it  now  rests  over  our  fair  young  State.  Here  the  wave  of  Amer 
ican  emigration  has  broken  upon  the  shore  of  the  Orient.  We  can  go  no 
farther.  We  have  cast  our  tents  forever.  It  is  a  land  of  goodly  heritage  and 
under  our  own  vine  and  fig  tree  will  we  recline,  and  in  our  hearts  and  through 
our  lips  return  our  thanks  to  the  Pioneers  who  laid  the  foundation  for  our 
homes. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  DR,  JOHN  MCLOUGHLIN, 


BY  JOSEPH   WATT. 


On  the  1 3th  of  November,  1844,  a  company  of  immigrants  landed  at 
Fort  Vancouver,  brought  there  on  a  bateau  commanded  by  Joseph  Hess,  an 
immigrant  of  '43.  The  boat  belonged  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Mr. 
Hess  was  entrusted  with  the  boat  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  immigrants 
down  the  river.  We  had  eaten  the  last  of  our  provisions  at  our  last  camp, 
and  were  told  by  Hess  that  we  could  get  plenty  at  the  fort,  with  or  without 
money  ; — that  the  old  doctor  never  turned  people  away  hungry.  This  made  us 
feel  quite  comfortable,  for  there  was  not  a  dollar  among  us.  As  near  as  I 
can  remember  the  company  consisted  of  sixteen  men,  five  women  and  four 
children.  As  soon  as  we  landed  at  the  fort,  the  men  all  started  to  find  Dr. 
McLoughlin,  the  women  and  children  walking  about  the  shore  for  exercise. 
We  soon  found  the  doctor  in  a  small  room  he  called  his  office.  He  was  a  tall, 
broad-shouldered,  portly  and  dignified  old  gentleman  ;  his  hair  long  and  white 
as  snow;  face  cleanly  shaven,  ruddy  and  full,  and  of  a  rather  nervous  tem 
perament.  He  meet  us  pleasantly,  made  us  welcome,  enquired  as  to  our 
journey  down  the  river,  and  particularly  of  those  left  behind.  We  were  the 
first  to  arrive,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  packers.  He  also  enquired  who 
commanded  the  boat,  and  how  much  we  had  to  pay.  He  told  us  that  he  had 
furnished  the  boats  free  of  charge  to  certain  parties  to  bring  immigrants  down 
the  river,  limiting  their  charges  to  keep  them  from  taking  advantage  of 
necessity.  He  spoke  of  our  being  so  late,  and  feared  there  would  be  consid 
erable  suffering  before  they  could  all  be  taken  down  the  river,  but  should  do 
all  in  his  power  until  they  reached  their  destination. 

We  then  made  known  to  him  our  wants.  We  were  all  out  of  provisions. 
There  was  a  small  table  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  at  which  he  took  a  seat, 
and  directed  us  to  stand  in  a  line, — (there  being  so  many  of  us  the  line 
reached  nearly  around  the  room) — and  then  told  us  the  year  before,  and  in 
fact  previous  years,  he  had  furnished  the  people  with  all  the  provisions  and 
clothing  they  wanted,  but  lately  had  established  a  trading  house  at  Oregon 
City,  where  we  could  get  supplies;  but  for  immediate  necessity  he  would 
supply  provisions  at  the  fort.  Several  of  our  party  broke  in,  saying,  "doctor 
I  have  no  money  to  pay  you,  and  I  don't  know  when  or  how  I  can  pay  you." 


25 

•'  Tut,  tut !  never  mind  that ;  you  can't  suffer,"  said  the  doctor.  He  then  com 
menced  at  the  head  man  saying,  "  Your  name,  if  you  please  ;  how  many  in 
the  family,  and  what  do  you  desire?"  Upon  receiving  an  answer,  the  doctor 
wrote  an  order,  directing  him  where  to  go  have  it  filled  ;  then  called  up  the 
next  man,  and  so  on  until  we  were  all  supplied.  He  told  us  the  account  of 
each  man  would  be  sent  to  Oregon  City,  and  when  we  took  a  claim,  and 
raised  wheat,  we  could  settle  the  account  by  delivering  wheat  at  that  place. 
Some  few  who  came  after  us  got  clothing.  Such  was  the  case  with  every 
boat  load,  and  all  those  who  came  by  land  down  the  trail.  If  he  had  said 
"  We  have  these  supplies  to  sell  for  cash  down,"  I  think  we  would  have  suf 
fered.  After  we  had  our  orders  filled,  we  went  on  board  the  boat  which  was 
to  take  us  to  Linnton  (a  place  Gen.  McCarver  started,  expecting  to  build  up 
a  large  city  in  the  near  future).  We  found  the  doctor  in  a  towering  rage  ;  he 
was  giving  it  to  Hess  right  and  left — it  appeared  that  the  doctor  had  come 
to  the  river  to  see  the  boat.  He  found  it  as  he  supposed,  full  of  wagons, 
and  as  he  had  given  strict  orders  that  only  bedding,  clothing,  camp  equip 
ment,  etc.,  should  be  brought  with  the  immigrants,  and  that  none  should  be 
left,  he  believed  that  Hess  was  making  an  extra  price  by  bringing  wagons. 
We  commenced  getting  into  the  boat  and  climbing  on  top  of  the  wagons. 
When  all  were  in,  there  was  not  an  inch  of  spare  room  left.  The  doctor  stood 
looking  on  until  we  were  out  on  the  river ;  he  evidently  expected  to  see  the 
boat  sink.  Soon  we  heard  him  call  out,  "  Mr  Hess!  Mr.  Hess!  all  right  sir." 

When  we  started  for  Oregon,  we  were  all  prejudiced  against  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company,  and  Dr.  McLoughlin,  being  chief  factor  of  the  company 
for  Oregon,  came  in  for  a  double  share  of  that  feeling.  I  think  a  great  deal 
of  this  was  caused  by  the  reports  of  missionaries  and  adverse  traders,  imbuing 
us  with  a  feeling  that  it  was  our  mission  to  bring  this  country  under  the  juris 
diction  of  the  the  stars  and  stripes.  But  when  we  found  him  anxious  to  assist 
us,  nervous  at  our  situation  in  being  so  late,  and  doing  so  much  without 
charge — letting  us  have  of  his  store,  and  waiting  without  interest,  until  we 
could  make  a  farm  and  pay  him  from  the  surplus  products  of  such  farm,  the 
prejudice  heretofore  existing  began  to  be  rapidly  allayed.  We  did  not 
know  that  every  dollar's  worth  of  provisions,  etc.,  he  gave  us,  all  advice  and 
assistance  in  every  shape  was  against  the  positive  orders  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  in  the  end  he  had  to  pay  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  every 
dollar  that  he  had  trusted  to  the  settlers  of  this  country.  In  this  connection, 
I  am  sorry  to  say  that  thousands  of  dollars  virtually  loaned  by  him  to  settlers 
at  different  times  in  those  early  days,  was  never  paid,  as  an  examination  of 
his  books  and  papers  will  amply  testify. 

The  next  I  saw  of  the  doctor  was  in  Oregon  City,  he  having  stayed  at 
Fort  Vancouver  until  all  the  immigrants  for  that  year  had  arrived.  He  wa 


26 

building  a  large  flouring  mill,  at  that  time  nearing  its  completion.  He 
already  had  a  sawmill  in  full  blast,  also  was  building  a  dwelling  house, 
preparing  to  move  to  that  place,  which  he  did  in  the  following  spring.  From 
that  time  to  his  death  he  was  a  prominent  figure  in  Oregon  City.  Nothing 
pleased  him  better  than  to  talk  with  the  settlers,  learn  how  they  were  getting 
along,  their  prospects,  of  their  ability  to  live,  and  to  help  others.  He  was 
anxious  that  every  one  should  be  well  and  kept  busy.  He  could  not  endure 
idleness  or  waste.  Over  reaching,  or,  what  we  Americans  call  "sharp  prac 
tice,"  he  had  no  patience  with  whatever.  As  far  as  he  was  concerned  all 
transactions  were  fair,  straight-forward  and  honorable.  Those  who  knew 
him  best  never  thought  of  disputing  his  word  or  his  declared  intentions, 
although  there  were  some  high  in  authority  who  did  this  in  after  years,  appar 
ently  for  selfish  motives ;  and  through  their  representations,  caused  the  U.  S. 
Government  to  do  an  act  of  great  injustice.  But  I  am  proud  to  be  able  to 
say  that  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  first  settlers,  did  not  endorse  the  action,  and 
never  rested  until  the  wrong  was  adjusted  as  nearly  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so. 

In  the  first  few  years  after  permanent  settlement  commenced,  all  classes 
asked  the  advice  of  the  doctor  as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue  with  reference 
to  the  many  constantly  arising  questions.  It  appeared  by  common  consent 
that  he  was  practically,  the  first  governor  of  the  great  North  Pacific  Coast. 
No  man  ever  fulfilled  that  trust  better  that  Dr.  John  McLoughlin.  He  was 
always  anxious  over  the  Indian  problem.  No  one  understood  the  Indian 
character  better  than  he  did.  All  the  Indians  knew  him  as  the  great  "  White 
Chief,"  and  believed  whatever  he  said  could  be  depended  on  ;  that  he  was 
not  their  enemy,  but  was  strictly  just  with  them  in  every  thing; — could 
punish  or  reward,  as  he  thought  best,  and  no  trouble  grew  out  of  it.  But 
with  the  settlers  the  case  was  different.  Their  intercourse  with  the  Indians 
led  to  more  or  less  complications.  Unprincipled  whites  would  take  advan 
tage — they  made  and  sold  them  a  vile  compound  called  "  Blue  Ruin,"  the  use 
of  which  not  only  led  to  intoxication  but  seemed  to  arouse  all  that  was  bad 
in  both  white  and  red  man.  Dr.  McLoughlin  frequently  had  to  use  all  his 
power  to  keep  peace  and  harmony  between  the  two  races.  Many  believe  if 
the  doctor's  warnings  and  advice  had  been  followed  much  of  our  trouble  with 
the  Indians  would  not  have  occurred.  His  advice  to  Dr.  Whitman,  when 
he  understood  how  the  Indians  were  acting,  was  to  "leave  the  place  immedi 
ately  ;  not  to  trust  them ;  delay  was  dangerous  ;  leave,  and  don't  go  back  un 
til  the  Indians  feel  better  towards  you."  If  this  advice  had  been  acted  upon, 
that  terrible  massacre  would  not  have  taken  place  and  there  would  have  been 
no  Cayuse  war.  Yet,  after  these  events  occurred,  no  man  did  more  to  bring 
the  Indians  to  justice  and  avenge  the  murder  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  others, 
than  Dr.  McLoughlin. 


27 

Dr.  McLoughlin  !  Kind,  generous,  large-hearted  Dr.  John  McLoughlin ! 
One  of  nature's  noblemen,  who  never  feared  to  do  his  duty  to  his  God,  his 
country,  his  fellow-men  and  himself,  even  in  the  wilderness. 

The  pioneers  of  this  great  North  West,  feel  that  they  owe  Dr.  John 
McLoughlin  a  debt  of  gratitude  above  all  price,  and  that  they  and  their  pos 
terity  will  cherish  his  memory,  by  suitable  monument  placed  on  the  highest 
pinnacle  of  fame  within  the  State  of  Oregon. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH. 


BY  MRS.  HARRIET  K.  M  ARTHUR. 


The  *Nesmiths  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  the  valley  of  the  river  of 
Bann,  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  in  1690.  Deacon  James  Nesmith  came  from 
Londonderry  to  America  in  1718,  and  in  1719  was  one  of  the  sixteen  original 
settlers  and  founders  of  the  historic  town  of  Londonderry,  N.  H. 

The  records  of  Londonderry,  Antrim,  Windham  and  Ackworth  display 
the  name  of  Nesmith  in  many  honorable  connections.  The  family  were 
Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  and  as  such  were  identified  fully  with  the  histor 
ical  monuments  of  that  period.  Large  numbers  of  the  Scctch-Presbyterians, 
during  the  eighteenth  century,  removed  to  America,  upon  which  the  force 
and  vigor  of  their  characters  made  a  lasting  impression. 

James  the  second  was  born  in  1718,  just  previous  to  their  embarkation  for 
America.  James  the  third,  and  eldest  son  of  the  second  James,  was  born 
in  1744,  and  married  Mary  McClure.  William  Morrison,  the  fourth  son  of 
the  third  James  Nesmith,  married  Harriet  Willis,  whose  family  owned  the 
town  site  of  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.  The  third  child  and  only  son  of  William 
Morrison  Nesmith  and  Harriet  Willis,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch— James 
Willis  Nesmith,  born  the  twenty-third  of  July,  1820.  His  parents  at  this 
time  lived  in  Washington  county,  Maine,  though  were  on  a  visit  over  the 
line  in  New  Brunswick  when  their  son  was  born.  In  the  following  spring, 
or  late  in  the  winter,  while  attempting  to  cross  the  Miramichi  river  on  the 
ice,  it  gave  way  and  Mrs.  Nesmith  was  drowned  ;  the  father,  with  much 
difficulty,  was  rescued.  The  son  James,  an  infant  of  eight  months,  had  been 
left  with  friends. 

William  Morrison  Nesmith,  after  a  time,  married  a  second  wife,  and  re 
moved  from  Washington  county,  Maine,  to  Miramichi,  N.  B.  At  this  time 
Mr.  Nesmith  was  a  man  of  wealth,  owning  houses  in  the  town  of  Miramichi, 
and  shipping  in  the  river  and  bay.  In  the  year  1825  a  fearful  conflagration 

"Nesmith,  or  Neysmith,  or  Nasmith,  as  it  was  original  spelled,  and  is  still  retained 
by  some  of  the  family  in  Scotland. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH.  29 

swept  over  the  country,  destroying  forests,  towns  and  every  thing  in  its  course 
even  shipping  in  the  river,  for  a  distance  of  eighty-five  miles  in  length  and  in 
places  twenty-five  in  width.  It  is  said  the  smoke  and  cinders  were  observed 
at  Quebec,  250  miles  distant,  and  as  far  south  as  the  Bermudas  (see  Amer.  En 
cyclopedia).  William  Nesmith  was  one  among  the  many  who  lost  everything. 
James,  then  a  little  child  of  five  years,  was  carried  on  his  father's  back,  and  his 
stepmother  accompanied  them  to  a  marsh,  where  many  fled,  as  it  was  the  only 
place  of  safety.  Here  Mrs.  Nesmith  contracted  a  severe  cold,  which  resulted 
in  her  death  the  following  spring  among  her  relatives  on  Prince  Edward's 
Island.  James  Nesmith  was  much  attached  to  his  step-mother — he  had  never 
known  any  other — and  he  never  knew  another  home  after  the  breaking  up  of 
that  on  the  Miramichi,  until  he  established  one  for  himself  in  Oregon  twenty 
years  later.  William  Nesmith  never  succeeded  in  accumulating  any  worldly 
goods  after  this,  and  never  seems  to  have  remained  long  in  one  place.  The 
many  years — perhaps  fifteen — that  followed  the  death  of  the  second  mother, 
were  full  of  sore  trials  and  hardships  for  both  father  and  son,  and  much 
occurred  that  was  extremely  pathetic.  At  one  time  he  was  left  a  year  upon 
Prince  Edward's  Island  in  the  care  of  an  aged  couple,  who  were  not  un 
kind,  yet  he  suffered  intensely  from  homesickness — a  feeling  he  never  out- 
outgrew,  though  he  had  no  childhood  home.  The  child  was  at  that  time 
perhaps  six  or  seven  years  old,  and  he  has  since  many  times  related  to  his 
own  children  the  great  grief  he  experienced,  being  away  from  his  father,  and 
almost  the  only  amusement  he  had  was  placing  pebbles  upon  an  immense  log 
that  lay  on  the  beach,  and  then  counting  them.  After  this  there  were  a  num. 
ber  of  years  passed  in  New  England,  earning  his  own  livelihood,  some  of  the 
time  with  relatives  and  sometimes  with  strangers — it  matters  little  whether 
with  one  or  the  other  when  one  is  homeless  and  portionless — gaining  almost 
all  the  education  he  ever  received  by  attending  country  schools  in  a  desultory 
fashion,  going  a  few  months  at  a  time.  He  always  was  passionately  fond  of 
books,  ami,  notwithstanding  misfortune  and  hardship,  at  that  time  exhibited 
much  of  the  same  high  spirit  and  love  of  fun  and  humor  that  he  always  re 
tained.  The  tutor  he  remembered  most  vividly  was  one  Gregor  Mac 
Gregor,  to  whom  he  went  to  school  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  and  re 
ceived  one  hundred  threshings.  He  admitted  it  was  the  only  school  where 
he  ever  learned  anything,  and,  notwithstanding  a  genuine  feeling  of  regard 
for  his  old  tutor,  had  vowed  he  would  thresh  him  if  he  was  ever  large  enough. 
The  time  came,  but  he  did  not  execute  the  threat.  In  the  year  1860,  when 
Mr.  Nesmith  went  to  the  United  States  Senate,  he  journeyed  into  New  Eng- 


30  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  HON.   J.  W.  NESMITH. 

land  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  his  early  days.  He  went  to  see  his  old  tutor, 
and  said,  "Mr.  MacGregor,  I  have  always  intended  threshing  you  in  return 
for  your  early  cruelty  to  me,  and  now  I  think  I  can  do  it."  "Weel,  weel, 
Jeems,"  said  the  auld  Scot,  "  if  I  had  given  you  a  few  more  licks  you  would 
have  been  in  the  Senate  long  before  now." 

One  of  the  few  books  that  fell  in  his  way  was  one  old  copy  of  a  large - 
sized  edition  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  It  was  during  a  very  busy  harvest  time  at 
at  his  uncle's,  where  he  was  working,  and  he  fell  violently  ill,  and  remained 
in  bed  three  days,  refusing  food  to  sustain  the  ruse.  Fortunately,  Sunday  in 
tervened,  and  when  the  family  went  to  church  he  made  a  descent  upon  the 
larder  to  restore  exhausted  nature. 

After  spending  some  years  in  New  Hampshire  he  went  to  Ohio,  and 
here  lived  with  one  Uncle  and  Aunt  Wilson — the  latter  was  his  father's  sister 
— they  were  the  father  and  mother  of  the  late  Joseph  G.  Wilson,  member  of 
congress  from  Oregon.  He  attended  the  district  school  in  company  with  his 
cousin  at  their  place  at  Reading,  near  Cincinnati,  and  this  was  the  last  opportu 
nity  he  had  of  getting  an  education  in  a  school  room.  Mr.  Nesmith  subse 
quently  went  to  Missouri,  where  he  was  joined  by  his  father.  In  November, 
1839,  William  Nesmith  died,  and  was  buried  at  St.  Charles,  Mo.  His  son 
had  the  same  malignant  fever,  and  but  for  the  devoted  care  and  attention 
of  the  Ohio  cousin  would  not  have  survived.  Mr.  Nesmith  was  deeply 
attached  to  his  father,  and  always  remembered  him  with  the  greatest  affec 
tion.  The  last  tie  binding  him  to  the  East  was  now  severed,  and  he  became 
filled  with  the  longing  and  adventurous  spirit  to  explore  and  know  some 
thing  of  the  great  unknown  West.  The  winter  of  1841-42  was  spent  in 
Iowa,  and  in  the  spring  of  1842  he  mounted  a  horse  and  rode  across  to 
Independence,  Missouri,  to  join  a  party  that  he  heard  was  rendezvousing 
there  to  start  to  Oregon.  He  arrived  seventeen  days  too  late,  and  was  de 
termined  to  join  them  alone,  but  was  deterred  by  reports  of  hostile  Pawnee 
Indians.  He  then  went  to  Fort  Scott,  Kansas,  a  hundred  miles  south  of  In 
dependence,  and  for  the  ensuing  year  did  carpenter  work  at  the  fort. 
Promptly  in  the  spring  of  1843  tnere  began  a  second  gathering  of  emigrants 
desirous  of  seeking  their  fortunes  in  far-away  Oregon,  and  Mr.  Nesmith  joined 
them.  It  was  the  first  regular  through  emigration  in  wagons,  and  was  com 
manded  by  Capt.  Jesse  Applegate.  (See  Address  by  Mr.  Nesmith  in  the 
Transactions  of  Pioneer  Association,  1875). 

He  engaged  board  for  himself,  in  return  doing  a  certain  amount  of  guard 
and  camp  duty ;  but  not  being  bound  to  any  labor  or  responsibility,  hunted  a 


BIOQKAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  HON.  J.    W.  NESMITH.  31 

great  deal.  Many  of  the  emigrants  of  that  year  will  remember  him  as  a 
striking  figure  on  horseback,  and  that  his  good  aim  brought  many  additions 
to  the  monotonous  bill  of  fare.  He  tells  of  this  six  months'  march  in  the 
address  before  the  Association.  Much  could  be  wtitten  of  all  their  adven 
tures  and  hardships,  during  their  long  and  toilsome  journey  and  for  the  first 
year  succeeding  their  arrival  in  this  new  land.  The  emigration  finally 
reached  its  destination,  some  of  them  being  in  advance  of  General  Fremont, 
the  famous  "  Pathfinder." 

With  three  comrades  Mr.  Nesmith  left  the  emigration  at  Umatilla,  on 
the  Umatilla  river,  or  about  where  the  agency  now  is,  and  came  to  The 
Dalles.  Here,  after  some  difficulty,  and  with  no  assistance  from  the  mission 
aries,  they  procured  boats  and  descended  the  river,  and  after  an  adventurous 
canoe  voyage  down  the  great  unknown  waters  reached  Fort  Vancouver,  where 
they  purchased  supplies  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  store.  Mr.  Nes- 
mith'all  hi  slife  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  Dr.  McLoughlin's  great  and  con 
tinued  acts  of  kindness  to  himself  and  other  emigrants.  The  generous,  liberal 
and  high-minded  Dr.  McLoughlin  suffered  much,  and  that,  too,  at  the  hands 
of  some  of  those  whom  he  befriended,  and  those  possessing  a  high  sense  of 
their  own  Christian  virtue.  May  the  doctor's  heirs  and  descendants  at  this 
late  day  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  proper  recognition  of  his  grea 
service. 

Still  continuing  tKeir  canoe  voyage,  the  four  comrades  arrived  at  "The 
Falls  "  at  Oregon  City,  in  October  in  1843.  Arrived  here,  the  natural  vigor 
of  his  mind,  young  as  he  was,  could  not  but  attract  attention.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  formation  of  the  provisional  government,  and  was  judge 
under  the  same  in  1845.  He  had  spent  the  time  he  could  command  from 
labor,  during  the  two  years  spent  in  Oregon  City,  studying  law. 

He  then  removed  to  Polk  county  and  took  a  claim  near  the  present  site 
of  Monmouth,  and  in  1846  married  Pauline  Goff,  eldest  daughter  of  David 
and  Kizziah  Goff,  emigrants  of  1844.  The  house  built  by  them  is  in  perfect 
preservation  and  is  now  occupied  by  James,  Mr.  Nesmith's  eldest  son.  In 
1847-48  Mr.  Nesmith  was  a  representative  in  the  legislature  of  the  pro 
visional  government,  having  been  chosen  for  that  duty  by  the  electors  of  Polk 
county.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the  Cayuse  War  as  captain  of  a  com- 
pany,  and  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  actors  in  that  important  drama,  in 
the  early  history  of  Oregon. 

In  the  fall  of  '49  Mr.  Nesmith  sold  his  claim,  and  with  Henry  Owen, 
bought  a  mill  on  the  Rickreall,  two  miles  above  Dallas,  from  James  O'Neal. 


32  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH    OF  HON.  ,T.   AV.  NESMITH. 

It  was  shortly  afterward  washed  away,  but  rebuilt  at  once  after  great  labor 
and  expense,  and  the  place  was  known  as  Nesmith's  Mill,  since  changed  to 
Ellendale,  in  honor  of  Mrs.  Judge  Boise.  It  proved  very  profitable,  as  about 
this  time  there  was  a  great  rush  to  the  mines  of  California,  and  there  being 
no  mill  between  this  and  the  Sacramento  Valley,  the  trains  came  here  to  get 
their  supply  of  flour. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  he  joined  the  campaign  against  the  Cayuse  Indians, 
and  was  captain  of  a  company.  They  went  to  avenge  the  murder  of  Dr. 
Whitman.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he,  too,  must  join  the  gold  seekers,  and 
went  to  California  and  remained  there  six  months.  He  returned  on  the  ship 
on  which  General  Lane  was  a  passenger,  coming  out  as  our  first  governor.  They 
were  out  eighteen  days  from  San  Francisco  before  making  the  Columbia  river 
bar.  Mr.  Nesmith  was  so  far  successful  that  upon  his  return  he  paid  Dr. 
McLoughlin  a  thousand  dollars  for  the  cattle  that  the  doctor  had  insisted  upon 
his  taking  upon  credit  at  the  time  of  his  marriage.  The  doctor  had  said, 
when  first  meeting  him  after  that  event,  "  And  so,  my  boy,  you  have  been 
getting  married  !  You  must  have  some  cattle."  Mr.  Nesmith  assured  him 
nothing  would  please  him  more,  but  the  script  was  not  forthcoming- 
And  then,  in  his  hearty  way,  the  doctor  insisted  upon  the  loan.  He  also  had 
dug  sufficient  gold  to  make  a  number  of  pretty,  plain  gold  rings.  The  work 
was  executed  by  the  late  Gov.  Geo.  L.  Curry,  and  they  are  still  cherished  in 
the  family  as  keepsakes. 

Early  in  1853,  Mr.  Nesmith  was  appointed  U.  S.  Marshal,  succeeding 
the  noted  Jo  Meek,  shortly  after  which  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Salem, 
where  he  remained  two  years.  He  held  this  office  until  1855,  when  he  resigned, 
to  accept  the  position  of  colonel  of  the  volunteers  in  the  Yakima  expedition. 

On  August  25th  of  that  year,  in  obedience  to  a  call  by  Gov.  Curry  for 
volunteers  to  go  into  the  Rogue  River  country,  to  quell  an  Indian  outbreak, 
he  enrolled  his  name,  among  many  others,  and  was  elected  captain  of  the 
company,  and  started  at  the  head  of  the  expedition  for  the  hostile  region  the 
following  day.  His  service  in  the  Rogue  River  War  was  rendered  with  cus 
tomary  intelligence  and  efficiency,  and  it  prepared  the  way  to  his  leadership 
of  the  Oregon  Volunteers  in  the  Yakima  campaign  in  1855. 

In  the  spring  of  1855  Mr.  Nesmith  returned  to  Polk  county  and  pur 
chased  David  Goff's  half  of  the  donation  claim  and  built  the  house,  planted 
a  laree  orchard,  and  established  the  home  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Nesmith  and 
some  of  the  family.  In  subsequent  years  he  added  to  the  farm  by  purchasing 
land  adjoining  the  original  claim,  so  that,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  there  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH.  33 

sufficient  to  leave  a  farm  to  each  of  the  five  surviving  children.  One  child, 
born  in  Salem,  died  eight  years  later  in  Ohio. 

Previous  to  moving  to  Salem  three  children  were  born — the  second  and 
eldest  son,  Joseph  Lane,  dying  in  infancy. 

In  the  fall  of  1855  Mr.  Nesmith  joined  the  force  sent  out  to  the  Yakima 
War,  and  was  colonel  of  his  regiment.  Serious  illness  in  his  family  com 
pelled  his  return,  and  Hon.  Jas.  K.  Kelly  succeeded  him  as  colonel  ol  the 
regiment.  During  this  time  Mr.  Nesmith  knew  and  served  with  many  officers 
who  fought  and  gained  distinction  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  He  was 
always  a  friend  of  the  army,  and  during  the  stormy  times  between  1861  and  1865 
his  rooms  in  Washington  were  headquarters  for  military  men  who  came  for 
assistance,  or  in  a  friendly  way.  Mr.  Nesmith  received  the  appointment  of 
Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in  1857,  I  believe,  and  served  two  years.  It 
was  an  important  office  at  that  time,  and  embraced  Oregon  and  Washington 
Territory.  In  1859  he  was  relieved — Rev.  Mr.  Geary  receiving  the  appoint 
ment. 

In  politics  Mr.  Nesmith  had  always  been  known  as  a  democrat,  but  as 
he  was  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery,  he  came  into  collision  with 
the  dominant  power  of  his  party,  in  Oregon.  The  question  was  one  that 
drew  a  broad  line  of  division  between  men  everywhere,  and  perhaps  nowhere 
broader  than  in  this  state.  Oregon  contained  large  numbers  of  people  from 
the  slave  states,  and  to  their  natural  fealty  to  the  institution  that  characterized 
the  South,  they  added  a  strong  party  spirit  which  was  not  disposed  to  brook 
any  dissent.  This  divided  the  democratic  party  in  Oregon,  as  of  other  states, 
into  two  factions,  the  free  state  men  composing  the  weaker  party.  Personal 
feeling  between  members  ran  high  as  elsewhere.  It  was  a  most  bitter  strug 
gle,  growing  out  of  a  difference  on  a  great  moral  question,  upon  which  all 
the  resources  of  compromise  had  been  exhausted.  Of  the  free  state  men  of 
the  party  Mr.  Nesmith  became  a  leader.  As  such  he  was  a  candidate  for 
elector  on  the  Douglas  ticket  in  1860,  and  in  the  same  year  by  a  coalition  of 
the  republicans  and  free  state  democrats,  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate  for  the  full  term  beginning  March  4th,  1861.  To  one  who  had 
broken  with  the  larger  section  of  his  party  on  such  a  question,  this  was  a 
great  triumph  ;  particularly  so,  since  he  took  the  seat  vacated  by  Gen 
eral  Lane,  his  able  antagonist,  the  leader  of  the  pro-slavery  party  of  Oregon, 
and  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency  on  the  Breckinridge  ticket. 

Voung  persons  of  the  present  day  cannot  possibly  imagine  the  severity  of 
the  political  contention  of  those  times.  But  if  is  an  agreeable  thing  to  record 


34  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH   OF  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH. 

the  fact,  that  General  Lane  and  Mr.  Nesmith  became  fully  reconciled  in  after 
years,  and  renewed  the  friendship  that  the  step  of  events,  which  neither  could 
control,  had  so  rudely  broken  off.  As  a  touching  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  this 
fatter  friendship  and  mutual  affection,  upon  his  death-bed  the  General  re 
quested  Mr.  .Nesmith  to  pronounce  a  few  words  at  his  grave,  which  he  did. 

As  senator  of  the  United  States  Mr.  Nesmith  supported  every  measure 
necessary  for  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  and  preservation  of  the  Union. 
He  was  a  personal  friend  of  President  Lincoln  and  stood  by  hirn  through  the 
stormy  years  when  he  needed  the  support  of  all  loyal  citizens. 

Mr.  Nesmith  served  on  the  military  committee  of  the  senate,  where  his 
patriotism  and  judgment  were  invaluable  to  the  country.  Having  decided 
military  taste  and  inclination  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  army  and  gained 
the  lasting  regard  of  many  of  our  famous  soldiers.  He  was  frequently  with 
armies  in  the  field  and  witnessed  several  important  battles. 

He  also  served  on  the  committee  on  commerce  and  Indian  affairs,  and 
on  various  special  committees  of  great  importance. 

While  in  the  senate  Mr.  Nesmith  was  untiring  in  urging  measures  bene 
ficial  to  Oregon,  and  the  Pacific  states  and  territories  generally.  When  the 
reconstruction  measures  were  proposed  he  acted  no  further  with  the  republican 
party,  and  made  several  speeches  in  the  senate  in  support  of  the  policy  of 
President  Johnson.  At  the  close  of  his  term  in  the  senate  he  was  nominated 
minister  to  Austria,  but,  owing  to  the  bitter  feeling  against  the  president  and 
his  friends,  the  senate  refused  to  confirm  him. 

Mr.  Nesmith  was  not  a  brilliant  but  quite  a  successful  speaker.  His  most 
remarkable  quality  of  mind  was  his  wonderful  memory,  added  to  this  an  un 
limited  fund  of  wit  and  humor,  which  rendered  him  quick  at  repartee,  and 
never  at  a  loss  for  spicy  anecdote  and  quaint  illustration.  He  possessed  qual 
ities  that  gave  him  a  national  reputation,  during  his  career  in  Washington. 
Though  he  ranked  in  politics  as  a  democrat,  he  never  was  what  might  be 
called  a  good  party  man,  excepting  in  ordinary  times  and  issues.  Upon  the 
great  questions  that  came  up  in  connection  with  slavery,  secession  and  rebel 
lion,  he  became  independent  of  party  and  acted  with  the  republicans  in  de 
manding  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  the  abolition  of  slavery.  He 
was  the  only  democratic  senator  who  voted  to  submit  the  abolition  amend 
ment  to  the  states  for  their  action.  Further  on,  when  the  issues  of  recon 
struction  came  up,  he  refused  to  go  with  the  republicans  and  resumed  his  re. 
lations  with  the  democratic  party.  But  he  was  much  too  independent  in  his 
mode  of  thinking  and  of  action,  to  retain  the  favor  of  those  who  direct  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH.  35 

policy  of  his  party.  On  great  questions  he  was  inclined  by  the  constitution  of 
his  mind  to  adopt  a  middle  course  ;  and  yet  no  man  was  firmer  or  more  com 
bative  in  support  of  his  ideas  and  principles. 

In  1867  he  returned  to  his  farm  o  nthe  Rickreall,  where  he  lived  in  com 
parative  quiet  and  retirement  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  1873  Mr.  Nesmith  was  elected  representative  in  congress  to  fill  a  va 
cancy  caused  by  the  death  of  his  cousin,  Joseph  G.  Wilson.  While  in  con 
gress,  at  the  request  of  the  entire  delegation  from  Massachusetts,  he  delivered 
a  eulogy  on  Charles  Sumner  which  attracted  universal  attention.  There  had 
been  between  Sumner  and  himself,  while  he  was  in  the  senate,  a  warm  friend 
ship,  though  two  men  were  never  more  unlike.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his 
term  as  representative,  he  returned  to  Oregon  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life  upon  the  farm,  though  always  taking  a  pronounced  interest  in  public 
affairs.  He  was  a  generous  and  unselfish  neighbor,  and  justly  deserved  the 
reputation  for  the  old  time  hospitality  always  maintained  beneath  the  plain 
old  farm-house  roof.  From  the  distinguished  men  known  in  Washington, 
who  visited  him  when  they  came  to  Oregon,  down  to  the  humblest  emigrant 
of  early  or  later  days — they  all  received  a  kindly  welcome  and  simple  enter 
tainment. 

Mr.  Nesmith,  both  in  public  and  private  life,  fully  exemplified  the  rug 
ged  and  manly  honesty  of  his  race.  He  was  active  and  earnest  in  the  promo 
tion  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  of  which  he  was  at  one  time  presi 
dent,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  he  did  not  fulfill  his  determination  to  leave  a 
record  of  facts  and  impressions  connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  state. 
His  unusually  retentive  memory  would  have  added  much  to  the  somewhat 
meagre  array  of  facts  and  incidents  and  dates  as  well,  and  would  have  ren 
dered  additional  service  to  his  state. 

During  the  year  1884,  his  health  failed,  physically  and  mentally  ;  and  in 
the  summer  of  that  year  a  stroke  of  paralysis  superinduced  softening  of  the 
brain.  He  continued  in  this  condition  a  year,  when  his  merciful  deliverance 
came,  quietly  and  painlessly,  on  June  I7th,  1885,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his 
age,  surrounded  by  his  entire  family  of  children  and  grandchildren. 

The  closing  chapter  is  too  sad  to  dwell  upon.  Nothing  can  be  more 
sorrowful  than  to  witness  the  shadow  of  a  clouded  mind  rest  upon  a  once 
strong  and  vigorous  intellect,  and  the  pathetic  ending  of  a  long  and  active  and 
useful  life. 

Thirty-nine  years  from  the  time  of  his  marriage,  in  the  low-roofed  house 
by  the  Rickreall,  a  long  procession  of  friends  and  neighbors  reverently  fol- 


36  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  OF  HON.  J.  W.  NESMITH. 

'owed  on  foot    the  mortal  remains  of  James  W.  Nesmith   to  their  last  quiet 
home. 

It  is  in  a  beautiful  spot,  overlooking  the  Rickreal,  and  the  old  house 
where  he  was  married,  and  was  selected  by  himself  many  years  before  as  the 
place  where  he  would  lie  when  his  work  was  over.  The  afternoon  sun  come8 
brightly  through  the  trees,  and  there  is  song  of  bird,  and  bloom  and  verdure 
of  flower  and  forest  tree  ;  but  they  never  disturb  the  rest  that  came  after  the 
active  and  finally  sorrowful  life  of  the  one  who  desired  to  sleep  there. 


In  closing  this  sketch  we  quote  from  Judge  Deady's  address  to  the  Pio- 
neers  in  1876.  Speaking  of  the  immigration  of  1843,  and  the  men  of  mark 
who  came  to  Oregon  in  that  year,  the  orator  said  : 

"Nesmith  was  a  roving 

' Youth  to  fortune  and  to  fame  unknown, 

Fair  science  frown'd  not  on  his  humble  birth.' 

But  a  person  of  his  great  natural  ability  could  not  long  remain  in  the  back 
ground  of  this  young  and  free  community.  He  soon  wore  the  colonial  ermine, 
and  sat  in  legislative  halls,  and  commanded  in  the  armies  of  the  provisional 
government.  He  has  since  held  many  respectable  public  positious,  including 
hte  office  of  Representative  and  Senator  in  Congress  of  the  United  Statse 
with  usefulness  to  the  country  and  credit  to  himself.  His  braed  Scotch 
humor  and  peerless,  pitiless,  pungent  wit,  have  made  him  famous  on  both 
shores  of  the  Republic.  When  his  brief  candle  is  out,  any  of  us  who  remain, 
may  exclaim — 

' He  was  a  man,  take  him  for  all  in  all, 

I  shall  not  look  upon  his  like  again.'  " 


Gov,  GEORGE  ABERNETHY, 


DAYTON,  OREGON,  APRIL  25,  1887. 
To  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  OREGON  PIONEER  ASSOCIATION  : 

You  are  about  to  have  the  pamphlet  of  Pioneer  Transactions  bound. 
This  is  well.  The  real  Pioneers — those  of  the  forties,  are  rapidly  passing 
away.  Those  left  are  too  few  and  too  far  advanced  in  life,  to  give  interest 
by  their  presence  to  our  annual  meetings,  hence  it  is  eminently  proper  that 
our  records  should  be  put  in  shape  for  preservation  to  be  handed  down  to 
posterity.  The  time  will  come  when  descendants  of  Pioneers  will  be  as 
proud  of  their  ancestors  as  are  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans  who  landed 
from  the  Mayflower  on  Plymouth  Rock. 

As  this  is  practically  the  end  of  pioneer  records  by  Pioneers,  I  would 
like  to  add  a  word  in  memory  of  one  who  was  prominent  in  the  early  history 
of  Oregon.  Having  just  finished  reading  "Bancroft's  History  of  Oregon" — 
1834  to  1848 — I  desire  to  enter  my  protest  against  what  I  regard  as  great 
injustice  done  therein  to  the  memory  of  George  Abernethy. 

I  first  met  Gov.  Abernethy  in  October,  1842,  and  knew  him  intimately 
until  his  death.  From  April,  1845,  to  June,  1852,  I  resided  at  Oregon 
City.  My  business  brought  us  into  almost  daily  intercourse,  and  I  think  I 
am  justified  in  saying  that  he  was  just,  honorable  and  liberal  in  all  his  deal 
ings.  He  came  to  Oregon  with  the  Methodist  missionary  party  in  1840. 
When  the  Methodist  mission  was  discontinued  in  1844,  and  the  property  dis 
posed  of  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  Gary,  there  were  considerable  sums  due  from  the 
Board  to  the  members,  besides  transportation  to  their  homes  in  the  E»st.  To 
those  of  the  mission  who  chose  to  remain  in  Oregon,  Mr.  Gary  sold  the  mis 
sion  property,  and  Mr.  Abernethy,  having  been  the  secular  agent,  bought  the 
mission  store  with  such  remnants  of  gords  as  remained,  and  the  unsettled 
accounts  standing  on  the  books.  He  purchased  the  mill  company's  sawmill 
and  improvements  on  the  island  at  Oregon  City,  in  which  he  was  a  stock 
holder,  and  at  once  directed  his  energies  to  building  up  Oregon  City  and 
opening  a  trade  with  the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  built  a  bridge  across  the 


38  GOV.  GEOKGE  ABERNETHY. 

chasm  from  the  main  land,  which  in  those  days  was  an  exceedingly  difficult 
and  expensive  undertaking;  erected  a  flouring  mill  and  made  a  market  for 
the  wheat,  encouraged  the  fishing  interests  and  marketed  the  salmon.  As 
often  as  vessels  could  be  procured,  he  furnished  flour,  lumber,  salmon,  etc., 
and  in  return  got  sugar  and  salt  especially  and  such  other  merchandise  as 
could  be  had  in  that  market. 

In  these  various  enterprises  he  furnished  poor  immigrants  employment 
and  was  at  that  time  conceded  to  be  the  most  useful  and  enterprising  man  in 
the  territory.  He  built  a  large  brick  store,  the  first  brick  building  in  the  terri 
tory  ;  erected  a  fine  house  at  Green  Point,  and  was  constantly  inaugurating 
enterprises  and  improvements  for  giving  employment  and  means  of  living  to 
the  needy  people  who  arrived  in  large  numbers  every  fall. 

Nor  was  he  less  useful  as  a  public  officer.  Being  a  member  of  the  pro 
visional  legislature  in  1847  at  the  time  of  the  Whitman  massacre,  I  can  bear 
testimony  to  his  promptness  and  patriotism  on  that  trying  occasion. 

It  could  not  be  known  in  the  valley  to  what  extent  the  Indians  had  organ 
ized,  and  the  first  thought  was  that  after  murdering  the  missionaries  at  Walla 
Walla  they  would  march  this  way.  No  sooner  had  the  legislature  passed  a 
resolution  authorizing  the  governor  to  raise  a  company  of  riflemen  to  protect 
The  Dalles  than  the  governor  called  a  public  meeting  for  that  evening,  and  in 
less  than  twenty-four  hours  after  receipt  of  the  hostile  news  he  was  on  his  way 
to  Vancouver  with  about  forty  men  who  had  volunteered,  and  finding  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  unwilling  to  trust  the  provisional  government  for  the 
necessary  ammunition  and  supplies,  the  governor,  with  two  of  the  commis 
sioners  whom  the  legislature  had  appointed,  became  personally  responsible  for 
about  one  thousand  dollars. 

Coming  to  Oregon  as  a  Methodist  missionary,  Mr.  Abernethy  might  be 
expected  to  encounter  the  distrust  of  Catholics ;  as  an  American  citizen,  the 
jealousy  of  British  subjects  ;  as  a  merchant,  the  opposition  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  other  traders ;  and  as  a  Yankee  Puritan,  that  general  dislike  so 
commonly  entertained  by  Western  people,  of  which  the  early  immigrants 
were  mainly  composed  ;  and  yet,  by  his  enterprising  spirit,  generous  acts  and 
honorable  dealings,  he  was  the  choice  of  the  people  for  governor,  and  con 
tinued  to  be  during  the  entire  period  of  the  provisional  government. 

Yet  Mr.  Bancroft  says  in  his  History  of  the  Pacific  States,  Vol.  XXXIV., 
page  612  :  "The  most  odious  word  that  could  be  applied  to  a  Protestant,  in 


GOV.  GEORGE  ABERNETHY.  39 

those  days    was  that  of  Jesuit ;    yet   Protestant    and    Methodist  Abernethy 
possessed  all  the  traits  usually  ascribed  by  a  Protestant  to  a  Jesuit." 

Thus,  according  to  this  author,  the  man  who  possessed  all  the  traits  de 
scribed  by  the  most  odious  word  that  could  be  applied  to  a  Protestant  was 
the  choice  of  the  pioneers  of  Oregon  for  their  governor. 

But  perhaps  the  gravest  charge  which  this  historian  brings  against  the 
governor  is  concerning  his  encouragement  of  J.  Quinn  Thornton  in  going  to 
Washington  to  represent  our  condition  to  the  government.  He  calls  Thorn 
ton  "  Abernethy's  private  agent,"  a  statement  for  which  he  has  no  reliable 
authority.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  took  place  in  October,  1847, 
five  years  after'the  first  immigration  and  four  years  after  the  provisional  gov 
ernment  had  been  established.  Year  after  year  petitions  and  memorials  had 
been  forwarded  to  congress,  to  which  no  attention  had  been  paid.  All 
around  us  were  hostile  Indians,  becoming  restive  as  they  saw  the  whites 
absorbing  their  lands.  Indications  were  unmistakable  that  our  unprotected 
settlements  were  in  danger.  The  governor  saw  this  and  felt  most  keenly  his 
responsibility  and  the  urgent  necessity  that  our  condition  be  pressed  upon  the 
government  at  Washington  ;  and  yet  such  was  the  jealousy  among  our  leading 
men  that  no  one  of  them  would  be  allowed  by  the  others  to  go  to  Washington 
with  any  public  endorsement,  lest  he  would  reap  some  personal  advantage,  to 
their  detriment.  This,  bear  in  mind,  was  only  about  one  month  before  the 
Whitman  massacre. 

There  could  be  no  reconciliation  among  the  would-be  federal  officers  by 
which  one  of  their  number  couM  be  chosen  to  appeal  in  person  to  the  author 
ities  at  Washington,  and  the  only  means  left  the  governor  was  to  encourage  a 
man  every  way  competent  to  go  and  represent  our  si'u  tion  and  to  urge  the 
government  to  relieve  him  from  this  great  respoijsibility  and  ourselves  from 
danger. 

For  this  act  he  was  grossly  abused.  No  sooner  had  the  legislature  met 
than  resolutions  were  introduced  denouncing  Thornton  ;  and,  although  they 
were  voted  down,  a  political  aspirant,  who  edited  the  Spectator,  published 
them  approvingly,  for  which  he  very  justly  lost  his  position. 

The  massacre  of  Whitman  and  family  brought  a  crisis.  Appeal  to  con 
gress  for  protection  could  no  longer  be  delayed,  somebody  must  go  to  Wash 
ington.  Who  should  it  be?  The  vital  question  was  solved  by  selecting  Jo 
Meek.  Surely,  he  could  do  no  harm.  He  could  carry  their  protests  against 


40  GOV.  GEORGE  ABERNETHY. 

Thornton  and  their  letters  and  petitions,  and  could  not  be  of  sufficient  con 
sequence  to  excite  their  fears  of  obtaining  honors  for  himself,  or  influencing 
the  administration  in  the  distribution  of  the  federal  offices  of  the  territory.  * 

The  author's  criticisms  of  Judge  Thornton  are  not  surprising.  The  judge's 
manner  was  peculiar  and  not  calculated  to  make  friends  among  the  pioneers. 
More  could  be  said  in  commendation  of  him  had  he  said  less  himself. 
It  is  but  a  sorry  compliment  to  President  Polk  and  his  congress,  if,  as  inti 
mated  by  Bancroft,  the  illiterate,  prodigal  and  irresponsible  Jo  Meek  had 
more  attention  paid  him,  and  more  influence  with  them  than  the  intelligent 
and  scholarly  Thornton.  In  this  connection  thererare  indications  that  the 
historian  drew  inspiration  from  the  author  of  the  "  River  of  the  West." 

In  my  judgment  Gov.  Abernethy  should  receive  credit  for  encouraging 
Judge  Thornton  to  go  to  Washington  to  represent  our  helpless  and  exposed 
condition,  and  Thornton  should  have  credit  for  good  and  valuable  services 
there  and  elsewhere  in  the  interest  of  Oregon. 

I  am  not  seeking  to  make  Governor  Abernethy  a  great  man.  Only  this  : 
As  a  missionary,  he  was  consistent  and  conscientious  ;  as  a  business  man,  he 
was  honorable,  enterprising  and  liberal;  as  governor,  he  was  patriotic,  efficient 
and  unselfish.  And  for  this  he  deserves  the  respect  of  the  pioneers,  and  hon 
orable  mention  in  the  history  of  Oregon. 

By  the  laws  of  the  provisional  government  the  governor  was  allowed  an 
annual  salary  of  $300.  It  will  be  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  Gov.  Abernethy 
to  see  that  Mr.  Bancroft,  after  devoting  lengthy  paragraphs  to  his  disparage 
ment,  found  room  for  one  line  in  a  note  to  say  :  "Gov.  Abernethy  drew 
no  salary  under  the  provisional  government." 

I  do  not  recall  from  memory,  and  I  find  nothing  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  pioneers  to  justify  Mr.  Bancroft's  reflections  upon  Governor  Abernethy. 
On  the  contrary,  I  do  recall  from  memory,  and  other  pioneers  relate  numer 
ous  incidents  which  prove  him  to  have  pursued  a  noble,  patriotic  self-sacri 
ficing  course. 

Having  never  belonged  to  any  religious  denomination,  I  cannot  be  charged 
with  sectarian  prejudice  in  the  opinions  herein  expressed,  and  in  endorsing  the 
sentiments  of  the  late  Judge  Strong,  who  said  in  his  annual  address  in  1878, 
"Gov.  Abernethy  had  exhibited  great  prudence  in  the  administration  of  his 
office,  and  retired  with  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him." 

MEDOREM  CRAWFORD. 


DR,  JOHN 


DR.  JOHN  MCLOUGHLIN. 


In  looking  over  the  history  of  Oregon,  we  sometimes  wonder  who  will 
stand  as  its  representative  and  permanent  characters.  Of  the  numbers  who 
were  familiarly  known  up  and  down  our  valleys  and  over  the  mountains,  not 
many  will  be  remembered  by  name.  Brave,  active,  worthy  as  they  were, 
there  is  no  room  for  more  than  a  very  few  in  the  niches  of  permanent  his 
tory.  But  a  few  will  be  thus  remembered  so  long  as  Oregon  exists  as  a  State. 
Who  will  they  be?  We  dare  not  hazard  an  opinion  about  them  all,  yet  we 
are  at  no  loss  to  name  one,  and  that  is  Dr.  John  McLoughlin.  He  is  a  man 
whom  history  will  revere. 

This  position  is  his  due  on  two  grounds :  first,  from  the  position  which 
he  held,  and  ;  second,  from  his  own  intrinsic  merit.  The  chief  factor  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Columbia  during  its  most  critical  history 
would  necessarily  leave  his  name  on  that  history  as  he  did  leave  it  on  the 
records  of  his  company.  Whether  that  name  were  to  be  remembered  with 
veneration  or  execration,  or  without  moral  regard  of  any  kind,  would  depend 
on  the  man  to  whom  it  belonged.  Dr.  McLoughlin  had  the  elements  which 
will  put  him  in  the  first  category.  For  actual  work  accomplished  and  service 
performed  in  the  settlement  of  Oregon,  he  far  overtops  any  or  all  the  British 
on  the  coast,  and  would  carry  the  union  jack  above  the  stars  and  stripes  were 
it  not  for  our  American  doctor,  Marcus  Whitman.  In  the  softened  light  of 
the  future,  when  the  asperities  and  prejudices  of  sect  and  party  are  awarded 
only  their  just  regard,  the  white-haired,  humane,  great  pioneer  McLoughlin 
of  the  British  will  stand  with  the  rugged,  enthusiastic,  daring  Whitman  of 
the  Americans,  as  one  of  the  hoary  landmarks  of  our  historic  times. 

We  do  not  mean  that  there  were  not  many  others,  both  British  and 
American,  who  had  not  an  equal  goodness  and  mental  keenness ;  but  there 
are  no  others  who  had  that  peculiar  completeness  and  prevailing  force  of  will 
which  is  the  mark  of  greatness. 

In  order  to  form  a  just  conception  of  John  McLoughlin,  we  must  judge 


42 

of  him  in  each  of  the  capacities  which  it  was  his  lot  to  fill— personally,  as  an 
agent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  as  a  settler. 

We  will  ask  leave  to  invert  the  customary  order,  and  consider  these  in 
the  order  named  above. 

The  native  land  of  this  great  trapper  and  pioneer  was  Canada.  His 
father — as  the  orthography,  ouffh,  indicates— was  a  Scotchman,  his  mother 
French.  He  entered  the  service  of  the  Northwestern  Fur  Company  about 
the  year  1800,  then  a  boy  in  his  teens,  having  been  born  in  1784.  Beginning 
in  the  usual  slow  and  sure  routine,  he  learned  every  particular  of  his  business, 
gradually  advancing  from  post  to  post,  until  he  reached  a  position  of  great 
trust,  and  one  in  which  he  was  almost  as'  complete  an  autocrat  as  the  Czar. 
He  could  scarcely  have  reached  a  higher  position,  as  there  was  little  above 
him  but  places  occupied  by  the  business  partners.  It  was  undoubtedly  the 
goal  of  his  ambition. 

He  was  of  large  stature,  being,  in  his  prime,  some  six  feet  four  inches  in 
height  and  finely  proportioned.  He  was  of  a  somewhat  ruddy  complexion, 
with  kindly  but  penetrating  blue  or  gray  eyes,  and  the  massive  head  was 
crowned  with  long,  bushy  hair,  white  as  a  fleece.  He  was  known  among 
the  Indians  as  the  white-headed  chieftain,  and  even  from  the  Blue  Mountains 
and  the  plains  of  the  upper  Columbia  Mt.  Hood  was  pointed  out  as  the 
white  mountain  near  his  illahee,  or  place.  Perhaps  to  their  minds  the  snowy 
grandeur  of  Hood  suggested  the  hoary  dignity  of  the  Doctor. 

He  had  taken  time  to  study  medicine,  and  was  thorough  in  his  knowl 
edge  of  this  science.  His  general  information  was  also  very  great.  On  the 
subject  of  history  his  researches  had  been  extensive,  and  he  was  so  well  in 
formed  that  in  the  discussions  in  which  he  was  fond  of  bearing  a  part,  iew 
were  able  to  cope  with  him.  It  was  his  favorite  plan  to  lead  an  antagonist 
into  the  labyrinths  of  history  and  lose  him  in  the  tangles,  himself  easily  going 
beyond  all  ordinary  ranges.  His  study  of  history,  however,  had  been  made 
from  ancient  and  Catholic  sources. 

His  manners  were  a  combination  of  British  dignity  and  Gallic  suavity. 
None  knew  better  than  he  the  art  of  courtesy.  In  his  bow  and  smile  and 
doffing  of  his  great  beaver  hat  there  was  a  world  of  kindliness  and  respect. 
His  courtesy  was  moreover  one  of  his  instruments  of  defense  and  offense. 
Most  of  his  actual  fighting  was  done  by  it. 

He  had,  however,  a  quick  and  violent  temper.  If  he  felt  it  rising  he 
usually  tipped  his  beaver  and  retired  for  a  calmer  moment ;  but  not  always, 


43 

as  when  he  caned  Chaplain  Beaver,  or  drove  his  would-be  successor  from  the 
fort  at  the  edge  of  a  shovel.  He  took  no  reply  from  a  subaltern  when  he 
gave  a  command,  but  expected  instant  obedience.  If  he  met  with  insub 
ordination,  he  was  able  to  enforce  his  order  by  the  use  of  his  cane.  He  was 
a  man  of  quick  decision,  whose  mind  acted  with  so  much  greater  celerity 
than  others  that  while  they  were  yet  deciding,  his  will  was  already  in  full 
activity,  and  they  naturally  fell  in  with  its  current.  Yet  his  purpose  was  so 
tenacious  that  if  stubbornly  opposed  he  would  spare  no  effort  to  remove  the 
obstacle.  He  was  absolute  monarch  over  nearly  a  thousand  Canadian  and 
half-breed  trappers,  with  no  authority  whatever  to  support  him  except  his 
own  vigilant  mind  and  imperial  will.  He  was  lacking  that  support  upon 
which  kings  rely,  the  interest  and  moral  sentiment  of  the  influential  classes. 
He  was  surrounded  by  savages  and  ruling  over  men  little  more  cultivated  than 
savages.  His  business,  moreover,  was  carried  on  with  great  exactness.  He 
allowed  no  slouching  or  shirking.  A  strict  code  of  manners  and  morals  was 
preserved.  It  evidently  required  a  man  of  great  address  to  know  by  what 
motives  and  means  to  control  a  naturally  lawless  body  of  men  who  roamed 
over  a  region  of  more  than  half  ajmillion  square  miles  in  extent,  equal  in  area 
to  the  kingdoms  of  the  old  world.  Yet,  from  the  country  of  the  Bannocks, 
the  Blackfeet,  the  Kootenays,  the  Shastas  and  Nisquallys,  and  all  the  region 
between,  the  brigade  felt  the  firm  authority  of  the  Chief  Factor  at  Vancouver. 
There  were  perhaps  a  hundred  thousand  Indians  in  the  country  of  his  sway, 
yet  they  were  completely  under  his  control,  and  he  never  hesitated  to  chastise 
them  if  they  committed  wanton  outrages. 

When  the  bloody  scenes  among  the  trappers  and  Indians  of  Canada  are 
remembered,  and  we  consider  how  the  American  trappers  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  spent  their  lives  in  one  long  warfare  with  the  savages,  in  constant 
affrays  and  violence,  we  wonder  all  the  more  at  the  mild  genius  of  the  man 
who  kept  his  realm  in  almost  universal  and  uninterrupted  repose  and  peaceful 
activity.  True  enough,  he  had  the  admirable  system  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  to  work  upon,  but  it  required  genius  to  know  how  to  apply  that 
system.  It  required  force  to  keep  it  in  successful  operation.  It  required 
great  sagacity  to  adapt  it  to  immediate  needs.  All  these  McLoughlin  dis 
played  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

We  may  now  consider  him  as  an  agent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
We  have  perhaps  formed  some  conception  of  the  capacities  of  the  man,  which 
were  undoubtedly  the  qualities  most  useful  to  a  great  organization  whose 


4:4: 

headquarters  were  seven  thousand  miles  distant.  He  was  a  self-acting  man, 
at  once  faithful  to  his  superiors  and  exacting  faithful  service  from  his  inferiors. 
This  noted  company  had  just  one  thing  to  do,  and  to  understand  just  what 
that  was,  and  consequently  what  was  demanded  of  their  agent,  we  must 
pause  a  moment  and  consider  its  objects. 

This  company  was  formed  during  the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.,  who, 
always  out  of  cash,  followed  the  example  of  his  father,  and  of  Elizabeth,  in 
granting  privileges  and  monopolies  for  money.  As  the  dominions  of  England 
extended  beyond  the  Atlantic,  here  was  opportunity  for  raising  revenue  in  the 
same  way.  It  was  discovered  that  although  the  British  possessions  in  Amer 
ica  were  apparently  devoid  of  mineral  wealth,  an  almost  equal  wealth  lay  in 
the  furs  growing  on  the  backs  of  the  beavers  and  other  animals.  The  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company  and  the  Northwest  Company  were  formed  to  prosecute 
this  business,  the  former  having  its  principal  station  at  York  Factory,  on 
Hudson's  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  Nelson  river  ;  the  latter  at  Montreal.  In 
pushing  their  operations,  as  the  years  rolled  by,  they  invaded  each  other's 
territory  in  the  Saskatchewan  Valley,  their  servants  coming  to  quarrels,  dis 
putes,  angry  emulation,  and  finally  to  open  war*  and  bloodshed.  American 
expeditions  were  on  foot,  also,  pushing  up  the  Missouri  and  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains  into  the  valley  of  the  Columbia.  The  Canadian  government  in 
terfered  to  prevent  bloodshed  on  the  British  soil,  and  it  became  policy  for  the 
Hudson's  Bay  people  to  unite  with  the  Northwestern,  under  the  title  Honor 
able  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This  company,  thus  reformed,  was  ready  to 
dispute  with  the  American  companies.  The  British  company  would  confine 
itself  to  British  territory,  the  American  to  American,  while  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia  should  be  left  open  to  the  competition  of  both. 

The  policy  of  the  company  contemplated  making  the  Indians  the  trap 
pers,  the  Canadian  French  the  carriers,  and  responsible  English  subjects  their 
clerks  and  factors.  The  game  and  Indians  were  not  to  be  exterminated,  but 
both  to  be  preserved,  and  the  friendship  of  the  latter  cultivated.  It  was  to 
be  an  institution  lasting  as  long  as  the  English  empire.  It  was  exactly  suited 
to  the  habits  of  the  Indians.  It  disturbed  none  of  their  customs  nor  beliefs. 
By  supplies  of  beads,  clothes,  knives,  and  a  limited  amount  o£  guns  and  am 
munition,  they  c^uld  always  get  what  furs  they  wished  from  the  Indians,  ex 
citing  or  depressing  the  business  to  the  proper  capacity  of  the  animals. 

They  had  their  regular  system  of  police,  their  regular  express,  their  reg- 


45 

ular  ship.     One  ship  a  year  to  the  Columbia  was  found  sufficient  to  bring  the 
supplies  necessary  for  sustenance  and  trade. 

There  were  two  things  which  would  break  up  their  business.  One  was 
the  competition  of  Americans,  who  were  frequently  merely  desperadoes, 
quickly  destroying  the  game  and  falling  into  deadly  quarrels  with  the  natives 
The  other  was  settlement.  Settlements  would  necessarity  drive  off  the  game 
and  break  up  the  Indians.  The  camrs  fields  and  beaver  dams  must  not  be- 
broken  or  drained. 

Tt  was  the  policy,  therefore,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  destroy 
competition  and  to  prevent  settlement.  This  was  simply  a  business  necessity, 
and  anything  else  meant  suicide. 

This,  then,  was  the  work  assigned  McLoughlin  in  the  valley  of  the  Co. 
lumbia.  It  was  his  to  keep  the  business  organization  in  perfect  running 
order,  and  to  perform  the  more  difficult  task  of  destroying  all  opposition. 
The  first  requires  business,  the  latter  political  ability.  The  object  to  be  gained 
was  possession  of  the  Columbia  Valley.  It  was  in  1824  that  he  was  assigned 
to  Fort  George,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  present  site  of  Astoria.  The 
Astor  expedition  had  long  since  been  completely  broken  up.  To  break  up 
other  American  expeditions  it  was  only  necessary  to  put  the  company  in 
such  perfect  order  that  it  could  undersell  and  destroy  them  by  competition. 
This  the  Doctor  proceeded  at  once  to  do. 

Whether  by  his  own  counsel  or  advice  of  others,  he  changed  the  head 
quarters  from  the  mouth  of  ihe  river  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  up  the 
stream,  to  Fort  Vancouver.  This  was  a  good  move  in  several  ways.  It 
made  the  rowing  and  sailing  of  the  voyageurs  one  hundred  miles  shorter,  since 
they  all  had  to  come  down  the  Columbia  or  Willamette,  while  the  voyaging 
of  the  annual  ship  up  the  river  was  a  matter  of  indifference,  since  the  channel 
was  deep  and  wide.  In  leaving  Fort  George  they  simply  abandoned  a  site 
on  a  rugged  hill  slope  densely  covered  with  spruce  and  hemlock  woods,  where 
both  soil  and  climate  forbid  anything  like  agriculture,  although  they  raised  a 
few  potatoes  and  roots  on  a  small  plat  of  low  land.  At  Vancouver,  however, 
there  was  more  than  a  square  mile  of  the  most  fertile  land  sloping  southward 
to  the  Columbia  river,  protected  on.  the  north  by  rising  ground  and  extensive 
forests.  Here  they  raised  in  abundance  the  vegetables  necessary  for  their 
brigade  of  men.  An  English  gardener  boasted  that  nothing  in  the  mother 
country  equalled  his  garden  at  Fort  Vancouver.  He  cultivated  grapes  and 
even  figs  with  some  success,  and  strawberries  with  great  exuberance,  while 


46  DR.  JOHN  M'LOUGHLIN. 

other  fruits  and  the  vegetables  grew  with  the  same  abandoned  prolificness  as  at 
present  in  our  climate.  But  a  short  distance  below,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Willamette  with  the  Columbia,  was  Wapato  (now  called  Sauvies')  Island, 
ten  miles  in  length  and  deep  all  the  year  with  fresh  grass.  Here  the  grad 
ually  increasing  herd  of  cattle  might  roam  without  care  or  protection. 

Doubtless  McLoughlin  knew  that  if  there  was  any  invasion  of 
his  domains  by  foreigners""it  would  be  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamette, 
and  it  would  be  expedient  for  the  fort  to  be  near  enough  to  keep  an 
eye  upon  such  intruders. 

More  likely,  too,  he  entertained  even  then  the  plan  of  settling  his 
superannuated  servants  on  available  lands,  and  such  were  easiest  of 
access  in  the  plains  between  the  ranges.  Still  further,  it  was  safer  to 
have  the  permanent  fort  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  as  that 
was  a  natural  and  probable  compromise  boundary  for  dividing  the  ter 
ritory  held  in  dispute  between  England  and  America. 

The  fort  was  not  very  much  of  an  affair  in  a  military  point  of 
view,  being  merely  a  stockade,  and  defended  sometimes  by  only  one 
small  cannon.  It  was,  however,  well  arranged  for  business.  The 
house  of  the  chief  factor  was  commodious  and  well  furnished  and  his 
style  of  living  was  elegant,  modeled  much  upon  that  of  the  English 
esquire. 

The  main  business  of  the  first  few  years  after  the  transfer  was  in 
conciliating  the  Indians  and  extending  the  trade.  This  was  done  so 
effectually  that  by  the  time  the  Americans  were  ready  to  make  fresh 
expeditions,  about  1830,  they  found  the  whole  northwest  coast  hope 
lessly  in  the  hands  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  people.  The  Indians  liked 
and  trusted  them.  Kelly,  Jedediah  Smith,  Wyeth,  Bonneville,  were 
all  soon  undersold  and  glad  to  dispose  of  what  goods  they  had  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  leave  the  country,  or  be  helped  out  of  it 
by  a  company's  ship.  No  violence  was  offered  American  trappers. 
They  were  even  protected,  and  once,  at  least,  injuries  done  them  pun 
ished  by  the  order  of  McLoughlin. 

The  doctor  never  would  use  violence  as  a  means  of  overcoming 
a  foe.  But  he  was  undoubtedly  anxious  to  break  up  the  American 
trappers,  and  did  break  them  up. 

It  was  not  until  1834  that  a  danger  appeared  which  was  much 
more  formidable  than  American  trappers,  and  that  was  American 


47 

missionaries.  It  was  then  that  Jason  Lee,  the  vanguard  of  the  Meth 
odist  mission  and  settlement,  appeared  at  Vancouver  to  present  his  re 
spects  and  credentials.  For  the  next  ten  years,  it  was  McLoughlin's 
study  how  to  prevent  the  Lees  and  their  comrades  from  forming  per 
manent  settlements.  It  is  sometimes  represented  that  Dr.  McLough- 
lin  was  merely  a  good,  kind-hearted  man,  who  was  led  simply  by  feel 
ings  of  benevolence.  Such  a  view  would  greatly  underrate  him.  He 
had  a  definite  policy  and  sought  to  carry  it  out.  It  is  certain  that  for 
at  least  ten  years  he  tried  by  every  honorable  means  to  prevent  Amer 
ican  settlements  in  Oregon  He  was  put  there  for  that  very  purpose 
by  his  company,  and  it  is  altogether  unlikely  that  he  would  question 
his  company's  policy  or  authority.  It  may  be  that  he  did  not  regard 
the  inoffensive  Lee,  as  he  first  stood  in  his  doors,  as  in  any  way  likely 
to  set  in  motion  a  train  of  events  which  would  end  in  ousting  his  com 
pany.  But  it  is  mere  than  likely  that  at  that  moment  his  active  mind 
began  to  solve  the  problem  how  to  manage  this  intruder.  He  was  not 
a  trader  to  be  undersold.  He  was  not  an  explorer  to  be  dined  and 
wined  and  passed  on.  He  was  not  a  scientist,  like  Townsend  or  Nut- 
tall,  to  be  feasted  and  flattered  and  shown  the  country  and  dismissed 
with  a  blessing.  He  was  not  a  government  spy  to  be  gained,  if  possi 
ble,  and  sent  home  as  one  of  the  company's  agents.  He  was  a  mision- 
ary,  coming  with  the  Bible  in  his  hands  to  teach  the  Indians  the 
gospel. 

It  would  not  do  to  send  him  home.  He  was  the  representative  of 
a  large  body  of  \merican  Christians  who  would  resent  any  such  treat 
ment.  He  was  also  an  American  citizen — though  a  Canadian  by 
birth — and  by  treaty  had  as  much  right  to  be  in  Oregon  as  McLough- 
lin  himself.  Any  coercion  might  precipitate  a  struggle  between  the 
powers. 

The  only  recourse  left  was  to  make  the  missionary,  as  far  as  pos 
sible,  subject  to  himself.  He  was  accordingly  received  with  the  great 
est  courtesy  at  the  fort.  The  comforts  of  such  civilization  as  Van 
couver  furnished  were  placed  at  his  command.  The  book,  the  boat, 
the  guide,  the  horse,  and  the  doctor's  own.  society,  were  all  freely  ten 
dered  and  accepted  with  great  pleasure.  Lee  ingenuously  disclosed  all 
his  plans  to  the  doctor,  asking  information  about  the  climate,  location 
and  prospects  of  the  Indian  tribes,  and  seeking  his  advice  as  to  the 


48 

best  site  for  the  proposed  mission.  It  must  not  be  inferred  that  the 
Doctor's  hospitality  was  merely  politic,  but  it  fitted  his  policy  perfectly. 
Lee  was  hoping  to  establish  his  mission  east  of  the  Cascade  Moun 
tains,  but  McLoughlin  strongly  urged  the  Willamette  Valley  as  a 
better  field.  He  spoke  of  the  beauty  of  this  valley  above  the  falls, 
its  fertility,  delightful  climate  and  populous  tribes.  It  seems  likely 
that  the  doctor  wished  to  have  the  mission  at  some  distance 
from  the  Columbia,  aside  from  the  natural  route  across  the  continent, 
because  in  that  case  there  would  oe  less  likelihood  of  its  becoming  a 
commercial  point.  His  boats  would  always  be  at  the  command  of  the 
missionaries,  who  would  thereby  depend  on  him  for  supplies,  trans 
portation,  exchange  and  advice  and  direction.  His  trust}'  men  would 
understand  all  their  movements,  and  his  friendly  espionage  would 
serve  a  better  purpose  than  any  hostile  surveillance.  He  would  as 
similate  them  to  his  business  and  government  in  perfect  friendship  and 
kindness.  He  saw  no  other  way  to  prevent  an  American  settlement 
living  independently  of  his  company.  There  was  no  other  way.  It 
has  been  said  that  all  that  was  necessary  to  remove  these  missionaries 
was  to  give  the  hint  to  the  Indians,  and  they  would  have  been  mas 
sacred  at  once.  But  if  Lee  had  fallen  there  would  have  been  twenty 
men  to  fill  his  place.  If  they  had  fallen,  a  thousand  American  rifles 
would  have  been  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  to  mete  out  vengeance. 
Party  feeling  was  already  rising  in  America,  and  a  spark  would  set  it 
off.  McLoughlin's  policy  to  bind  the  mission  to  the  fort  both  by 
friendship  and  interest  does  justice  at  once  to  his  sagacity  and  hu 
manity.  It  is  frequently  said  he  was  merely  giving  gratuitous  benefits 
to  the  missionaries  out  of  pure  benevolence.  Such  a  view  discredits 
his  sense.  His  favors  were  mainly  bestowed  with  the  purpose  of  cen 
tering  all  the  white  men's  interest  in  Fort  Vancouver.  To  show  how 
well  his  policy  worked  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  for  more  than 
ten  years  the  Methodist  mission,  so  far  as  business  interests  were  con 
cerned,  was  a  dependency  of  the  fort,  and  the  members  of  that  mission 
were  the  slowest  of  all  the  Americans  to  strike  for  an  independent 
government,  in  1843. 

The  next  man  to  bring  under  his  control  was  Dr.  Whitman.  This 
redoubtable  pioneer,  with  Spaulding  and  their  two  ladies,  appeared  at 
Vancouver  in  1837.  Parker  had  passed  through  the  year  before  and 
had  been  cheerfully  passed  on  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 


49 

Spaulding  speaks  in  glowing  terms  of  the  kindness  with  which 
their  party  was  entertained  by  Dr.  McLoughlin  on  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia.  It  seemed  like  a  paradise  to  him,  after  the  long  days  on 
the  plains  and  in  the  mountains;  after  camping  in  the  dust  and  sand, 
eating  buffalo  meat  and  bacon  often  mixed  with  sand  and  ashes,  and 
being  exposed  to  the  sun  and  frost  of  the  table  lands,  to  find  civilized 
fare,  civilized  fruits,  civilized  shelter,  and  to  look  with  astonishment 
upon  the  fig  trees  betokening  an  unexpectedly  mild  climate.  Their 
praise  of  the  dignity  and  cheerful  hospitality  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  bestowed  without  stint. 

Dr.  Whitman  had  formed  a  very  perfect  conception  of  the  topog 
raphy  of  the  country,  and  had  determined  upon  a  plan  for  placing  the 
missionary  stations  in  such  locations  as  to  be  independent  of  all  others, 
and  to  be  easily  accessible  both  by  water  and  land.  He  was  already 
determined  upon  The  Dalles  as  one  of  the  stations,  and  told  Mc 
Loughlin  so,  and  gave  it  as  his  reason  that  he  wished  to  be  on  the  Co 
lumbia  so  as  to  get  supplies.  He  expected  sea-going  craft  to  ascend 
the  Columbia  as  far  as  the  Cascades,  and  from  the  portage  at  tha 
point  the  slack  water  could  be  easily  navigated  by  boat  to  The  Dalles 
The  goods  would  then  be  distributed  by  pack  train  to  the  various  sta 
tions.  Like  the  missionaries  at  that  time  who  were  laboring  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands  and  in  Turkey,  Whitman  aimed  to  teach  the  heathen 
the  arts  and  industries  as  well  as  the  religion  of  civilization.  He  prob 
ably  expected  to  establish  a  small  trade,  as  in  fish  and  other  native 
products,  sufficient  to  justify  an  American  ship  in  entering  the  Colum 
bia  perhaps  once  a  year,  bringing  goods  necessary  for  his  mission  and 
for  barter.  In  this  way  his  own  supplies  would  be  provided  for,  and 
as  rapidly  as  the  Indians  gave  up  a  wandering  life  and  took  to  steady 
industry,  they  would  have  a  chance  to  sell  their  products  and  thus  be 
encouraged  to  take  on  civilization. 

A  plan  like  this  was  so  foreign  to  the  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  that  McLoughlin  discouraged  it  at  once.  He  told  Whit 
man,  which  was  perfectly  true,  that  the  fishing  Indians  of  the  Colum 
bia  were  a  depraved  and  worthless  set,  and  that  labor  of  any  kind 
would  be  lost  upon  them,  while  the  hunting  Indians  of  the  upper  plains 
were  active  and  hardy,  as  fine  men  as  English  troopers,  and  that  almost 


50 

anything  might  be  made  of  them.  When  Whitman  asked  ho\v  it 
would  be  possible  to  get  supplies  in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  Mc- 
Loughlin  at  once  offered  to  furnish  him  anything  he  needed  at  the 
fort.  His  credit  should  always  be  good.  Bateaux  should  always  be 
at  his  service.  The  stations  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the  in 
terior,  such  as  Walla  Walla  and  Colville,  should  be  open  to  his  orders. 
Spaulding  was  already  anxious  to  settle  among  the  Nez  Perces,  with 
whom  he  had  become  acquainted  on  the  route,  and  when  he  was  as 
sured  that  flour  should  be  sent  him  from  Colville,  was  eager  to  return 
to  Takensuates,  his  first  convert,  who  was  waiting  eagerly,  near  Walla 
Walla,  to  escort  him,  upon  his  return,  to  the  land  of  the  Nez  Perces. 
Whitman  now  reluctantly  abandoned  his  plan  of  occupving  The 
Dalles. 

While  McLoughlin  was  undoubtedly  more  than  glad  to  offer  every 
courtesy  to  these  Presbyterian  missionaries,  it  is  evident  that  he 
planned  to  make  them  as  dependent  as  possible  upon  his  own  business. 
Whitman's  plans,  which  he  still  endeavored  to  carry  out,  of  settling 
the  Indians  and  interesting  them  in  civilized  industries,  would,  if  con 
summated,  be  fatal  to  the  interests  of  the  fur  company.  As  a  faithful 
servant  of  that  company  he  endeavored  to  make  Whitman's  enterprise 
harmonize  with  his  own  business. 

The  same  shrewd  foresight  was  used  in  regard  to  the  agriculture 
of  the  settlers,  who  began  to  come  into  Oregon  sparsely.  There  were 
at  first  no  cattle  in  the  country  except  those  belonging  to  the  company. 
The  immigrants  naturally  wished  to  buy  stock  at  the  fort.  McLough 
lin  refused  to  sell,  but  would  lend  animals  on  the  condition  that  they 
and  their  offspring  should  be  returned  to  him.  He  asked  no  remu 
neration  but  that.  Yet  it  is  clear  that  his  purpose  in  lending  animals 
was  to  put  the  settlers  in  the  position  of  dependents  upon  himself. 
He  well  knew  that  active,  enterprising  Americans  owning  their  own 
herds  would  soon  be  establishing  some  hide  and  bone  and  jerked  beef 
business,  and  would  want  their  own  stations.  When  the  company  of 
Young  and  Edwards  was  established,  to  buy  cattle  in  California,  he 
took  a  large  share  in  it,  not  because  he  wanted  a  band  of  wild,  gaunt, 
fierce  Spanish  stock,  since  he  had  plenty  of  gentle  English  cattle  of 
his  own,  nor  because  he  wished  to  encourage  the  enterprise,  seeing  that 
the  cattle  company  would  go  anyhow  and  needed  no  encouragement; 


51 

but  simply  in  pursuance  of  his  previous  policy,  to  have  a  right  to  know 
all  that  was  going  on  and  to  have  a  voice  in  the  proceedings. 

When  Joseph  Gale  and  his  comrades  wished  to  build  a  boat  and 
go  to  California  to  buy  cattle,  the  doctor  refused  them  the  materials, 
but  promised  to  supply  them  everything  necess'ary  to  settle  and  raise 
wheat  for  the  company.  They  bought  from  time  to  time  an  immense 
amount  of  bagging  and  cordage  and  nails — in  short,  took  out  what  was 
necessary  for  constructing  a  boat,  and,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the 
doctor,  were  soon  building  the  Star  of  Oregon,  with  which  they  actually 
went  to  California. 

In  pursuance  of  the  same  policy,  reliable  settlers  were  encouraged 
to  do  business  at  the  fort,  to  give  credit  and  pay  in  wheat  to  be  deliv 
ered  to  the  company. 

When  a  provisional  government  was  talked  of,  in  1842-3,  and 
even  earlier,  the  doctor  was  understood  to  favor  an  independent  gov 
ernment,  perhaps  to  be  under  the  protection  of  England.  In  either 
case,  whether  independent  or  English,  he  expected  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  to  have  the  preponderating  influence.  He  favored  inde 
pendency,  as  that  would  be  more  conciliatory  to  the  few  Americans  in 
Oregon,  and  his  company  had  all  the  necessary  facilities  to  enforce 
their  laws,  and  it  might  be  more  free  from  any  unpleasant  interference 
from  the  home  government. 

His  whole  policy  was  consistently  and  indefatigably  directed  to 
ward  preventing  any  other  business  getting  a  foothold  within  his  ter 
ritory,  and  controlling  whatever  he  could  not  prevent.  He  pursued 
this  policy  with  the  most  untiring  fidelity  and  ability,  and  it  suc 
ceeded  perfectly  until  the  tide  of  American  immigration  made  it 
impossible  for  any  pne  man  or  organization  to  control  the  terri 
tory.  He  carried  -out  the  wishes  of  his  company  as  far  as  it  was 
consistent  with  honor;  and  his  humane  method  was  alike  the  most 
effective  and  the  most  honorable.  It  is  idle,  as  well  as  unjust,  to  say 
that  this  method  was  for  the  benefit  of  his  American  competitors.  It 
was  for  the  benefit  of  his  company,  it  would  be  small  credit  to  his 
capacity  to  represent  that  he  gave  away  his  business  to  those  who 
were  trying  to  outwit  him,  simply  out  of  unreasoning  kindness.  It 
would  impeach  his  fidelity  to  say  that  he  allowed  his  employers  tQ 


52  DR.  JOHN  M'LOUGHLIN. 

suffer  for  the  sake  of  benefiting  their  opponents.  This  much  for  his 
ability  and  faithfulness  as  an  agent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

We  have  now  to  consider  him  in  his  capacity  as  an  American  set 
tler.  He  became  such  by  the  force  of  circumstances.  He  was  by 
nature  and  sympathy  a  republican.  He  believed  in  free  institutions. 
It  is  related  that  as  a  snobbish  Englishman,  at  Vancouver  was  once  in 
dulging  in  some  choice  sneers  at  the  patriot  movement  in  Canada, 
the  doctor  rebuked  him  sharply,  reminding  him  that  men  struggling 
for  liberty  were  not  the  proper  subject  of  ridicule. 

It  was  quite  generally  understood  among  early  settlers  that 
McLoughlin  encouraged  his  discharged  servants  to  settle  in  the  Wil 
lamette  Valley  with  a  view  to  independent  citizenship  ultimately. 
The  company  had  agreed  to  send  back  in  ten  years  the  men  who  had 
come  out  in  1823,  the  year  in  which  Dr.  McLoughlin  arrived.  When 
their  term  of  service  was  over  they  had  families  and  local  interests, 
having  taken  native  wives.  It  is  thought  that  the  doctor  may  have 
expressed  to  them  the  probability  that  the  country  south  of  the  Co 
lumbia  would  finally  go  to  the  United  States,  and  that  there  would  be 
the  best  place  for  those  seeking  democratic  government.  This  is 
opposed  to  the  supposition  that  the  settlement  of  these  Hudson's  Bav 
men  was  with  the  intention  of  setting  up  a  claim  for  the  English,  but, 
if  correct,  would  indicate  that  the  doctor  was  even  then  feeling  the  drift 
of  circumstances  which  in  the  end  decided  him  for  out  government. 
While  endeavoring  faithfully  to  conserve  the  interests  of  his  company, 
he  may  have  had  an  under  current  of  love  for  republican  institutions 
which  opened  his  eyes  to  the  future  destiny  of  Oregon.  He  was  too 
broad  a  man  to  be  decided  by  party  prejudice  of  any  kind.  He  was, 
however,  on  the  ground  by  the  command  of  his  company.  The  inev- 
able  logic  of  American  civilization,  which  no  man  or  company  could 
withstand,  was  planting  colonies  in  Oregon.  The  Lees,  Whitman, 
Griffin,  Meek,  Young,  Gale  and  their  hundred  compeers  represented 
a  pluck,  force  and  intelligence  which  neither  violence  nor  diplomacy 
could  balk.  McLoughlin  struggled  against  it  and  controlled  it  as 
long  as  possible.  He  had,  however,  a  breadth  of  mind  and  generosity 
of  heart  which  forbid  violence  as  useless.  That  same  humanity  made 
him  adopt  a  humane  system  of  opposition.  It  is  the  humane  man, 
not  the  bruiLe,  who  believes  in  uprightness  as  an  effective  weapon. 


53 

The  liar  trusts  to  fraud,  the  brute  to  violence,  and-  the  just  man  to 
integrity,  and  the  humane  man  to  kindness  as  the  means  of  accom 
plishing  his  purpose.  McLoughlin  never  used  falsehood  or  performed 
an  ungenerous  act,  but  strove  to  assimilate  all  alien  interests  to  those 
of  himself. 

Yet  that  policy,  high-minded  and  effective  as  it  was,  was  frequently 
used  against  him,  and  was  offensive  to  his  company.  They  thought  it 
necessary  to  keep  a  spy  at  the  fort  to  watch  him.  John  Dunn,  an 
upstart  young  Englishman,  half  snob  and  half  bully,  in  a  partisan 
book  in  which  he  speaks  with  violence  and  contempt  of  the  American 
squatters  and  traders,  also  passes  severe  strictures  upon  the  imbecile 
policy  of  McLoughlin  in  allowing  any  American  settlers  whatever  in 
the  valley  of  Oregon.  He  warns  him  that  he  is  nourishing  a  nest  of 
vipers  which  will  turn  and  sting  him. 

Governor  Simpson  had  a  quarrel  with  the  doctor,  on  his  tour  of 
inspection  ;  the  cause  of  this  is  not  known,  but  we  may  presume  that 
he  was  urging  the  adoption  of  a  more  severe  policy  than  McLoughlin 
wished  to  follow. 

Sir  Edward  Belcher,  visiting  somewhat  later,  openly  condemned 
the  doctor's  mild  course.  It  is  said  that  McLoughlin  once  received 
the  categoric  command,  "to  drive  or  starve  every  American  from  the 
country;"  he  replied  with  his  own  independence  and  loftiness  of  spirit, 
"Gentlemen,  if  such  be  your  orders,  I  will  serve  you  no  more." 

It  is  certain  that  no  man  was  more  glad  than  he  to  do  deeds  of 
kindness  and  beneficence,  and  frequently  this  led  him  to  do  what  was 
contrary  to  h;s  immediate  interests.  Particularly  was  this  the  case  in 
helping  immigrants  down  the  Columbia  River.  In  1843  they  were 
coming  nearly  a  thousand  strong.  At  the  Dalles  the  impassible 
wooded  walls  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  forbid  their  further  progress 
in  wagons.  The  sullen  Columbia  shut  them  off  on  the  other  side. 
With  their  usual  hardy  boldness  they  felled  pine  trees  and  made  rafts 
on  which  they  piled  some  of  their  wagons,  taken  to  pieces,  and  camped 
their  families.  But  the  hardships  of  the  voyage  were  extreme.  The 
portage  at  the  Cascades  was  made  in  the  bitter  autumn  storms 
that  sweep  into  the  mountain  gulf  where  the  Columbia  cuts  its  way  to 
the  heart  of  the  range.  Below  the  portage  the  violent  west  winds 
baffled  the  crafts  in  coming  down  the  stream.  Parties  were  delaved 


for  days  in  rounding  the  pillared  walls  of  Cape  Horn,  suffering  every 
thing  from  hunger  and  exposure.  This  was  the  very  immigration 
which  was  to  turn  the  scales  in  favor  of  American  occupancy.  But 
everything  was  forgotten  by  McLoughlin,  except  their  needs  and  dis 
tress.  He  sent  out  boat  load  after  boat  load  of  provisions  to  be  dis 
tributed  irrespective  of  remuneration.  It  was  intolerable  to  him  to 
think  of  women  and  children  suffering  for  lack  of  food,  and,  policy  or 
no  policy,  it  was  not  to  be  allowed.  Many  must  have  perished  but 
for  this  assistance. 

For  his  kindness  and  assistance  to  American  immigrants  he  was 
very  closely  questioned  by  the  officers  of  his  company,  and  by  the 
English. 

Consequent  upon  Indian  restlessness,  and  the  political  uncertainty 
respecting  the  formation  of  a  government  in  the  Willamette  Valley, 
he  had  written  to  the  English  government  for  some  recognition  and 
protection.  This  request  was  disregarded,  until  after  the  provisional 
government  was  established.  But  the  summer  succeeding  this,  an 
English  man  of  war,  the  Modeste,  appeared  in  the  river.  McLoughlin, 
having  gone  into  the  provisional  government  was  only  embarrassed. 
by  this.  Many  of  the  British  marines  were  full  of  bluster  and  threats 
of  fighting  off  the  Americans. 

Park  and  Peel  and  Vavasour  made  severe  and  cutting  charges, 
impeaching  McLoughlin's  fidelity  and  loyalty  to  British  interests. 
These  were  repeated  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  England,  and  by 
the  periodical  Fitzgerald's  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  McLoughlin  jus 
tified  himself  by  these  noble  words.  Concerning  friendship  shown  the 
missionaries  he  said,  "  What  would  you  have  ?  Would  you  have 
me  turn  the  cold  shoulder  to  the  men  of  God,  who  come  to  do  that 
for  the  Indians  what  this  company  has  neglected  to  do  ?  "  (At  the 
very  beginning  of  the  mission  he,  and  several  others  at  Vancouver, 
had  given  one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars  for  the  mission). 

As  to  furnishing  boats,  and,  in  some  instances  food,  he  said  that 
the  immigrants  had  not  come  to  Oregon  expecting  a  cordial  reception 
from  him,  but  quite  the  contrary ;  and  that  while  he  had  done  some 
things  for  humanity's  sake,  he  had  intended  to,  and  had  averted  evil 
from  the  company  by  using  courtesy  and  kindness  toward  American 
immigrants. 


55 

He  admitted  helping  immigrants  of  '43,  '44  and  '45,  with  boats,  and 
in  caring  for  their  sick;  and  had  assisted  those  of  '43  to  put  in  crops, 
as  that  would  both  furnish  them  support,  and  relieve  the  fort  of  the 
necessity  of  feeding  future  immigrants.  He  says,  "  If  we  had  not  done 
this  Vancouver  would  have  been  destroyed,  and  the  world  would  have 
justly  treated  us  as  our  inhuman  conduct  deserved;  every  officer  of 
the  company,  from  the  governor  down,  would  have  been  covered  with 
obloquy;  the  company's  business  in  this  department  would  have  been 
ruined,  and  the  trouble  which  would  have  arisen,  would  have  probably 
involved  the  British  and  Americans  in  war."  "  As  explanation  might 
give  publicity  to  my  apprehensions  and  object  and  destroy  my  mea 
sures,  I  was  silent,  in  the  full  reliance  that  some  day  justice  would  be 
done  me;  and  as  these  gentlemen  [Vavasour  and  others]  were  not 
responsible,  and  I  was,  I  took  the  liberty  of  judging  for  myself,  com 
municating  them  [his  plans]  only  to  Mr.  Douglas,  under  the  injunc 
tion  of  secrecy." 

In  these  words  lies  the  whole  explanation  of  McLoughlin's  policy. 
He  was  constantly  guarding  the  interests  of  his  company,  and  fighting 
for  as  much  room  as  possible  to  indulge  his  taste  for  doing  good. 

McLoughlin  had  a  paternal  feeling  for  the  immigrants.  Some  of 
the  Americans  were  stubborn  and  reckless  to  the  last  degree,  and 
liked  to  pull  the  mane  of  the  British  Lion.  The  better  men  were  ear 
nestly,  striving  to  establish  American  institutions  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  British,  and  by  as  much  as  a  regularly  constituted  civil  order  and 
enterprise  are  superior  to  a  semi-civilized  trapping  society,  by  so  much 
do  our  sympathies  go  with  them.  But  neither  did  spread  eagle  swag 
ger  nor  the  more  dangerous  opposition  of  the  respectable  Americans 
abate  his  vigilance  for  their  protection.  It  was  one  of  his  maxims  in 
dealing  with  the  Indians  to  send  parties  large  enough  not  to  tempt  the 
savages  to  violence.  The  American  immigrants  and  mountain  men 
constantly  disregarded  this  rule.  A  single  wagon  often  started  out 
alone  to  go  over  unknown  mountains,  through  unknown  tribes.  A 
single  man  sometimes  took  his  rifle  and  life  in  his  hand  to  hunt  and 
explore  where  he  would.  This  utter  recklessness  filled  the  Doctor 
with  solicitude,  and  he  often  said  that  they  \vould  biing  themselves 
into  difficulty.  Nevertheless  he  used  his  authority  for  their  protec 
tion,  telling  the  Indians  that  the  life  of  an  American  was  as  valuable 


56 

as  that  of  a  Canadian,  and  assuring  them  that  any  violence  offered 
them  would  be  punished.  It  is  notable  that  no  trouble  was  experienced 
with  the  Indians,  except  among  the  fierce  Shastas,  as  long  as  Mc- 
Loughlin  was  at  the  head  of  affairs.  On  two  notable  occasions  he 
used  his  influence  directly  to  quell  Indian  excitement. 

The  first  was  at  the  time  of  Whitman's  absence  to  Washington 
and  Boston,  when  it  is  certain  that  McLoughlin  knew  that  the  mis 
sionaries'  influence  would  be  used  to  bring  Oregon  into  the  Union. 
But  the  Cayuse  Indians,  restive  and  poisoned  by  suspicions,  had  taken 
advantage  of  his  absence  to  insult  Mrs.  Whitman,  and  destroy  property 
at  the  mission.  Many  of  the  up  country  Indians  were  thinking  of 
uniting  to  crush  the  Americans.  They  were  very  anxious  to  find  out 
how  the  English  would  act  in  such  an  event.  They  sent  Yellow  Ser 
pent  to  Vancouver  to  learn  the  mind  of  the  Great  Chief.  McLough 
lin  said  he  had  nothing  to  do  in  a  war  with  the  Indians  ;  he  did  not 
believe  the  Americans  designed  to  attack  them  ;  that  if  they  did  go  to 
war  with  the  Indians,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  would  not  assist 
them.  This  was  just  the  advice  needed  to  allay  the  excitement,  and 
when  Yellow  Serpent  returned  to  the  Cayuses,  they  were  ready  to 
give  up  their  warlike  plans  and  go  to  planting  their  little  fields,  as  Dr. 
Geiger,  then  in  charge  at  Wailatpu  had  advised  them. 

Dr.  White,  who  then  held  a  somewhat  indefinite  office  as  Indian 
agent  by  commission  of  the  United  States  government,  thought  it 
necessary  to  visit  the  disaffected  trioes,  as  it  was  reported  that  his 
laws,  given  before,  were  misconstrued,  and  their  purpose  misunder 
stood.  McLoughlin  advised  him  by  letter  that  it  might  be  dangerous 
for  him  in  that  region.  White  disregarded  this  advice,  and  appeared 
at  the  fort  for  supplies.  These  were  not  refused,  and  their  feeble  party 
was  reinforced  by  the  most  intrepid  Hudson's  Bay  man,  MacKay. 
McLoughlin's  course  was  calculated  to  avert  a  merciless  Indian  war, 
as  the  Cayuses  were  then  a  brave  and  powerful  people,  and  with  their 
allies  could  have  mustered  an  army  of  more  than  two  thousand  men. 

The  other  occasion  was  upon  the  murder  of  Elijah. 

A.  party  of  Indians  had  been  formed  to  go  to  California  and  buy 
cattle.  In  making  the  final  deal  a  difficulty  arose  between  the  Indians 
and  Spaniards,  and  Elijah  was  killed.  Dr.  White  reports  his  death  as 
an  atrocious  murder.  Gray  says  the  Indians  were  nothing  more  than 


57 

a  band  of  thieves.  But,  however  that  may  be,  they  were  angry  and 
defiant  at  the  loss  of  their  comrade,  and  returned  to  the  Columbia 
ready  for  the  war-path.  It  was  urged  in  councils  of  the  tribes  that 
they  raise  an  army  of  two  thousand  mounted  warriors  and  invade 
California,  sweeping  the  whole  coast. 

At  a  council  called  by  White,  McLoughlin  met  the  chiefs  and 
urged  peace,  making  a  long  and  fatherly  speech  in  which  he  recounted 
the  circumstances  of  the  murder  of  his  own  son,  on  the  northern 
coast.  The  result  of  the  council  was  pacific. 

While,  as  was  said  above,  a  policy  of  violence  or  acquiescence  in 
violence  would^  have  been  fatal  in  the  end  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany,  yet  it  was  only  the  humane  and  just  man  who  would  understand 
this,  and  avoid  brutal  force.  With  mai.v  things  on  the  part  of  the 
settlers  to  irritate  him,  looking  at  the  inevitable  decadence  of  his 
authority  in  his  little  realm  ;  and  goaded  on  the  other  hand  by  the 
taunts  and  censures  of  subalterns  and  superiors  in  his  own  company, 
Dr.  McLoughlin,  nevertheless,  stood  grandly  firm,  holding  the  shield 
between  the  Americans  and  the  arrows  of  the  red  men.  For  this,  all 
Americans  must  do  reverence  to  his  character  and  memory. 

It  will  always  be  a  matter  of  regret  that  he  was  not  left  in  peace 
ful  posession  of  his  claim  at  Oregon  City.  His  purpose  was  evidently 
simply  to  provide  himself  a  home  and  business  for  his  old  age.  For 
this  he  made  prospective  improvements,  felling  and  squaring  timber, 
and  blasting  out  a  mill  race.  He  called  the  attention  of  every  one  to 
his  work,  hoping  to  retire  upon  his  claim  without  opposition.  He 
also  made  a  generous  use  of  this  property,  giving  or  selling  the  use  of 
it  to  almost  any  one  who  wished  it.  On  the  other  hand  there  was 
much  ground  for  suspicions  on  the  part  of  the  Americans  that  he  was 
getting  it  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  be  used  as  a  political 
counter.  It  was  impossible  then  to  know  whether  he  was  acting  for 
himself,  or  by  order  of  his  company.  As  the  actual  work  of  making 
the  mill  race  and  working  the  timber  was  done  by  the  Canadians,  it 
might  be  supposed  that  it  was  the  company's  work. 

There  was  some  truth,  too,  in  the  retort  of  Lee  that  cutting  down 
the  best  timber  and  letting  it  rot  in  the  woods  was  not  much  of  an 
improvement  ;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  none  of  his  work  constituted 
a  legal  claim.  But  for  the  man  who  had  many  times  and  in  many 


58 

ways  done  much  service  for  the  Americans,  generous  treatment  in 
return  was  no  more  than  should  be  allowed.  Our  State  did  itself 
credit  in  righting  a  personal  and  political  wrong  by  restoring  to  him 
his  legal  and  political  rights.  He  died  an  American,  so  that  it  is  now 
possible  for  us  to  say  our  McLoughlin,  as  well  as  our  Whitman.  Our 
State  should  claim  the  right,  and  put  into  execution  the  suggestion  of 
the  late  well  known  Senator  Nesmith,  who  said  in  1875,  "  Dr.  John 
McLoughlin  was  a  public  benefactor,  and  the  time  will  come  when 
the  people  of  Oregon  will  do  themselves  credit  by  erecting  a  statue  to 
his  memory."  His  portrait  will  soon  look  down  from  the  walls  of  our 
capitol.  His  statue  should  stand  over  his  grave  by  the  cataract  of  the 
Willamette. 

In  forming  a  final  estimate  of  his  character  and  work,  we  must 
remember  that  he  occupied  the  pivotal  place  in  a  changing  time.  He 
was  always  actuated  by  two  motives,  neither  of  them  selfish  ;  one  of 
fidelity  to  his  company  ;  the  other  of  fidelity  to  humanity.  Where 
the  two  conflicted  he  always  obeyed  the  latter,  as  the  larger  claim.  If 
we  find  difficulty,  or  disagree,  in  referring  this  or  that  particular 
action  of  his  to  the  one  or  the  other  motive,  we  shall  probably  be 
repeating  the  same  difficulty  that  the  good  doctor  himself  felt  at  the 
time. 

He  was  torn  by  the  conflict.  In  the  latter  years  of  his  life  he  was 
regarded  as  almost  a  heart-broken  man.  His  personal  fortune  and 
fame  went  down  in  the  gulf.  To  a  great  extent  he  wore  the  thorn 
which  is  the  earthly  reward  of  benevolence.  He  was  left  by  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company,  and  was  used  as  a  political  scape-goat  by  a  part 
of  the  Americans.  His  profession  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  also 
tended  to  alienate  him  from  the  sympathies  of  a  Protestant  community. 

It  is  little  that  we,  nearly  half  a  century  after  his  death,  can  do  to 
to  add  to  his  greatness.  \Ve  might  build  him  a  monument  ;  we  can 
cherish  his  memory  ;  we  should  imitate  his  virtues.  He  lived  his 
three  score  and  ten  rugged  years.  He  bore  with  him  to  the  eternal 
silence  his  unspotted  silver  crown.  He  has  long  since  passed  beyond 
the  partisan  judgment  and  jangling  tongues  of  the  world,  to  the  final 
arbitrament  of  history,  and  the  sentence  of  God.  He  has  had  the  daily 
reward  of  a  life  spent  energetically  and  conscientiously  day  by  day, 
and  of  whatever  retribution  awaited  him  beyond  the  grave. 

But,  for  a  long  time,  loyal  Oregonians  will  look  into  their  romantic 
early  history,  resting  their  eyesight  upon  the  white-haired  Chieftain 
who  lived  by  the  imperial  Columbia,  not  far  from  the  white  mountain. 


CAF>X.    JOHN 


COUCH. 


JOHN  H,  COUCH, 


The  buiMing  up  of  a  social  and  political  frame  of  a  state  is  not  very 
much  unlike  the  building  of  a  coral  reef.  Each  individual  had  his  particular 
place  and  left  his  mark  upon  it  forever,  however  much  others  may  have  over 
lapped  and  covered  that  mark.  This  clear  process  of  state  growth  is 
nowhere  more  finely  illustrated  than  in  the  pioneer  history  of  Oregon.  Here 
the  individuals  were  comparatively  few.  The  time  was  not  hurried.  Each 
man  had  about  all  the  space  and  time  necessary  for  his  development,  and  his 
work  bears  the  unmistakable  stamp  of  his  character. 

Few  of  the  pioneers  performed  a  more  definite  work  than  Captain  John 
H.  Couch.  He  was  the  pioneer  of  Oregon  commerce.  He  was  a  native  of 
New  England,  of  the  town  of  Newburyport. 

New  England  had  a  wonderful  expulsive  power.  The  inhabitants  had 
the  old  Teutonic  prolificness,  and  the  area  of  their  stony  coasts  was,  within  a 
few  generations,  too  small  for  their  numbers.  Instead  of  being  cramped  or 
stunted  by  their  narrow  confines,  or  starved  by  their  poor  soil,  they  spread 
their  limbs  and  laid  the  world  tributary  to  their  enterprise.  The  young  New 
Englanders,  as  if  repeating  the  miracle  of  our  Lord,  took  tribute  from  the 
mouths  of  the  fishes.  The  banks  of  Newfoundland  were  dotted  with  the 
schooners  of  the  cod  fishers.  In  the  northern  seas,  studded  with  the  floating 
mountains  of  ice,  and  also  a  long  way  below  Cape  Horn,  American  dare 
devils  chased  the  whales.  New  England  pine  floated  on  every  sea.  Gray, 
Kendrick,  the  Metcalfs,  Ingraham,  Crowell,  Roberts,  Magee  and  others 
of  the  water  dogs  of  the  post-Revolutionary  times,  who,  with  their  successors 
a  few  years  later,  took  a  hand  in  driving  English  bunting  from  the  waves, 
were  among  the  earliest  to  carry  American  commerce  in  to  the  Northern 
Pacific.  We  boast  of  the  enterprise  of  America  at  the  present  time.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  America  is  doing  anything  now  which  exceeds  the  daring 
energy  that  characterized  her  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 

New  England  will  be  remembered  in  history  mainly  by  the  intellectual 
lights  that  burned  on  her  shores.  Bryant,  Hawthorne,  Emerson,  Webster, 
Sumner  and  the  other  geniuses  who  wielded  the  pen,  or  shook  the  nation 


b'O  JOHN  H.   COUCH. 

with  their  oratory,  will  be  known  as  the  early  New  England  of  American 
Independence.  But  the  students  and  statesmen  had  brothers  who  supplied 
the  codfish  for  their  morning  meals,  and  the  whale-oil  for  their  nightly  vigils, 
and  the  brawn  and  muscle  which  executed  their  plans  and  schemes.  New 
England  had  the  arms  with  which  to  do,  as  well  as  the  mind  with  which  to 
think.  Couch  was  a  typical  New  Englander  of  the  executive  kind.  But  he 
was  very  closely  connected  with  the  literary  and  political  spirit  of  the  times. 
He  went  west  to  help  found  a  state.  The  celebrated  Caleb  Gushing,  the  son 
of  his  employer,  went  across  the  Atlantic  to  persue  belles-lettres,  literature, 
and  prepare  for  politics.  The  two  boys  doubtless  were  much  together  and 
knew  much  of  each  others'  hopes  and  ambitions. 

John  Gushing  the  father  of  Galeb,  was  a  wealthy  ship  owner  of  New- 
burysport.  He  conceived  the  plan  of  establishing  commerce  in  the  Northern 
Pacific.  Since  the  failure  of  American  fur  trade  on  this  coast,  our  commerce 
here  had  very  greatly  declined,  and  this  was  an  effort  to  revive  it.  Wyeth's 
unsuccessful  ventures  in  the  salmon  business,  the  numerous  failures  of  Kelly 
and  others ;  were  giving  to  the  Columbia  a  bad  reputation,  but  our  broad 
river  looked  so  inviting  on  the  map  that  the  imaginative,  though  clear-headed 
shippers  of  the  Atlantic  could  not  quite  give  it  up. 

John  Gushing  equipped  the  brig  Maryland  in  the  year  1839.  It  was  to 
sail  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  the  Columbia.  After  selling  out  the  part 
of  the  cargo  brought  to  the  river,  it  was  to  load  with  salmon,  sailing  to  the 
Islands  to  dispose  of  the  fish,  and  loading  with  oil  to  return  East.  It  was  as 
good  a  plan  as  that  of  Astor,  and  it  was  hard  to  see  why  the  profits  might 
not  double  each  time  the  cargo  was  changed. 

The  ship  and  enterprise  were  given  into  the  hands  of  John  H.  Couch, 
then  a  man  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  He  took  a  share  in  the  business,  lay 
ing  himself  liable  to  the  loss  a«  well  as  the  gains  of  the  expedition.  He  had 
been  married  a  few  years,  his  bride  being  Caroline  Flanders,  sister  of  George 
H.  Flanders.  Mrs.  Couch  was  a  woman  whom  Portlanders  will  long  remem 
ber,  alike  for  the  worth  of  her  character,  and  her  personal  attractiveness, 
which  never  declined  even  in  age. 

Couch  had  been  a  sailor  since  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  having  been  em 
ployed  by  Bartlett,  of  Newburyport,  in  the  East  India  trade. 

Without  further  adventure  than  is  common  on  shipboard,  where  a  captain 
is  a  little  king  over  a  very  turbulent  realm,  often  being  obliged  to  shift  to 
every  wind  that  blows,  both  on  the  sea  and  in  the  forecastle,  the  Maryland 
made  the  run  around  the  Horn  and  up  to  the  Islands.  It  i-;  probable,  how- 


JOHN  H.  COUCH.  61 

ever,  that  Couch  had  no  difficulty  among  his  men,  as  his  character  was  reso 
lute,  and  his  manner  genial  and  kindly.  The  name  of  his  mate  was  Green 
Johnson. 

The  brig  was  off  the  bar  of  the  Columbia  during  the  solstitial  freshet  of 
1840.  The  captain,  having  little  to  judge  by  excepting  the  looks  of  the 
waters,  took  the  wheel  and  drove  through  the  breakers  with  as  great  success 
and  as  much  intrepidity  as  any  previous  navigator.  As  the  river  was  high  he 
ran  up  as  far  as  possible,  in  fact  reaching  Oregon  City,  where  he  expected 
to  sell  out  his  goods  and  take  on  salrr  on. 

In  a  file  of  The  Spectator,  dated  December  24,  1846,  we  find  an  article 
which  endeavors  to  prove  the  practicability  of  the  Columbia  as  a  highway  of 
commerce,  and  cited  the  experience  of  Couch  in  the  following  language  : 
"In  the  years  1840,  Captain  Couch,  in  command  of  the  brig  Maryland, 
brought  that  vessel  not  only  into  the  Willamette,  but  to  Oregon  City.  This 
was  achieved,  too,  be  it  understood,  previously  to  Captain  Wilkes'  exploration, 
without  a  chart  of  tl  e  Columbia,  much  less  of  the  Willamette — judgment  was 
his  chart,  and  experience  his  pilot,  and  making  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in 
the  evening  he  entered  next  morning  without  having  been  subjected  to  any 
delay.  Since  that  he  has  gone  out  of  and  entered  the  river  several  times 
as  commander  of  vessels,  and  all  of  his  trips  have  been  of  essential  service  in 
illustrating  the  practicability  of  commercial  communication  by  the  Colum 
bia" — and,  we  may  add,  of  Couch's  bravery  and  sagacity.  Another  writer  in 
the  same  paper  asserts  that  Couch  lost  two  anchors  on  the  Middle  Sands  in 
1840.  If  this  be  true,  it  would  show  the  ability  of  the  captain  in  extricating 
himself  from  a  dangerous  situation. 

The  enterprise  in  the  Maryland  was  a  business  failure.  All  the  trade 
of  the  country  at  that  time  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
and  their  opposition  was  so  great  as  to  break  up  the  fishing  scheme  com 
pletely.  It  was  probably  impossible  to  get  the  Indians  to  fish  for  any  one 
except  the  Company,  as  in  the  case  of  Wyeth.  Soon  after  reaching  Oregon 
City,  Couch  was  informed  that  the  river  would  probably  soon  fall  so  that  he 
could  not  take  his  vessel  past  the  shoals  below.  He  accordingly  dropped 
down  to  the  present  site  of  Portland.  The  Maryland  returning  empty  to 
the  Islands  was  sold,  and  Couch  went  home  in  a  whaler. 

Although  the  Maryland  had  brought  no  great  profits,  John  Gushing 
still  believed  that  a  trade  with  the  Columbia  might  be  established.  He 
therefore  built  th'j  brig  Chenamus,  No  doubt  it  was  largely  due  to  the 


62  JOHN  H.  COUCH. 

advice  and  accounts  of  Couch  that  the  new  brig  was  equipped  for  the  voyage. 
Chenamus — having  the  same  root  as  many  other  Indian  names  not  far  from 
the  Columbia — e.  g. — Chehalem,  Chekalis,  Chinook — and  being  the  name  of 
an  Indian  chief  near  Astoria,  would  appear  to  be  an  Oregon  Indian  word 
taken  back  by  Couch  and  bestowed  by  him  upon  Cushing's  btig.  However 
that  may  be,  Captain  Couch  was  entrusted  with  the  Chenamus,  to  make  the 
voyage  once  more.  Gushing  evidently  believed  that  the  captain's  experience 
would  ensure  the  success  of  the  undertaking. 

The  Chenamus  sailed,  Sept.  16,  1843.  Dr.  Wm.  Bailey  and  his  wife, 
Mr.  Gushing  and  Henry  Johnson  came  as  passengers.  Stephen  Goodwin, 
Jeremiah  Jones  and  Daniel  Lunt  were  the  mates.  They  reached  the  Sand 
wich  Islands  near  the  end  of  February,  the  next  year,  and  lying  by  until 
April,  finished  the  voyage  to  the  Columbia  in  twenty  days.  They  anchored 
off  Fort  George,  April  24,  1844.  There  they  found  the  bark  Columbia,  and 
proceeded  up  the  river  in  company  with  her. 

The  Chenamus  was  not  taken  above  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette,  but 
the  goods  were  transferred  by  boat  to  Oregon  City.  Couch's  former  expe 
rience  had  convinced  him  that  there  was  no  profit  in  attempting  to  barter 
with  the  Indians,  as  they  had  all  their  articles  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany.  To  sell  to  the  whites  it  was  necessary  that  he  take  time.  Fort  Van 
couver  and  other  Hudson's  Bay  stations  were  the  center  of  what  little  trade 
there  was  in  the  valley,  for  the  Americans,  as  well  as  for  the  English  and 
Indians.  At  this  time  many  of  the  settlers  were  in  debt  to  the  company. 
Dr.  McLoughlin  had  been  very  liberal  to  the  settlers  allowing  them  grain 
and  goods,  telling  them  to  pay  when  they  were  able.  This  policy  was  due 
both  to  his  humanity  and  business  sagacity.  If  any  one  were  to  compete 
with  him  it  was  necessary  to  follow  a  method  not  less  liberal.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  attract  cnstomers,  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  people  and  let  his 
business  be  known  ;  and  also  to  collect  bills  due,  but  which  were  allowed  to 
run,  Couch  remained  behind  and  opened  a  place  of  business.  This  was  a 
regular  Yankee  store,  full  of  the  dry  goods  and  notions  of  "  the  States,"  and 
doubtless  a  lounging  place  and  news  corner ;  full  of  American  freedom  and 
easiness  and  equality  and  politics.  The  market-place,  the  agora,  tbe 
"gates,  "the  corner-grocery,  have  in  all  ages  and  times  been  the  center  of 
public  discussion  and  information.  The  American  store  has  been  one  of  the 
chief  factors  of  education  in  our  nation.  It  rivals  the  jury,  the  school,  the 
Stump,  the  sewing  society  and  the  church,  and  is  especially  adapted  to  the 


JOHN  H.   COUCH.  63 

genius  of  our  people.  It  is  democratic  in  its  tendencies  and  loved  by  men 
on  account  of  its  informality.  Any  one  who  has  the  gift  may  make  a 
harangue,  and  any  one  who  has  the  skill  and  boldness  may  interrupt  him, 
and  the  audience  may  come  and  go  at  pleasure.  While  the  patron  of  the 
dry  goods  box  or  nail  keg  no  more  than  the  gownsman  or  even  the  sitter 
on  the  wool  sack,  may  not  therefore  be  fitted  for  the  duties  of  life,  he  has 
at  least  the  basis  of  a  political  education.  It  is  certainly  to  the  honor  of 
Captain  Couch  that  he  established  this  American  institution  in  Oregon.  It 
was  a  sign  that  the  older,  more  rigid,  more  aristocratic  institutions  of  the 
British  were  soon  to  pass  away. 

It  is  evident  that  Couch  grasped  the  business  situation.  The  only  pos 
sible  vantage  ground  from  which  he  could  meet  the  Hudson's  Bay  monopoly 
was  to  become,  for  the  time  at  least,  one  among  the  settlers  of  Oregon.  No 
distant  long-armed  cumbrous  machinery  worked  from  the  Atlantic,  could 
win  the  trade  of  the  settlers  in  Oregon.  It  had  to  be  the  American  store 
with  its  racy  wit,  good-fellowship,  and  romantic  stories,  as  well  as  good  gro 
ceries  and  dry  goods,  that  presented  an  attractive  face  and  warmed  the  hearts 
of  homesick  Americans.  This  alone  would  counteract  the  close,  rigid,  cal 
culating  system  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  whose  post  the  purchasers 
must  present  their  requisitions  at  a  little  narrow  window  through  which  the 
goods  were  handed  quickly  and  decorously,  and  the  space  vacated  to  make 
room  for  the  next. 

During  this  time,  coming  in  contact  with  the  settlers  and  having  oppor 
tunity  to  study  the  climate  and  resources  of  the  country,  Couch  became  con 
vinced  of  the  value  of  Oregon  as  a  place  of  residence.  He  was  a  commercial 
man.  He  looked  to  the  commercial  prospects  of  Oregon.  Linn  was  pushing 
his  bill  to  give  640  acres  of  land  to  every  actual  settler,  and  Benton  was  agi 
tating  for  the  Americans'  right  of  way  across  America.  All  the  American 
settlers  here  were  locating  claims  on  the  strength  of  these  efforts,  fully  believ 
ing,  as  the  sequel  proved,  that  if  Oregon  went  to  the  United  States  this  bill 
would  become  a  law.  The  most  of  them  were  naturally  flocking  to  the 
prairie  lands  of  the  Tualatin,  |Yamhill,  Santiam,  and  other  streams,  where 
the  wide  fields  were  ready  for  their  herds  and  plows.  Couch,  however,  bent 
on  opening  up  commerce,  sought  a  place  on  the  river.  He  had  a  city  in 
view.  We  cannot  ascribe  it  to  accident  that  he  selected  his  square  mile  of 
land  at  the  point  where  Portland  now  stands.  Yet  it  shows  rare  penetration 
that  this  spot  was  chosen.  It  would  puzzle  a  man  of  fifty  years  ago  to  know 


64  JOHN  H     COUCH. 

what  point  of  the  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  sea  on  each  shore  of  the 
Columbia,  and  up  the  Willamette,  would  ultimately  most  commend  itself 
to  the  business  of  the  country.  To  the  casual  observer  the  site  of  Portland 
was  as  ineligible  as  any.  It  was  a  dense  forest  of  fir  and  cedar.  The  slope 
from  the  crown  of  hills  which  now  seems  so  perfect,  was  then  broken  up  by 
ravines  and  ridges.  The  woods  on  both  sides  of  the  river  were  close  and 
gloomy.  Wagon  roads  to  the  settlements  on  the  Tualatin  must  be  over  a 
rugged  and  difficult  range  of  hills,  through  a  forest  twelve  miles  across.  To 
one  who  knows  how  soon  a  road  through  the  deep  woods  in  our  climate, 
collects  the  water,  and  scarcely  ever  lets  the  sun  or  wind  take  it  out,  but 
becomes  a  mere  series  of  mire-holes,  netted  with  roots,  this  is  no  slight 
objection.  The  few  settlers  along  the  Lower  Willamette  were  looked  upon 
with  pity  by  the  favored  inhabitants  of  the  sunny  fields  of  the  central  valley, 
as  hopelessly  buried  in  the  continuous  woods.  Couch's  claimed  looked  un 
usually  hopeless  even  for  that  dark  shore.  It  was  largely  a  boggy  lake. 

Couch,  however,  must  have  looked  through  all  these  proximate  objec 
tions,  to  the  real  value  of  his  claim.  It  may  be  that  his  experience  with  the 
Maryland,  when  he  slipped  her  down  from  Oregon  City  to  the  present  site 
of  Portland,  to  avoid  being  caught  above  the  shoals  when  the  river  fell, 
opened  his  eyes  to  consider  what  was  the  true  head  of  ship  navigation  on  the 
Willamette.  He  had  learned  enough  of  commerce  to  know  that  people  will 
carry  their  goods  by  water  as  far  as  they  can.  He  had  learned  enough  of 
Oregon  to  know  that  the  most  populous  settlements  would  be  on  the  Tualatin 
Plains,  and  south  of  the  falls  of  the  Willamette.  The  point  nearest  these  set 
tlements,  conveniently  reached  by  sea-going  craft,  must  become  the  point  of 
supply  to  them.  To  his  mind,  Portland,  most  nearly  fulfilled  these  condi 
tions,  and  history  has  justified  his  conclusion.  Whatever  subsidiary  consid 
erations  may  have  helped  determine  his  judgment,  we  may  be  certain  that  he 
was  among  the  first  to  understand  the  force  of  the  foregoing  reasoning.  To 
us,  familiar  with  the  history  of  Portland,  it  seems  almost  trite.  To  him,  it 
vras  new  and  original.  We  can  see  what  has  made  Portland.  He  could 
see  what  would  make  it. 

Having  decided  where  to  grip,  Couch  seized  his  square  mile  and  kept 
his  hold  to  the  last.  In  1847,  he  undertook  another  commercial  enterprise, 
returning  to  his  home  in  Newburyport.  He  went  on  the  bark  Toulon,  a 
craft  famous  in  our  early  history,  which  carried  him  to  the  Island  of  Manila. 
There  he  took  passage  on  the  ship  Minstrel,  and  arrived  at  Boston,  on  the 


JOHN  H.   COUCH.  65 

236  of  August,  1848,  having  been  absent  from  Newburyport  nearly  five 
years. 

Soon  after  his  return,  in  company  with  Sherman  and  Stark,  of  New 
York,  and  George  H.  Flanders,  who,  for  a  number  of  years  had  been  master 
of  a  vessel  for  John  and  Caleb  Gushing,  he  bought  the  bark  Madonna,  and 
loaded  her  with  a  miscellaneous  cargo,  for  San  Francisco  and  the  Columbia. 
They  sailed  on  the  iQth  of  January,  1849.  They  were  in  the  nick  of  time. 
They  reached  San  Francisco  during  the  gold  excitement,  and  sold  their  goods 
for  almost  fabulous  prices ;  what  lumber  they  had,  going  for  $600  per 
thousand. 

San  Francisco,  however,  did  not  lure  the  captain  away  from  his  home  in 
Oregon,  and  he  with  his  partners,  sailed  for  Portland,  July  28.  A  number 
of  passengers  came  up  with  them  ;  among  others,  the  well  known  old  timers, 
Ben  Stark,  W.  S.  Ogden  and  W.  H.  Bennett.  He  bought  back  the  half 
of  his  claim  which  he  had  sold  to  Backenstos,  while  Flanders  ran  the  Ma 
donna  to  and  from  San  Francisco. 

Captain  Couch  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  active  business  opera 
tions,  becoming  one  of  Portland's  representative  men.  He  had  a  just  pride 
in  his  city,  and  furnished  much  of  the  sagacity  and  energy  which  has  made 
the  place.  He  was  in  partnership  at  different  times  with  some  of  the  early 
Portlanders,  Stark,  being  one  of  them.  Early  in  the  fifties,  he,  with  Flan 
ders,  built  the  wharf  long  known  by  their  names. 

Death  overtook  him,  in  January  of  1870,  laying  to  rest  his  active  and 
powerful  mind  and  body.  His  ready  courtesy,  his  jovial  humor,  his  masculine 
vigor,  live  in  the  silent  halls  among  the  pictures  and  memories  of  the  past. 
Oregon  is  getting  a  history.  It  has  its  heroes,  men  of  renown.  Couch  stands 
clearly  among  them.  lie  was  the  father  of  our  commerce,  and  a  builder  of 
our  city. 

Ambng  the  offices  of  trust  held  by  Captain  Couch,  was  that  of  territorial 
treasurer  under  Abernethy,  and  U.  S.  Inspector  of  Hulls,  the  latter  of  which 
he  held  until  his  death.  He  was  also  at  one  time  a  director  of  Oregon's  first 
newspaper,  the  Spectator. 

His  children  were,  Mrs.  R.  B.  Wilson,  Mrs.  C.  H.  Lewis,  Mrs.  R. 
Glisan  and  Miss  Mary  H.  Couch.  He  was  a  life-long  Mason. 


HORACE  LYMAN, 


The  land  of  Oregon,  by  the  sunset  sea,  had  attractions  for  all  kinds  of 
people.  Merchant,  politician,  adventurer,  sailor,  trapper,  hunter,  settler, 
patriot  and  humanitarian,  each  saw  something  to  justify  his  journey  over  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  or  voyage  around  the  Horn. 

None  the  less  did  the  missionary  feel  the  impulse  and  see  the  necessity 
of  his  work  in  that  almost  inaccessible  land. 

The  missionary  is  necessarily  an  idealist,  and  the  basis  of  his  activity  is 
faith.  Faith  in  God  and  in  the  value  of  His  revelation  is  his  primary  confi 
dence,  but  there  must  necessarily  come  a  corresponding  faith  and  hope  for 
men.  The  apostles  looked  across  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  Old  World  and 
saw  a  new  earth.  Every  missionary  goes  into  a  dark  region  with  the  expec 
tation  of  working  definite  changes.  He  looks  upon  himself  as  entrusted  with 
necessary  truth  which  is  life-giving  and  transforming  in  its  nature.  He 
looks  for  results  which  he  considers  himself,  unaided,  incompetent  to  effect, 
but  which  he  believes  the  facts  that  he  declares  are  able  to  consummate.  Im 
pelled  by  their  belief  in  the  good  news  that  Jesus  proclaimed  to  the  world, 
and  by  a  desire  to  lead  the  world  to  a  similar  belief,  the  missionaries  of  all 
ages  have  been  those  who  look  for  a  new  earth,  as  well  as  a  new  heaven. 
They  think  the  main  value  of  what  the  world  is,  lies  in  the  fact,  that  it  may, 
and  will,  become  a  better  world. 

Missionaries  were  among  the  first  to  occupy  Oregon.  Lee,  Shepherd, 
Whitman  and  their  associates  had  crossed  the  mountains  to  convert  and 
reform  the  Indians.  The  mission  at  Salem  had  ceased  because  the  Indians 
had  ceased  to  exist  there.  The  missions  at  Wailatpu,  Lapwai  and  Tsimakain 
had  been  violently  terminated  by  massacre  and  war,  and  were  supplanted  by 
the  Catholics.  This  was  in  1847.  Oregon  was  then  United  States  territory. 
The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  who  had  sup 
ported  Whitman,  Spaulding,  Walker  and  Gray,  now' quit  the  field.  ut  the 
Christian  churches  of  America  did  not  propose  to  abandon  it.  The  Congre 
gational  churches  used  the  Home  Missionary  Society  as  their  organ  to  con 
tinue  this  work.  Rev.  Q.  H.  Atkinson,  was  their  first  missionary.  Tie 


HORACE  LYMAN.  67 

sailed  in  1848,  going  on  a  merchant  ship  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  hoping 
to  find  a  vessel  there  for  the  Columbia.  Before  starting,  he  was  asked  to 
find  an  associate  so  as  to  go  forth  "two  and  two,"  the  wisdom  of  the  early 
brotherhood  availing  also  for  the  later.  He  selected  Horace  Lyman. 

Horace  Lyman,  was  born,  Nov.  16,  1815,  on  a  farm  in  the  town  of  East 
Hampton,  Massachusetts.  His  family  belonged  to  the  independent  country 
people,  who  did  their  own  work,  and  asked  favors  of  nobody.  The  first  one 
of  the  family,  Richard  Lyman,  came  from  England  as  early  as  1637,  and  set 
tled  in  Connecticnt.  During  the  Indian  wars  and  the  Revolution  the  Lymans 
bore  their  part,  and  increased  and  multiplied  with  the  vigor  characteristic  of 
early  New  Englanders. 

Horace  Lyman  was  one  of  six  sons,  having  also  one  sister.  He  worked 
on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was  twenty-one,  having  the  advantage  of  the  public 
school,  and  also  spending  a  few  winters  in  teaching,  at  fourteen  dollars  a 
month  and  board.  After  attaining  his  majority,  stimulated  largely  by  the 
desire  of  his  mother,  he  determined  to  prepare  for  college  and  theological 
seminary.  He  pursued  his  preparatory  studies  with  his  brother  Addison, 
who  was  then  in  college.  Of  the  six  brothers  three  chose  farming,  and  three 
preaching.  This  brother  Addison,  chose  a  field  in  Illinois,  and  finally  in 
Iowa.  It  was  his  favorite  scheme  to  seek  out  a  good  land  in  the  West  and 
establish  a  Lyman  colony — a  dream  that  has  never  been  realized.  Another 
brother,  Josiah,  was  also  an  idealist,  his  vein  running  in  the  direction  of  in 
vention.  He  produced  an  instrument  for  surveying  which  he  called  a  trigo- 
nometer.  It  received  commendation  from  many  learned  men,  both  in  Eng 
land  and  America,  before  the  war ;  and  in  such  papers  as  the  Scientific 
American  more  recently.  But  it  has  never  come  into  general  use,  or  been  of 
any  financial  value  to  the  inventor. 

Horace  Lyman  entered  Williams  College  in  1838,  graduating  in  1842. 
This  college  is  picturesquely  situated  among  the  Berkshire  hills  of  west 
ern  Massachusetts.  It'  looks  upon  the  romantic  hills  culminating  in 
Graylock,  and  the  winding  valley  of  the  Housatonic.  It  was  founded  by 
Col.  Williams,  famous  in  the  French  and  Indian  war.  It  was  here  that  the 
poet  Bryant  -came  from  stony  Cu  mington  to  pursue  his  collegiate  studies. 
Its  alumni  embrace  many  eminent  names,  David  Dudley  Field,  President 
Garfield  and  others.  When  Lyman  entered  college,  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins  had 
not  long  since  been  called  to  the  presidency.  He  was  a  young  man  not  forty, 
but  was  even  then  possessed  of  that  wonderful  magnetism  and  vigor  which 


DO  HORACE  LYMAN. 

still  distinguish  him  as  an  octogenarian.  He  has  justly  been  called  "one  of 
the  profoundest  thinkers  of  America."  His  personal  influence  upon  the 
students  of  his  classes  was  remarkable,  and  all  of  them  have  regarded 
him  as  an  ideal  thinker  and  teacher.  To  Lyman,  he  was  a  mental  and  moral 
father  and  artificer.  He  disclosed  to  him  the  rational  grounds  upon  which 
the  hopes  and  faith  of  his  life  rested.  In  all  of  his  subsequent  thinking,  Prof. 
Lyman  followed  Hopkin's  method  of  reasoning — basing  his  calculations  upon 
common  sense  and  common  history,  and  valuing  all  theories  by  what  they 
were  able  to  accomplish.  What  worked  well  and  made  people  better  had  to 
his  mind  sufficient  proof  of  its  practical  truth. 

Those  were  lively  times.  Many  great  ideas  were  working  out  in  the 
world.  New  England  was  just  rousing  itself  for  the  struggle  of  supremacy 
in  the  nation  ;  Webster  was  rising  as  •  the  brightest  star ;  Sumner  was  not 
yet  in  public  life,  but  growing  ;  the  cries  of  the  abolitionists  were  beginning 
to  be  heard  for  tl.e  extinction  of  slavery  in  all  the  borders  of  America.  It 
was  the  era  following  what  has  been  known  in  religious  history  as  "  the  great 
awakening,"  when  Nettleton  and  his  compeers  aroused  all  New  England  to  a 
higher  life.  The  boys  and  girls  in  their  teens  converted  under  him  were  now 
coming  into  active  life,  and  must  make  old  abuses  break  away  under  a  more 
enlightened  conscience.  The  great  missionary  activities  had  but  recently 
sprung  into  existence.  It  was  at  this  very  Williams  College,  that  Samuel  J. 
Mills  with  Samuel  Newell  and  Judson  and  Samuel  Rice,  prayed,  behind  a 
haystack,  for  some  way  of  converting  the  heathen  world,  and  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  was  organized.  Sandwich 
Islands,  Burmah,  Ceylon,  Turkey,  Madagascar  and  continental  Africa  were 
rousing  from  their  long  sleep.  Little  New  England,  rich  in  nothing  but 
hardy  and  enthusiastic  man,  was  sending  out  missionaries  close  behind  her 
whalers  and  trappers.  An  active  man,  in  the  very  center  of  all  these  ideas 
and  endeavors,  could  not  but  be  infected  with  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

After  leaving  Williams,  Lyman  studied  at  Auburn,  Hartford  and  An- 
dover  theological  seminaries,  graduating  at  the  latter  in  1847.  He  made  the 
acquaintance,  and  came  under  the  influence  of  such  men  as  Hickock,  Woodsr 
Park,  Phelps  and  others  of  the  more  distinguished  Congregational  clergy. 

It  was  at  Andover  that  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Rev.  G.  H.  Atkin 
son.  He  was  preaching  in  Connecticut  when  Mr.  Atkinson  come  to  get 
him  to  go  Oregon.  After  thinking  it  over  he  concluded  to  do  so  if  he  could 


HORACE  LYMAN. 

get  a  college  debt  of  two  hundred  dollars  paid,  and  have  time  to  make  other 
preparations.     A  relative  of  Mr.  Atkinson's  paid  the  debt. 

To  prepare  himself  fully  for  pioneer  life  he  wished  to  take  a  course  of 
medical  lectures.  He  went  to  Castleton,  Vermont,  where  there  was  a  medi 
cal  college  under  Dr.  Perkins.  It  was  here  that  he  met  Miss  Mary  Denison, 
of  an  old  Puritan  family,  the  American  branch  of  which  began  with  one 
Denison,  a  soldier  of  Crorr  well  who  was  wounded  in  Ireland,  and  upon  re 
covery  married  a  French  woman  who  took  care  of  him  during  his  illness. 

Ordained  and  married  Nov.  I,  1848,  Lyman  left  New  York  Nov.  i6th 
of  the  same  year.  He  felt  that  he  was  in  the  direct  line  of  the  Master's  com 
mand  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel,  and  that  missionary  impulse  was  un 
doubtedly  the  initial  point  of  his  activity.  Yet  he  went  also  with  much  of 
the  spirit  of  the  patriot  and  student.  While  both  he  and  his  wife  were  mak 
ing  a  grievous  separation  from  home  and  friends,  and  plunging  into  a  world 
of  hard  work  and  privations,  it  was  not  wholly  with  pain  that  they  began  on 
their  voyage  of  eighteen  thousand  miles  around  the  Horn.  They  had  brave 
hearts  and  active  minds,  and  took  a  vast  interest  in  all  that  was  to  be  seen 
and  experienced.  They  were  on  a  staunch  vessel,  the  bark  Whitton,  and 
Captain  Ghelston  was  a  man  of  education  and  refinement.  He  had  been 
with  his  bark  to  the  Columbia  and  California,  and  now  had  with  him  as 
specimens  of  the  western  world,  a  suppply  of  Oregon  flour,  and  a  Spanish 
Cabin  boy,  II  de  Fonso,  from  California.  Among  the  passengers  was  a  Mrs. 
Hyde,  an  Irish  woman  going  to  meet  her  Scotch  husband,  in  Alcalde  on  San 
Francisco  Bay.  Mr.  Lyman  inadvertently  offended  her  tbe  first  Sabbath  out 
by  tendering  a  tract  directed  against  the  evils  of  Romanism.  She  was  a 
Catholic  ;  a  fact  of  which  he  was  ignorant,  as  well  as  of  the  contents  of  the 
tract.  The  two  ladies,  however,  soon  became  the  closest  of  friends,  and 
Mr.  Lyman  contrived  to  make  up  by  teaching  Mrs.  Hyde's  little  boy,  Barry, 
how  to  read.  They  had  religious  services  on  shipboard  during  the  entire 
voyage,  which  were  attended  by  the  most  of  the  passengers  and  crew. 

A  journal  was  kept,  noting  longitude,   latitude,  temperature  of  air  and 

water,  and  incidents  of  sailing,  as  well  as  interior  feelings.     All  the  wonders 

of  the   sea,  fishes,  birds,   weeds,    winds  and  storm,  were  studied    with  the 

.  delight  of  educated  people.     The  beautiful  white  albatross,  among  the  many 

sea-birds,  was  the  most  friendly  and  welcome. 

The  steward  was  an  old  half-blind  Frenchman,  once  a  soldier  of  the 
first  Napoleon.     He  was  the  best  of  friends  with  Mrs.  Lyman,  sometimes 


7(»  1IORACK    LYMAN. 

inviting  her  into  the  galley,  privately,  where  he  taxed  his  ingenuity  to  con 
jure  up  palatable  dishes. 

They  also  had  a  humorous  first  mate,  Mr.  Montgomery,  a  long,  lean 
down-easter,  with  a  nasal  voice  and  a  tyrannical  disposition.  He  spent  his 
time  tormenting  II  de  Fonso  and  the  passengers.  Mrs.  Hyde  sometimes 
came  to  the  rescue  of  the  boy  with  a  Hibernian  blaze  of  indignation.  The 
passengers  occasionally  mutinied,  especially  as  they  were  weathering  Cape 
Horn,  and  the  mate  nearly  allowed  the  bark  to  lose  her  fore-mast  in  a  squall, 
apparently  merely  to  frighten  a  timid  passenger  who  was  walking  the  deck 
and  advising  him  to  shorten  sail. 

Below  the  equator  they  spent  the  warm  evenings  studying  the  southern 
constellations,  using  a  celestial  atlas  that  they  brought  along  for  the  purpose. 

It  was  on  the  coast  of  Chili  that  a  sailor,  Birkholm,  long  sick,  died  and 
was  buried  in  the  sea.  He  was  a  gentle  Christian  man,  whom  they  all  loved, 
and  to  whom  they  had  read  and  sung,  with  whom  they  had  prayed. 

This  six  months  on  the  water,  like  the  six  months  on  the  Plains  to  other 
immigrants,  formed  a  curious  and  romantic  interim  between  their  life  on  the 
Atlantic  and  their  life  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  was  more  or  less  tedious, 
more  or  less  lonesome,  and  not  without  its  hardships,  but  left  some  of  the 
most  vivid  impressions  of  their  lives. 

They  arrived  at  Golden  Gate,  in  the  early  part  of  April,  1847.  This 
was  when  the  discovery  of  gold  had  been  made.  They  had  had  some  inti 
mations  of  the  great  excitement  from  meeting  with  whalers  on  the  down 
trip.  Captain  Ghelston  was  in  the  best  of  luck,  since  his  cargo,  largely  his 
own  property,  of  shovels  and  pans,  was  almost  worth  its  weight  in  gold 
dust. 

The  missionaries  were  strongly  urged  by  friends  whom  they  met  in  San 
Francisco  and  San  Jose,  not  to  think  of  going  on  to  Oregon.  They  repre 
sented  that  the  discovery  of  gold  was  drawing  all  the  whites  on  the  coast  to 
California  ;  and  the  outlying  regions,  such  as  Oregon,  would  soon  be  left 
solely  to  the  aborigines.  The  climate  of  Oregon  was  described  as  dismal, 
and  the  scenery  gloomy.  Mr.  Lyman  was  so  far  moved  by  these  considera 
tions  as  to  wait  until  he  could  hear  from  Mr.  Atkinson,  and  the  missionary 
board.  They  urged  him  to  go  on,  the  latter  not  wishing  to  change  his  com* 
mission  ;  and  the  former  expressing  the  opinion  that  Oregon,  as  well  a*  Cal 
ifornia,  had  a  future.  They  sailed  in  the  bark  Toulon,  the  first  of  September, 
and  after  a  tedious  voyage  of  six  weeks  anchored  within  the  Columbia  bar. 


HORACE  LYMAN.  71 

It  was  a  year  of  great  tires  and,  perhaps,  volcanic  eruption.  The  sea  was 
dense  with  smoke  as  they  approached  the  shore.  It  was  a  time  of  calms,  the 
Toulon  lying  and  rolling  on  the  swells  ;  one  morning  in  the  fog  and  mist, 
nearly  rolling  on  to  North  Beach,  above  Cape  Hancock.  In  crossing  the 
bar  with  a  light  wind,  they  were  left  in  the  lurch  when  about  half  over  by 
the  wind  failing,  and  had  to  lie  at  anchor  in  a  position  safe,  only,  on  account 
of  the  calm,  and  kedge  in  next  morning.  It  was  well  enough  they  got  in  ; 
they  had  only  one  barrel  of  water  left,  and  half-a-dozen  of  the  seventy-five 
passengers  had  died  already,  many  of  them  being  sick  of  fevers  contracted  in 
the  mines.  The  most  of  the  passengers  were  Oregonians  returning  home 
from  the  gold  diggings.  Among  them  was  W.  H.  Gray. 

Mr.  Lyman  was  scarcely  ashore  before  he  developed  the  feelings  which 
made  him  an  Oregonian  ever  after.  There  was  something  congenial  about 
the  climate,  scenery,  soil,  and  probabilities  of  the  country  which  attracted 
him  far  more  than  the  feverish  activity  of  California.  His  natural  tenacity  of 
purpose,  moreover,  having  once  been  fixed  upon  Oregon,  found  its  satisfaction 
in  nothing  else.  His  journal  shows  a  careful  study  of  the  Columbia  bar,  a 
comparison  drawn  between  it  and  New  York  harbor ;  a  study  and  examina 
tion  of  the  timber  and  soil  of  the  hills,  and  some  forecast  of  the  probable 
development  of  the  state. 

At  Astoria,  while  lodged  in  the  old  Shark  House,  which  was  built  on 
the  stones  of  the  beach,  and  in  which  the  wood  rats  contested  with  the  guests 
for  the  priority,  Gen.  Adair,  but  recently  appointed  to  the  collectorship, 
sought  out  the  missionaries  and  took  them  to  his  own  home.  They  never 
forgot  the  Christian  kindness  of  the  general  and  his  family,  widely  as  they 
were  separated  by  the  political  differences  of  later  years. 

They  had  a  slow  voyage  up  the  Columbia  in  the  handsome  little 
brig  Sarah  McFarland.  The  winds  were  mostly  down  the  river,  the 
smoke  having  cleared  away  after  rain.  They  drifted  on  the  tide  when 
it  flooded,  or  sometimes  got  a  few  hours  west  wind,  but  often  a  day  at 
a  time  they  had  to  lie  at  anchor.  The  men  went  ashore  to  hunt  birds 
and  bears,  feeling  pretty  certain  that  they  might  safely  take  several 
days  tramp  in  the  wilderness  without  losing  their  ship.  The  magnifi 
cence  of  the  scenery  of  the  lower  Columbia,  with  the  unique  feature  of 
snow-capped  mountains  in  the  distance,  was  a  considerable  compensa 
tion  for  the  tediousness  of  the  voyage.  Two  weeks  were  consumed  in 


72  HORAOE  LYMAN. 

reaching  St.  Helens,  but  there  a  fresh  aft  breeze  sprung  up  and   took 
them  quickly  to  Portland. 

The  site  of  Portland  was  then  covered  with  a  dense  iir  forest,  down 
to  the  water's  edge,  broken  by  a  small  swale  opening  near  the  center  of 
the  present  city.  It  was  then  but  a  rude  collection  of  shanties,  looking 
more  like  a  shingle  camp  than  a  town.  Conspicuous  among  the  cab 
ins  and  sheds  was  a  building  serving  as  a  store,  completely  invested 
with  shingles,  on  sides  and  ends  as  well  as  roof.  The  muffled  silent 
forest,  a  little  notched  to  make  a  place  for  the  embryo  city,  looked 
down  upon  the  lonely  spot,  and  the  wild  animals  howled  out  of  the 
ravines. 

This  dark  mossy  bank  on  the  wooded  shores  of  the  Willamette 
was  to  be  the  terminus  of  the  18,000  miles  of  voyaging.  It  was  evi 
dent  at  once  that  here  was  everything  to  be  done.  Winter  was  com 
ing  on,  rain-clouds,  without  much  cessation,  were  rising  over  the  hill 
tops  and  pouring  their  contents  down. 

There  was  a  building  intended  as  a  stable  which  Mr.  Lyman  se. 
cured  to  live  in.  But  it  was  difficult  to  make  it  comfortable  as  the 
green  boards  had  shrunk  and  left  enormous  cracks,  especially  in  the 
floor.  They  tried  to  obviate  the  difficulty  by  getting  rush  mats  of  the 
Indians  and  laying  on  the  floor.  Yet  the  wet,  cold  air  constantly  com 
ing  in  under  foot  they  found  very  deleterious  to  their  health. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate  all  the  labors  and  shifts  to  which 
they  were  driven.  They  had  to  live  and  be  as  comfortable  as  possible. 
Mr.  Lyman  was  not  a  man  to  let  his  wife  suffer  if  he  could  help  it. 
A  large  part  of  a  missionary's  life  is  consumed  in  trifling  jobs  which 
cannot  be  left  undone,  but -which  leave  no  mark  upon  his  proper  work, 
but  rather  absorb  strength  and  time  from  it.  In  a  place  such  as  Port 
land  was  at  that  time,  much  of  the  necessary  service  of  a  home  could 
not  be  got.  People  had  to  do  it  themselves. 

To  a  person  of  studious  habits,  needing  time  for  investigation  and 
observation,  it  becomes  very  irksome  to  be  in  circumstances  which 
forbid  his  natural  bent.  Mr.  Lyman,  however,  cheerfully  took  up  the 
task  of  doing  two  men's  work,  and  kept  it  up  the  rest  of  his  life.  Set 
tler  and  teacher  and  preacher;  taking  care  of  his  home  and  family,  and 
also  occupying  a  public  position  and  doing  public  work ;  he  probably 
did  not  attain  the  eminence  in  his  profession  that  he  might  have  done 


HORACE  LYMAN.  78 

unencumbered ;  yet,  perhaps,  the  general  results  of  his  life  were  no 
less  valuable.  The  frontiersman  has  to  be  many-sided.  If  there  is 
any  advantage  in  having  all  the  feelings  and  capacities  of  the  mind 
drawn  out,  he  is  the  one  to  enjoy  it. 

Mr.  Lyman  spent  the  winter  in  teaching,  organizing  a  Sunday 
school,  and  preaching.  The  following  year  he  organized  a  church.  A 
church  building  needed  to  be  erected.  It  was  no  slight  work.  The 
church  was  small,  and  of  the  kind  of  people  who  were  not  likely  to  re 
main  long  in  one  place.  Labor  was  very  high ;  ordinary  mechanics 
receiving  ten  dollars  a  day.  The  lot  itself  was  covered  with  standing 
timber;  some  of  the  most  buriy  specimens  of  fir  trees. 

The  members  of  the  church,  among  whom  might  be  mentioned 
Warner  and  Abrams,  responded  nobly  to  the  work,  but  the  principle 
labor  devolved  on  the  pastor.  He  went  at  it  with  his  own  hands, 
burning  down  the  trees  and  burning  up  the  logs,  and  after  that  was 
done,  doing  any  rough  work  that  came  hand}'. 

Rev.  Dr.  Geary  tells  of  happening  through  Portland  about  this 
time  and  going  up  to  see  Rev.  Mr.  Lyman.  Directed  to  the  church, 
just  then  being  built,  he  found  a  man  mixing  mortar,  and  inquired  if 
Mr.  Lyman  was  around  ?  "  I  guess  he  is  not  far  off,"  was  the  Yankee 
reply  which  disclosed  who  the  hod-carrier  was. 

The  church  was  finished,  paid  for.  and  dedicated.  Severe  work, 
however,  brought  upon  Mr.  Lyman  a  dangerous  illness,  pneumonia 
and  lung  fever,  so  that  his  life  was  despaired  of.  By  the  help  of  kind 
friends  he  was  restored  to  health.  None  was  more  assiduous  in  his 
attention  than  Mr.  H.  MacDonakl. 

It  is  not  always  judicious  for  a  pastor  to  build  a  house  of  worship; 
with  the  new  building  the  church  frequently  desires  a  new  preacher. 
It  was  so  in  this  case.  In  1854  Portland  na<^  increased  and  improved  so 
much  that  some  in  the  church  were  thinking  a  change  in  the  pulpit 
would  be  desirable.  With  the  kindest  feelings  toward  Mr.  Lyman, 
personally,  there  were  some  who  criticised  his  New  England  ideas, 
and  written  discourses.  It  was  thought  that  something  more  of  a 
western  flavoi  would  attract  the  western  and  southwestern  people.  To 
many  of  this  class,  a  sermon  had  to  be  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a 
thunder  storm  to  be  reckoned  as  preaching  at  all;  especially,  as  «*  big 
preaching." 


74  HORACE  LYMAN. 

Finding  that  many  in  the  chuich  thought  it  possible  to  secure  a 
more  popular  man,  he  presented  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted. 
Although  involving  some  pain,  and  more  or  less  strain  upon  his  feel 
ings,  he  regarded  the  action  of  the  church  as  honest  and  sincere,  and 
never  abated  his  friendship  for  any  of  its  members.  Some  of  those 
who  suggested  his  resignation,  were  among  his  most  sincere  and  inti 
mate  life-long  friends. 

This  is  mentioned  simply  to  explain  his  reasons  for  leaving  Port 
land,  and  to  show  how  strict  adherence  to  his  missionary  purpose  neces 
sitated  the  sacrifice  of  the  most  desirable  part  of  the  avails  of  his  five 
years'  toil.  The  home  which  he  and  his  wife  had  made,  together  with 
the  friends,  and  the  future  prospects  of  the  city,  must  be  given  up,  and 
they  begin  new  once  more.  There  was  no  missionary  work  for  him  to 
do  in  Portland.  He  selected  Polk  county  as  his  new  field,  buying  a 
farm  near  Dallas,  on  the  La  Creole,  or  Rickreall,  creek.  He  intended  to 
make  his  farming  auxiliary  to  his  teaching  and  preaching,  feeling,  per 
haps,  that  he  would  be  thereby  more  independent,  than  if  looking  to 
the  home  missionary  society  or  to  a  church,  for  his  support,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  could  be  forming  a  permanent  home. 

He  organized  a  Congregational  church  at  Dallas  and  taught  a 
school,  which  developed  into  La  Creole  academy.  His  stay  here  was 
comparatively  brief ;  only  three  years. 

He  had  two  reasons  for  leaving;  the  climate  being  too  raw  and 
windy  for  Mrs.  Lyman's  health;  and  an  urgent  invitation  to  accept  a 
professorship  in  the  college  at  Forest  Grove. 

This  was  an  institution  which  had  in  one  form  or  another  been  in 
existence  for  some  time. 

Mrs.  Orus  Brown,  or  "  Mother  Brown,"  had  had  an  orphan's  home 
and  school  here,  for  children  who  had  lost  their  parents  in  crossing  the 
plains.  Somewhat  later,  Rev.  Harvey  Clarke  conceived  the  plan  of 
founding  a  college,  and  gave  a  half  of  his  farm  for  the  purpose.  The 
land  was  cut  up  into  town  lots  and  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  institu 
tion,  reserving  a  liberal  tract  for  a  college  camp  us. 

Dr.  Atkinson  was  asked  to  go  east  and  solicit  funds,  and  secure  a 
teacher.  Dr.  Edward  Beecher  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  among 
others,  were  interested,  and  substantial  encouragement  was  obtained. 


HORACE  LYMAN.  75 

S.  H.  Marsh,  son  of  President  Marsh  of  Vermont,  a  man  famous 
among  the  thinkers  of  his  day, and  who  was  supposed  to  share  with  Coler 
idge  the  secret  of  psychology,  was  obtained  as  teacher.  Entering  upon 
his  work  with  much  enthusiasm,  Professor,  afterward  Dr.  Marsh, 
prepared  a  class  of  four  young  men  for  college;  but  instead  of  remain 
ing  to  take  a  collegiate  course  with  him,  two  of  them  concluded  to  go 
east  and  finish.  This  was  discouraging  to  President  Marsh,  and  he 
went  for  advice  to  Dr.  Atkinson.  •'  If  I  can  only  hold  them  up  to  en 
ter  on  a  college  course,  and  then  they  go  east,  how  is  this  school  any 
thing  more  than  an  academy  ?"  was  the  President's  question. 

Dr.  Atkinson  advised  him  to  get  Mr.  Lyman,  who  should  take  the 
department  of  mathematics,  leaving  to  President  Marsh  literature  and 
languages.  With  a  stranger  collegiate  department  probably  the  pre 
paratory  students  could  be  induced  to  remain  through  the  course.  So 
Mr.  Lyman  was  secured  as  professor,  and  the  result  proved  the  wis 
dom  of  Dr.  Atkinson's  advice. 

Dr.  Marsh  was  of  a  nervous  temperament  and  not  in  rugged 
health,  and  the  confinement  of  the  class-room  was  irksome  to  him. 
But  no  man  has  been  his  superior  in  the  public  presentation  of  the 
aims  and  needs  of  the  institution,  and  in  awakening  public  interest  in  it, 
and  commending  it  to  public  attention,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  He 
soon  left  the  school  in  the  hands  of  Professor  Lyman  and  went  east, 
•where  he  was  very  successful  during  two  years  in  collecting  the  fund 
for  Pacific  University,  which  has  put  it  upon  an  independent  footing. 

Prof.  Ly  man's  management  of  the  school  was  popular  and  success 
ful.  He  held  a  position  as  professor  in  the  institution  for  twenty  years, 
bearing  his  full  share,  and  sometimes  the  brunt,  of  the  routine  work. 

He  made  his  home  at  Forest  Grove,  where  he  reared  and  educated 
his  family,  and  buried  his  wife,  and  himself  was  buried. 

The  history  of  his  life  here,  full  of  moment  and  interest,  is  of  more 
a  personal  and  family  character  than  need  be  chronicled  in  these  pages, 
or  else  is  merged  in  the  general  history  and  development  of  the  state, 
and  need  not  be  here  detached.  It  is  sufficent  to  say  that  these  twenty 
years  of  college  work  constituted  the  core  of  his  life's  labor.  When 
that  was  done,  he  felt  that  his  main  usefulness  was  over. 

Although  having  made  many  sacrifices,  especially  of  home  and 
friends,  which  never  could  be  made  up  to  them,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lyman 


76  HORACE  LYMAN. 

formed  here  many  personal  attachments.  Many  of  theii  associates  in 
religious  and  educational  work,  were  as  dear  to  them  as  brothers  and  sis 
ters,  and  Prof.  Lyman  always  cherished  toward  his  pupils  the  same 
warm  affection  which  he  lavished  upon  his  children. 

The  record  of  his  life  was  that  of  patient  devotion  to  doing  good, 
as  the  Lord  Jesus  had  commanded  him.  Amid  all  the  opportunities 
for  turning  aside  from  his  one  selected  work,  he  never  left  that  work. 

Somewhat  above  the  rnedium  height,  active  and  wiry,  his  physical 
frame  was  admirably  suited  to  continuous  and  rapid  labor.  His  men 
tal  operations  w;ere  patient  rather  than  brilliant,  and  he  was  not  easily 
shaken  from  his  conclusions.  He  took  his  steps  carefully  and  was 
seldom  obliged  to  retrace  them.  In  his  personal,  social,  and  church 
relations,  he  sought  for  the  things  which  make  for  peace  rather  than 
division,  holding  that  bickering  and  contention  were  ungentlemanly  as 
well  as  unchristian.  He  strove  never  to  forfeit  the  respect  or  friend 
ship  of  those  with  whom  he  was  compelled  to  disagree.  Politically,  he 
followed  Webster's  construction  of  the  constitution  and  Sumner's  re 
construction  of  it.  He  was  an  outspoken  admirer  of  Lincoln,  but 
many  of  his  best  friends  were  confederate  sympathizers.  He  never  re 
fused  his  hand  to  the  black  man,  Indian  or  Chinaman,  and  was  never 
refused  that  of  any  white  man. 

Like  all  conscientious  men,  he  was  sensitive  to  the  criticism  and 
approbation  of  others,  but  depended  upon  neither  for  the  stimulus  to 
his  duty. 

Simply  intent  upon  doing  what  lay  before  him,  he  never  looked  or 
cared  for  any  other  fame  than  to  be  known  as  one  of  the  many  found 
ers  of  the  institutions  of  Oregon,  the  state  of  his  adoption  and  love. 


The  following  deserved  tribute  to  Mr.  Lyman's  worth,  appears 
editorially  in  the  Oregonian  of  April  2d : 

"On  Thursday  night,  March  31,  1887,  at  Forest  Grove,  passed  away  one 
who  was  truly  of  the  salt  of  the  earth.  An  earnest,  faithful  and  patient  work 
er  through  a  long  life ;  a  devoted  minister  ;  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments, 
directed  always  to  the  best  purposes ;  an  instructor  whom  all  his  scholars 


HORACE  LYMAN.  77 

loved  ;  a  man  who  performed  every  duty  that  life  laid  upon  him  with  a  cheer 
ful  and  ready  devotion  ;  one  who,  as  teacher,  minister,  monitor,  father  and 
friend,  exerted  an  influence  that  blessed  all  around  him — such  was  Horace 
Lyman,  who  now  has  entered  into  his  rest. 

"  The  Lymans  of  New  England,  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Amer 
ica,  and  the  family  tree  has  spread  till  its  branches  are  now  innumerable. 
Horace  Lyman  was  born  in  Massachusetts  seventy-two  years  ago.  He  gradu 
ated  at  Williams  College,  in  that  State,  in  1842,  was  educated  for  the  ministry 
and  came  to  Oregon  in  1849.  It  was  he  who  founded  the  First  Congrega 
tional  Church  of  Portland,  and  he  was  its  first  regular  pastor.  A  few  years 
later  he  went  to  Polk  county,  where  he  served  as  professor  in  the  La  Creole 
Academy,  and  from  there,  in  the  year  1857,  he  removed  to  Forest  Grove  to 
accept  a  professorship  in  Pacific  University.  He  was  professor  of  ancient 
languages  there,  then  of  mathematics,  and  still  later  of  English  literature  and 
rhetoric.  During  all  these  years  of  educational  work,  he  did  also  much  min 
isterial  labor.  Careless  of  his  own  comfort,  he  heard  only  the  voice  of  duty, 
travelling  in  inclement  weather  on  horseback,  and  even  on  foot,  to  preach  in 
places  where,  in  those  days,  was  no  regular  pastoral  supply.  Doing  good  in 
a  quiet,  unobstrusive,  yet  earnest  and  manly  way,  was  with  him  the  luxury  of 
life.  He  acted  always  as  one  might,  who  realized  that  he  was  'ever  in  his  graat 
task-master's  eye.'  And  yet  his  duties  were  not  tasks  to  him  ;  they  were  per 
formed  in  a  spirit  that  relieved  them  of  that  character,  and  his  life  was  an  ex 
ample  of  how  much  force  may  be  combined  with  gentleness  in  steady  and  un- 
deviating  purpose.  He  did  nothing  for  himself;  all  his  work  was  for  others. 
He  was  one  of  those  rare  spirits  who  '  do  good  by  stealth  and  blush  to  find  it 
fame. ' 

"  The  life  of  such  a  man  is  a  possession  forever.  The  world's  debt  to 
such  men  is  immense.  The  work  done  by  these  men  of  culture,  conscience 
and  duty,  who  have  helped  to  found  new  states,  and  have  willingly  exchanged 
the  life  of  ease  they  might  have  had  elsewhere,  for  the  privations,  labors  and 
hardships  attendant  upon  the  work  of  laying  the  foundation  and  spreading  the 
influences  of  religion  and  learning  in  new  places,  is  beyond  all  praise  and  re 
ward.  And  of  all  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  this  work,  there  has  been 
no  purer,  no  rrore  earnest  spirit,  than  Horace  Lyman." 


SAMUEL  A,  MORELAND, 


Samuel  A.  Moreland  was  born  on  the  1st  of  November,  1836,  in 
Jackson  county,  Tennessee,  and  accompanied  his  father,  the  Rev.  Jesse 
Moreland  (who  still  survives)  across  the  Plains  in  1852. 

Judge  Moreland  was  one  of  the  old  and  honored  pioneers  of  Oregon. 
He  came  here  thirty-five  years  ago,  a  boy  ;  and  went  through  all  the  labors 
and  privations  incident  to  life  in  those  days,  and  shirked  no  duty.  He  first 
settled,  with  his  parents,  in  that  part  of  Clackamas  county  called  "  Hard- 
scrabble."  Faithful  duty  there  seasoned  him  for  after  service.  Through 
something  like  what  a  great  writer  calls  "a  divine  thrusting  on,"  he  sought 
education  and  came  to  Portland,  and  attended  the  old  academy.  On  com 
pletion  of  the  course  of  study  there,  graduating  with  honors,  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law,  and  read  in  the  office  of  Smith,  Grover  &  Page,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1863.  He  practiced  law  until  1870. 

Having  a  laudable  ambition  to  become  a  journalist,  Mr.  Moreland  turned 
his  attention  in  that  direction,  and  accepted  a  position  on  the  editorial  stafi" 
of  the  Oregonian.  This  position  he  very  acceptably  filled  for  nine  years, 
resigning  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  assume  the  editorship  of  the  Evening 
Telegram.  While  associate  editor  of  the  Oregonian,  Judge  Moreland  was 
appointed  police  Judge  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  rendered  vacant  by  the  resig 
nation  of  Judge  O.  N.  Denny.  This  position  he  very  creditably  filled  for 
several  months.  During  the  year  1881  he  was  again  appointed  police  judge 
and  held  that  office  until  within  three  months  before  his  death,  which  oc 
curred  on  the  iQth  of  March,  1886. 

Judge  Moreland  was  a  member  of  Hope  Lodge  No.  I,  Ancient  Order 
United  Workmen,  being  a  charter  member  of  the  first  lodge  of  this  oidci 
ever  instituted  in  Oregon.  For  some  years  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  fire 
matters  under  the  old  volunteer  department,  and  was  a  member  of  Willamette 
Engine  Company  No.  I,  and  held  the  position  of  president  for  several  years. 
At  the  time  of  his  death,  Judge  Moreland  belonged  to  the  Exempt  Firemen's 
Association. 

He  was  also  a  member  of  Phoenix  Legion  No.  I,  Select  Knights  of  the 


SAMUEL  A.  MOKELAND.  79 

Ancient  Order  United  Workmen.  He  served  during  the  Indian  war  of  1855- 
6  and  was  a  member  of  the  camp  of  Indian  War  Veterans,  organized  in 
Portland,  of  which  he  was  lieutenant. 

The  following  short  but  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Judge  Moreland 
appeared  in  the  Oregonian,  and  was  penned  by  a  member  of  the  reportorial 
staff  who  had  been  long  and  intimately  associated  with  him  : 

"He  was  an  honest,  warm-hearted,  kind,  just  man,  and  ever  sincere  in 
his  friendships.  In  every  public  matter  he  was  always  on  the  side  of  right 
and  justice.  We  young  men  on  the  Oregonian  staff,  with  whom  he  was 
intimately  associated  for  a  number  of  years,  learned  to  love  him,  and  in  the 
daily  intercourse  which  extended  over  a  long  period,  never  an  unkind  word 
was  spoken  nor  an  unkind  thought  harbored.  This  same  feeling  remains, 
and  association  with  Judge  Moreland  will  linger  as  a  sweet  memory  through 
years  and  years." 

The  bar  of  the  City  of  Portland  recorded  unqualified  testimony  of  his 
high  ability,  unwavering  integrity,  gentleness  of  spirit,  and  manliness  as  a 
man.  Judge  Stott  said  :  "In  paying  tribute  to  this  man  it  is  no  easy  thing 
to  express  the  exact  thoughts  that  enter  one's  mind.  Mr.  Moreland  was  a 
man  peculiar  to  himself.  He  was  a  man  that  had  strong  traits  of  character 
that  marked  him  as  an  individual  in  whatever  place  he  was  found. 

"While  he  was  a  journalist  and  as  a  judge,  he  always  acted  upon  his  own 
judgment  and  responsibility.  He  had  that  self-confidence  and  independence 
of  character  that  caused  him  to  do  if.  Whatever  mistakes  he  made  were  his 
own  errors  and  not  the  errors  of  any  one  else,  and  any  of  us  who  appeared  be 
fore  him  when  he  was  judge,  knew  we  got  his  honest  judgment,  and  when 
that  is  said  of  a  judge  or  of  any  one  who  occupies  an  important  position, 
you  are  paying  a  high  tribute. 

"  It  is  no  small  matter  to  a  community  to  lose  such  a  man  without  any 
preparation  whatever;  but  yesterday  he  was  around  among  us  the  in  courts,  and 
for  aught  we  knew,  his  chances  to  be  among  us  were  then  apparently  just  as 
good  as  in  the  case  of  any  of  us.  But  death  came  to  him  without  warning, 
and  he  passed  away,  and  we  feel  assured  that  he  was  as  much  prepared  to 
meet  the  silent  messenger,  as  many  who  have  had  weeks  and  months  to  warn 
them  of  his  approach.  He  was  a  man  in  every  capacity,  that  you  could  rely 
upon.  It  made  no  difference  where  you  met  him  he  was  unassuming  and 
you  always  found  him  the  same  in  all  places  and  circumstances,  whether  in 
court,  in  the  newspaper  office  or  in  a  public  roeeting.  He  was  that  kind  of 


80  SAMUEL  A.  MOKELAND. 

plain,  every-day  man  that  wears,  and  the  more  and  better  you  knew  him,  the 
more  you  must  necessarily  esteem  him." 

Following  Judge  Stott,  City  Attorney  Tanner  made  some  eloquent  and 
appropriate  remsrks,  a  few  of  which  are  here  noted:  "We  saw  him  on  the 
evening  of  his  death,  appearing  as  well  as  ever.  His  death  was  sudden,  un. 
heralded,  and  unexpected.  So  sudden  the  sad  transition  came  that  we  who 
have  known  him  so  long  and  so  well  feel  like  saying  from  the  depths  of  our 
souls,  '  Oh  !  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,  and  the  sound  of  a  voice  that 
is  still.' 

"It  is  but  just  that  in  this  court  we  should  pause  for  a  brief  moment  and 
pay  to  his  memory  that  just  tribute  which  it  deserves,  and  to  weave  a  garland 
of  flowers  to  deck  his  untimely  grave.  Not  an  overdrawn  eulogy,  but  that 
just  meed  of  praise  which  he  earned  by  his  upright  life.  Could  he  influence 
our  words  he  would  say,  '  paint  mo  as  I  am.' 

"It  is  useless  here  to  review  the  work  and  career  of  one  whose  life  was 
spent  among  us.  He  met  no  hardships  that  he  did  not  overcome.  He  was 
subject  to  no  denials  he  did  not  cheerfully  meet,  and  there  is  nothing  left  by 
his  early  struggles  that  may  not  be  recounted  with  delight.  Always  patient, 
never  faltering,  his  course  was  marked  with  success.  Courteous,  kind,  gener 
ous,  true  to  his  friends  and  himself,  his  memory  will  live  on  through  ages. 
To  such  a  life  there  is  no  death,  for  it  has  been  truly  said,  '  To  live  in  hearts 
we  leave  behind,  is  not  to  die.' " 

The  State  Circuit  Court  in  Department  No.  i,  also  held  a  meeting  and 
passed  resolutions  out  of  respect  to  his  memory. 

Multnomah  Camp  No.  2  of  Indian  War  Veterans  passed  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  our  esteemed  comrade,  S.  A.  Moreland, 
this  camp  has  lost  an  efficient  and  devoted  officer  and  member,  and  our  com 
munity  has  lost  a  good  citizen  in  whose  character  and  walk  of  life  shone  the  true 
principles  of  genuine  worth  ;  that  when  our  frontier  settlers  were  imperilled 
by  dangerous  Indians  he  was  among  the  first  to  go  forth  to  brave  the  hard 
ships  and  perils  of  Indian  warfare,  and  acquitted  himself  by  honorable  service 
for  his  country  ;  that  while  diffident  of  himself,  he  was  ever  frank,  generous 
and  faithful  to  the  friends  among  whom  his  lot  was  cast  without  the  ostenta 
tions  of  show  or  the  greed  of  gain,  by  which  the  attention  of  the  selfish  world 
is  so  readily  attracted  ;  his  virtues  were  the  growth  of  those  genuine  princi 
ples  that  are  lasting  even  as  the  duration  of  time. " 


SAMUEL  A.  MORELAND.  81 

The  United  Workmen  boast  no  more  exemplary  member  than  S.  A. 
Moreland.  He  carried  his  earnest  professions  into  his  everyday  life  and  prac 
ticed  what  he  preached,  being  the  most  constant  visitor  at  the  bedside  of  the 
sick,  and  the  most  regular  attendant  at  funerals  of  departed  brethren  of  any 
man  in  all  the  wide  scope  of  the  order,  and  may  the  members  of  his  craft 
leave  behind  them  as  clean  a  balance  sheet  as  he  has  done.  There  are  no 
mighty  deeds  in  his  career.  He  simply  did  the  duty  next  and  nearest  to  him ; 
he  was  loyal  to  the  right.  Men  who  are  loyal  to  the  right  make  the  ages. 
The  world's  chief  need  is  not  greatness  which  is  based  on  special  gifts  or 
special  circumstances,  but  those  whose  greatness  is  from  within.  The  nation, 
the  church  and  home  look  with  hopeful  eyes  for  those  who  hold  life  sacred 
because  of  its  great  opportunities  of  usefulness  and  blessing. 

Judge  Moreland  was  not  a  great  man.  He  was  a  good  one  and  a  deep 
thinker  ;  and  we  should  have  more  good  men  among  us  if  there  were  fewer 
who  yearn  to  be  called  great.  He  will  be  best  remembered  as  one  who  loved 
his  fellow  man. 

Peace  to  him,  forevermore. 


MRS,  SARAH  A,  CASE, 


Wife  of  William  M.  Case,  of  Marion  county,  was  born  near  Mt.  Holly, 
New  Jersey,  on  the  iyth  of  January,  1822,  but  was  reared  to  woman 
hood  and  married  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana. 

After  her  marriage,  in  1841,  with  her  husband  she  removed  to  Holt 
county,  Missouri,  and  lived  there  until  1844,  when  they  started  across 
the  plains,  for  the  far-off  land  of  Oregon,  reaching  the  settlements  in 
the  Willamette  valley  in  December  of  that  ^ear,  after  the  very  long 
journey  of  two  hundred  and  nine  days.  In  the  spring  of  1845,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Case  settled  on  their  homestead  near  Butteville,  where  she  resided 
until  her  summons  to  pass  through  the  portals  of  the  silent  city — on 
the  30th  of  March,  1877. 

Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Case  was  the  first  white  woman — except  Mrs.  Dr. 
Baily,  who  came  to  the  coast  as  a  missionary — who  made  a  home  on 
the  beautiful  plain  of  the  French  prairie.  There  she  lived  in  peace, 
surrounded  bv  a  large  family  and  much  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her, 
and  saw  the  country  develop  from  habitation  of  savage  Indians  and 
wild  animals,  to  one  of  churches  and  schools,  and  fertile  farms  and 
prosperous  villages,  and  witnessed  many  changes  in  county,  state,  and 
nation. 

She  was  in  many  respects  an  extraordinary  and  superior  woman, 
and  while  her  womanly  courage  never  failed  in  the  hour  of  trial  or 
even  danger,  in  her  intercouse  with  others  she  was  kind  and  unselfish 
in  the  highest  degree,  being  the  gentlest  of  mothers,  the  most  patient 
of  wives,  and  the  affectionate  friend  and  kindest  of  neighbors.  In  the 
pioneer  days  of  Oregon,  her  influence  was  largely  felt  in  moulding  the 
society  in  which  she  moved,  and  in  turning  the  course  of  events  in 
favor  of  civilization,  education  and  morality.  She  was  wonderfully 
sensitive  to  the  beautiful  in  both  inward  and  outward  effects,  and  was 
easily  moved  to  smiles  and  tears;  a  nature  capable  of  the  keenest  enjoy- 


MRS.  SAKAH    A.  CASE.  83 

ment,  and  keenest  suffering.  She  was  a  great  reader;  and  a  good 
scholar,  considering  that  in  her  time  it  was  not  deemed  essential  that 
women  should  be  educated;and  the  doors  of  educational  institutions  were 
shut  in  her  face.  Although  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  church,  to 
her,  creed  was  nothing  ;  religion,  as  exemplified  in  a  daily  life  of  good 
deeds,  was  everything,  being  always  merciful  and  sympathetic  in  her 
treatment  of  human  weakness,  and  possessing  for  sin  and  folly  that 
charity  lit  up  by  the  love  that  sees  in  all  forms  of  human  thought  and 
work  the  life  and  death  struggles  of  separate  human  beings. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  success  in  this  world  to  be  thankful  for, 
and  not  the  least  of  them  is  that  sort  of  success  that  is  summed  up  by 
George  Eliot  :  "  Her  full  nature,  like  that  river  of  which  Alexander 
broke  the  strength,  spent  itself  in  channels  which  had  no  great  name 
on  earth.  But  the  effect  of  her  being  on  those  about  her  was  incalcu 
lably  diffusive;  for  the  growing  good  of  the  world  is  partly  dependent 
upon  unhistoric  acts;  and  that  things  are  not  so  ill  with  you  and  me 
as  they  might  have  been  is  half  owing  to  the  number  who  lived  faith 
fully  a  hidden  life,  and  rest  in  unvisited  tombs." 

Thirteen  children  were  born  to  her,  four  of  whom  went  over 
Death's  dark  river  before  her.  Her  living  children  are  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Moreland;  Mrs.  A.  E.  Borthwick,  Portland;  John  N.  Case,  Omaha; 
Mrs.  I.  W.  Felt,  San  Gabriel,  Cal.  ;  Mrs.  Arthur  Crogan,  Victoria, 
B.  C.;  Mrs.  Anne  M.  Hoyt,  Miss  Ella  N.  Case,  Mrs.  Clifford  Gibbons, 
Los  Angeles.  Cal.,  and  George  W.  Case,  Butteville,  eight  of  whom 
stood  round  her  death-bed,  their  bitter  tears  telling  all  too  plainly  how 
well  they  loved  her. 

Whether  meeting  the  trials  incident  to  a  long,  tedious,  dangerous 
journey  across  the  plains,  enduring  the  privations  of  pioneer  life,  or 
surrounded  as  she  was  later  with  a  competence  of  life's  comforts,  the 
tenor  of  her  life  ran  in  the  same  even  channel,  ever  manifesting  to  all 
about  her  those  qualities  which  make  the  good,  true  woman  akin  to 
angels,  and  when  over  a  half  century  had  passed  over  her  head,  she 
came  to  her  life's  close  in  perfect  peace.  Her  life  was  an  integral  part  of 
the  public  welfare  and  permanent  history  of  Oregon,  and  when  the 
large  concourse  of  the  people  of  her  acquaintance  gathered  around  the 
broken  turf  that  marked  the  last  resting  place  of  all  that  was  mortal  of 


84  '         MRS.   SARAH    A.  CASE. 

Sarah  A.  Case,  every  one  felt  that  they  had  lost  a  true  friend.  Thus 
one  by  one  the  pioneers  who  shared  the  founding  of  this  State  and 
builded  a  monument  in  American  liberty,  are  passing  away,  until  soon 
they  will  all  have  gone,  and  the  work  by  them  so  nobly  begun,  will  be 
entirely  entrusted  to  other  hands. 

Let  not  the  future  prove  their  toils  vain. 


ALEXANDER  JOHN  MCEWAN 


Was  born  near  Fredericton  in  the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  in 
the  year  1828.  His  parents  were  natives  of  Scotland  but  emigrated  to  New 
Brunswick  shortly  after  their  marriage,  where  they  settled  and  raised 
a  family  of  ten  children,  of  whom  Alexander  was  the  fifth  son.  He 
was  sent  to  school  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  then  he  was  put  into  the 
counting  room  of  a  shipping  merchant.  He  remained  there  until  in 
his  twentieth  year;  then,  with  several  other  youths  of  about  the 
same  age,  started  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  other  countries.  They  went 
first  to  Boston,  Mass.;  after  a  stay  of  several  months,  McEwan  went 
to  New  York  city,  and  was  in  that  place  nearly  two  years.  Then  he 
went  as  super-cargo  on  a  ship  bound  for  the  coast  of  Africa.  He  made 
several  voyages  in  this  way,  and  was  for  some  time  on  the  island  of 
Madagascar. 

After  a  while  he  tired  of  the  ocean  and  went  to  New  Orleans, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  shipping  clerk ;  that  having  been  his  bus 
iness  also  while  in  New  York  and  Boston.  He  remained  in  New  Or 
leans  for  several  years.  During  the  last  year  of  his  stay  he  had  a  se 
vere  attack  of  the  yellow  fever,  and  was  the  only  young  man  that 
recovered  out  of  a  club  or  society  of  some  twenty-five  members,  all  of 
them  near  the  same  age,  and  several  from  the  same  place  in  New 
Brunswick. 

After  that  experience  he  formed  a  dislike  for  New  Orleans  and 
started  again  on  his  rambling  career.  This  time  he  went  to  South 
America  and  was  for  some  time  at  Rio  Janeiro,  in  Brazil,  but  a  vio 
lent  shock  of  an  earthquake  caused  his  departure  from  that  place.  He 
next  went  to  California.  I  think  it  was  in  1852  when  he  landed  in 
San  Francisco.  He  stayed  in  the  city  a  short  time,  then  proceeded  to 
the  gold  mines,  where  he  prospected  in  various  places  and  was  for 
some  time  mining  on  the  Yub#  and  Feather  rivers.  He  was  entirely 


86 

alone  most  of  the  time;  he  used  to  sleep  at  night,  rolled  in  blankets, 
with  his  horse  grazing  near,  and  the  lariat  wound  around  his  left  hand, 
and  his  rifle  and  revolvers  at  his  right  hand,  in  readiness  for  an  attack 
from  Indians.  One  night  he  was  awakened  by  a  jerk;  springing  to 
his  feet— grasping  the  pistol  as  he  arose — he  saw  in  the  bright  moon 
light,  just  a  few  steps  away,  an  enormous  grizzly  bear.  He  quieted 
the  frightened  horse  and  looked  at  the  bear,  and  the  bear  looked  at 
him,  and  then  began  to  retreat  backwards,  and  McEwan  and  the  horse 
did  the  same,  until  quite  a  space  was  between  them,  when  the  bear 
turned  and  soon  disappeared  in  the  ravine;  but  McEwan  did  not  sleep 
soundly  the  remainder  of  that  night.  He  brought  quite  a  quantity  of 
gold  dust  from  his  mining  claim  when  he  finally  sold  it,  and  in  1853  or 
'54,  I  am  not  certain  which,  he  arrived  in  Oregon.  He  landed  first  in 
Astoria,  and  from  there  went  to  Clatsop  plains,  where  he  stayed  several 
months. 

While  there  he  constructed  the  first  salmon  fishery  ever  started 
in  Oregon;  the  remains  of  the  old  building  (where  he  used  to  put  up 
fish)  are  still  to  be  seen  on  Woody  island. 

The  next  summer  he  went  back  east  to  meet  his  father  and  broth 
ers,  who  were  coming  to  Oreg*on  across  the  plains,  as  the  overland 
journey  was  called.  Just  one  day  before  they  met,  his  favorite  brother, 
Hugh,  was  drowned  in  Snake  river. 

Hugh,  like  Alexander?  had  been  a  rover  from  his  earliest  youth. 
He  had  traveled  extensively  in  Europe,  and  likewise  passed  a  great 
part  of  his  life  on  ship-board,  and  escaped  shipwreck  several  times  to 
at  last  meet  an  untimely  death,  by  drowning,  in  a  lonely  river  in  the 
wilderness;  he  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  McEwan  had  sent  the 
money  to  purchase  a  band  of  sheep,  which  he  undertook  to  winter  near 
where  the  city  of  Walla  Walla  new  stands.  He  was  alone,  with  the 
exception  of  a  herder  and  two  valuable  dogs.  It  was  an  intensely  cold 
winter,  and  wolves  were  constantly  thinning  the  flocks;  and  poisoned 
meat  that  was  intended  for  the  wolves  was  eaten  by  the  dogs,  from  the 
effects  of  which  they  died.  Then  the  herder  ran  away  with  the  horses; 
nearly  all  the  sheep  perished,  and  McEwan  would  have  suffered  had  it 
not  been  for  the  kindness  of  an  old  Indian  chief,  who  had  his  winter 
abode  near  the  place. 


87 

Years  afterward,  when  McEwan  was  again  in  Eastern  Oregon,  on 
his  way  to  the  mines,  he  again  met  this  chief.  McEwan  did  not  recog 
nize  him,  at  first,  for  he  had  grown  so  old  and  his  hair  was  almost 
snow-white;  but  the  old  Indian  rode  toward  him,  with  his  hand  ex 
tended,  calling,  "  Kuanni,  Kuanni "  (his  pronunciation  of  McEwan). 
He  was  only  too  happy  to  be  able  to  return  the  kindness  that  had  been 
shown  to  him  in  former  days. 

Discouraged  with  his  venture  in  sheep-raising,  he  next  went  to 
Southern  Oregon.  While  there,  he  mined  some  and  traded  in  various 
ways,  and  both  made  and  lost  a  great  deal  of  money;  and,  again,  start 
ed  for  a  new  country.  This  time  Australia  was  his  destination;  but, on 
his  arrival  in  Portland,  he  stopped  for  a  rest,  and  went  to  clerking  for 
A.  D.  Shelby,  who  had  a  dry -goods  and  general  merchandise  store  in 
Portland.  He  stayed  there  a  year  or  more,  when  N.  H.  Lane,  of  <5or- 
vallis,  engaged  him  to  take  charge  of  a  store  he  had  at  that  place.  He 
went  to  Corvallis  in  the  spring  of  1855,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  months  at  the  Siletz  agency,  he  remained  there  a  number  of  years. 
In  the  summer  of  1857  he  formed  a  partnership  with  S.  C.  Alexander 
(since  dead),  and  they  established  a  store.  This  was  successfully  con 
ducted  for  some  time.  In  the  fall  of  that  year,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Clementine  Motley,  the  daughter  of  O.  C.  Motley,  a  pioneer  of 
1846.  In  1863  his  naturally  restless  disposition  again  asserted  itself, 
and  he  dissolved  the  partnership  with  Alexander,  and  again  engaged 
in  mining  from  that  time  until  1870.  His  summers  were  passed  in  the 
mines,  or  with  a  pack  train,  and  his  winters  in  Corvallis,  where  his 
family  resided.  But  the  fortune,  which  always  seemed  just  within  his 
grasp,  still  continued  to  elude  him,  and  his  health  beginning  to  show 
the  effects  of  the  hardships  and  exposures  he  had  endured,  he  at  length 
gave  up  mining,  and  once  more  took  up  his  abode  in  Portland ;  first  as 
book-keeper  for  Hayden,  Smith,  &  Co.,  of  the  upper  saw-mill,  remaining 
with  them  for  two  years,  when  he  took  a  similar  position  with  Estes  & 
Stimson.  When  they  sold  out  to  Ben  Holladay,  he  went  to  Abrams 
&  Hogue;  he  was  with  them  some  time.  Meanwhile,  he  had  bought 
a  place  in  East  Portland  and  made  his  home  there.  He  had  a  severe 
fall  in  1874,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  entirely  recovered. 

Of  eight  children,  six  are  living,  two  sons  and  four  daughters. 


88  ALEXANDER  JOHN  M?EWAN. 

Two  little  boys  died  in  infancy.     His  death  was  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-eighth  of  January,  1881,  aged  fifty-seven  years. 

He  lies  at  rest  beside  his  youngest  child  in  Lone  Fir  Cemetery. 

MRS.  CLEMENTINE  McEwAN. 


MICHAEL  T,  SIMMONS, 


BY    HON.    F.LWOOD    EVANS,   TACOMA,    W.   T. 


Michael  T.  Simmons,  the  leader  of  an  American  colony  who  established 
the  pioneer  American  settlement  upon  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound,  was  horn 
August  5th,  1814,  in  Bullitt  county,  Kentucky,  three  miles  south  of  Shep- 
pardsville.  In  1840,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Missouri,  and  located 
and  built  a  mill  on  a  branch  of  the  Missouri  River,  which  mill  he  sold  to  pro 
cure  his  outfit  to  migrate  to  Oregon.  In  1844,  he  joined  the  Independent  Ore 
gon  Colony,  consisting  of  several  separate  companies  or  parties,  who  joined 
together  in  a  quasi  military  organization  and  elected  Cornelius  Gilliam,  Gen 
eral,  and  Michael  T.  Simmons,  Colonel. 

It  would  prove  profitable  and  interesting  to  accompany  those  several 
trains  in  that  voyage  across  the  Plains,  but  those  incidents  have  been  graph 
ically  and  faithfully  narrated  by  Minto,  Joseph  Watt  and  others.  Arrived 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  the  particular  company  with  whom  Col. 
Simmons  was  directly  associated,  halted  at  Washougal,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Columbia,  about  twenty-five  miles  east  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
Fort  Vancouver,  and  there  established  quarters  for  the  winter.  Col.  Sim 
mons,  however,  soon  proceeded  to  Fort  Vancouver,  and  endeavored  to  secure 
room — accommodations  for  himself  and  family,  but  for  a  long  time  was  un 
successful.  Later,  he  did  succeed  in  renting  for  one  month,  a  room  in  an 
outhouse  occupied  by  a  Kanaka  servant  of  the  company.  Dr.  John  Mc- 
Loughlin  treated  him  with  that  generous  hospitality  for  which  he  was  so 
noted,  a  hospitality  never  denied  to  the  American  immigrant,  for  which  all 
ancient  Oregonians  hold  the  good  doctor  in  deserved  and  grateful  remem 
brance.  But  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials  were  reliant  at  that  period 
that  the  Columbia  River  would  ultimately  be  established  as  the  boundary 
line  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  that  the  territory 
north  of  the  Columbia  River  would  become  British  territory.  Hence  they  dis 
couraged  American  occupancy  or  any  acts  which  would  tend  to  strengthen 


90  MICHAEL  T.  SIMMONS. 

United  States  claim.  Strenuously,  they  dissuaded  Americans  from  settling 
north  of  the  river,  and  with  equal  persistency  they  set  forth  the  inducements 
of  the  Wallamet  Valley  nnd  counselled  immigrants  to  select  their  homes  in 
that  favored  region.  Col.  Simmons  has  told  the  writer  that  before  leaving 
Missouri  his  predilections  were  for  the  Rogue  River  country  ;  that  this  effort 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  officials  to  head  off  American  settlement  north  of  the 
Columbia,  first  directed  his  inclinations  toward  Puget  Sound.  Nor  is  there 
any  doubt,  that  with  his  sturdy  Americanism  and  rather  combative  make-up, 
such  British  interference  or  counsel  was  most  likely  thus  to  change  his  resolu 
tion.  Other  influences,  however,  quite  as  strongly,  perhaps  involuntarily, 
operated,  and  that  he  should  have  been  so  influenced  is  quite  as  creditable  to 
his  humanity,  as  though  his  patriotic  resentment  of  the  territorial  scheming 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  been  the  sole  cause.  In  the  same  com 
pany  with  Col.  Simmons  was  George  Bush,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
justly  respected  of  the  Western  Washington  Pioneers.  He  was  a  colored 
man  of  competent  means,  shrewd  sagacity  and  great  liberality.  Several  of  the 
white  families  who  had  accompanied  the  train  of  1844,  had  been  assisted  by 
him  to  procure  their  outfits  ;  without  his  aid  they  could  not  have  then  come 
to  Oregon,  and  he  had  also  ministered  to  their  necessities  during  that  tedious 
journey  across  the  great  American  Desert,  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He 
was  a  man  of  mark,  an  old  veteran,  a  soldier  who  had  fought  the  "British  red 
coats  "  (as  he  claimed  with  great  gusto  and  pride),  side  by  side  with  General 
Jackson  at  New  Orleans  ;  indeed,  he  asserted  with  the  utmost  confidence, 
and  surely  he  believed  it,  that  much  of  the  glory  of  that  immortal  field,  was 
due  to  him  for  suggestions  made.  Be  that  as  it  may,  George  Bush  was  de 
servedly  one  of  the  leading  spirits  which  prompted  at  that  date  the  settle 
ment,  and  thereafter  promoted  and  aided  Puget  Sound  settlement.  None 
more  than  he,  did  the  full  measure  of  duty,  to  every  new  comer,  who,  after 
that  long  wearisome  journey,  needed  rest  or  assistance.  Simmons,  whose 
broad  humanity  was  not  restricted  by  color  or  race  prejudice,  a  characteristic 
which  was  so  thoroughly  illustrated  by  his  uniformly  humane  treatment  and 
justice  to  the  aborigines,  estimated  George  Bush  by  his  true  merits  and  real 
manhood.  They  were  intimate  friends  relying  upon  each  other,  and  insen 
sibly  George  could,  and  did,  control  the  more  impulsive  Simmons.  Bush  had 
acquired  a  competency  in  Missouri,  but  he  was  a  liberty-loving  man  and  rest 
less  under  the  oppression  and  restrictions  of  his  race  in  a  slave  state.  He 
sought  Oregon,  thinking  to  live  in  a  free  territory.  The  writer  has  heard 


MICHAEL  T.  SIMMONS.  91 

him  claim  his  right  therein  by  his  service  for  the  Republic  in  the  war  of  1812. 
But  the  legislative  committee  of  the  Oregon  Provisional  Government,  in 
their  organic  law  of  1844.  declaring  that  "slavery  and  involuntary  servitude 
shall  be  forever  prohibited  in  Oregon,"  had  also  adopted  a  singularly  offen 
sive  law  excluding  from  the  territory  all  free  negroes  and  mulattoes.  That 
same  pro-slavery  feeling  which  had  dictated  this  odious  provision,  might  gain 
sufficient  ascendency  in  the  Wallamet  Valley  to  attempt  to  enforce  such  pro 
vision.  George  Bush  wisely  concluded  that  the  territory  north  of  the  river, 
at  least  so  long  as  British  claim  was  asserted,  was  likely  to  afford  to  him  the 
protection  of  British  institutions  and  recognize  his  manhood.  This  circum 
stance  had  influenced  George  Bush's  location  of  a  home.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  such  resolution  by  Bush  was  the  incentive,  mainly,  which  prompted 
Simmons  and  part  of  the  train  of  1844,  to  change  their  minds  from  Rogue 
River  Valley,  to  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound.  It  is  equally  a  matter  of  satis 
faction  to  writ  3  of  the  Puget  Sound  Pioneer,  who  himself  regarded  Puget 
Sound  as  a  part  of  Oregon,  without  shadow  of  British  claim  thereto,  that  he 
believed  that  its  soil  should  be  open  to  settlement  by  George  Bush,  as  much 
as  to  any  other  American.  Col.  Simmons  labored  to  secure,  and  did  secure 
from  the  Oregon  provisional  legislature,  the  passage  of  an  act  which  removed 
George  Bush's  race-disabilities.  That  regard  and  respect  which  Simmons 
entertained  for  Bush,  and  the  belief  by  him  and  his  neighbors  that  Bush's 
desire  to  be  recognized  as  a  free  man  was  the  real  stimulus  to  Puget  Sound 
settlement  at  that  date,  are  attested  in  the  fact  that  the  site  of  the  first  Amer 
ican  settlement  was  then,  is  now  and  ever  will  be  known  as  Bush  Prairie. 

The  digression  was  excusable,  if  not  necessary;  it  showed  why  Col. 
Simmons  and  party  stopped  at  Washougul,  instead  of  crossing  into  Wallamet 
Valley,  or  journeying  southward  to  the  Rogue  River.  It  explained  why  they 
tarried  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Vancouver  ;  it  accounts  tor  the  expeditions  by 
Simmons  to  explore  the  country  northward  to  Puget  Sound. 

During  the  winter  of  1844,  Col.  Simmons  had  been  selected  to  examine 
that  country.  In  December,  1844,  he  started  in  company  with  Messrs. 
Loomis,  John,  Henry  and  James  Owens  and  Henry  Williamson.  The  party 
reached  the  forks  of  the  Cowlitz  River,  when  their  stock  of  provisions  had 
become  low,  and  the  further  ascent  of  that  rapid  stream  was  extremely  dis 
couraging.  Those  circumstances  induced  the  party  to  return  to  Washougal. 
Other  reasons  influenced  that  turning-back.  Many  an  old  settler  has  heard 
the  colonel  tell  about  a  "  vision  "he  had  in  Missouri,  about  the  time  of  start- 


92  MICHAEL  T.   SIMMONS. 

ing  west,  which  really  caused  him  to  turn  back.  He  had  in  his  great  manly 
nature,  a  deal  of  superstition,  and  he  used  to  say  that  "that  vision"  indicated 
to  him  "he  would  find  just  such  a  place  as  the  forks  of  the  Cowlitz,  and 
thas  at  such  place  he  would  be  compelled  to  abandon  his  enterprise."  He 
claimed  to  have  beheld  at  Cowlitz  Forks  the  identical  place  depicted  in  his 
dream.  Old  settlers  may  take  no  stock  in  the  "  vision,"  but  the  many  thous 
ands  who  have  traveled  that  hard  road  up  the  Cowlitz  in  ante-railroad  days 
will  commend  the  retreat  of  Simmons  and  his  party.  None  of  them  will 
think  it  required  a  vision  to  dictate ".  that  turn-back  in  December  by  any 
party  who  had  no  excuse  for  travelling,  but  to  see  the  country. 

In  April,  1845,  the  wife  of  Col.  Simmons  gave  birth  to  a  son,  Christo 
pher  Columbus  Simmons,  the  first  American  child  born  north  of  the  Colum 
bia  River,  r»r  in  the  region  now  known  as  Western  Washington.  In  the 
summer  following  Col.  Simmons  again  started  on  an  exploring  expedition  to 
Puget  Sound,  accompanied  by  William  Shaw,  George  Wanch,  David  Craw 
ford,  Ninian  Everman,  Selburn  Thornton,  David  Parker,  Michael  Moore 
and  John  Hunt.  The  party  reached  the  Sound  in  August.  At  Cowlitz 
Farms  they  learned  that  John  R.  Jackson,  the  old  American  pioneer  of  Cow 
litz  Prairie,  Lewis  county,  had  just  been  there,  examined  the  country  in  that 
vicinity,  had  selected  a  location  and  returned  to  the  Wallamet  for  his  family. 
The  Simmons  expedition  continued  exploration,  fully  examined  the  country 
to  the  head  of  the  Sound,  made  a  trip  its  full  length  passing  around  north 
ward  of  Whidby  Island,  returning  through  Deception  Pass  and  the  eastern 
channel.  Peter  Bercier,  of  the  Cowlitz  Farms,  acted  as  guide  of  the  party, 
from  the  Cowlitz  to  the  head  of  Puget  Sound.  Col.  Simmons  having 
returned  to  the  Columbia,  a  party  was  made  up,  which  started  in  October 
for  the  Sound.  The  little  colony  consisted  of  Col.  Simmons  and  family, 
James  McAllister  and  family,  David  Kindred  and  family,  Gabriel  Jones 
and  family,  George  Bush  and  family,  Jesse  Ferguson  and  Samuel  B.  Crocket. 
Having  ascended  the  Cowlitz  River  to  the  old  Cowlitz  Landing,  fifteen 
days  were  occupied  in  cutting  a  road  through  from  the  Cowlitz  Landing  to 
Tumwater,  at  the  head  of  Budd's  Inlet,  Puget  Sound,  a  distance  o  fabout  fifty- 
eight  miles.  The  claim  of  Tumwater  or  Falls  of  the  Deschutes,  was  taken 
by  Col.  Simmons,  who  called  the  site  New  Market.  The  remaining  families 
settled  on  prairie  claims  all  within  a  circuit  of  six  miles  from  New  Market. 
To  the  prairie  they  gave  the  name  "Bush  Prairie,"  for  Bush  who  occupied 
the  most  remote  section  of  land,  the  outpost  of  the  little  colony.  On  the 


MICHAEL  T.  SIMMONS.  93 

formation  by  the  provisional  government  in  1846,  of  Vancouver  district,  em 
bracing  all  the  territory  subsequently  divided  and  respectively  named  Clarke, 
Lewis  and  Pacific  counties,  and  extending  northward  to  54°  40',  north  lati 
tude,  Col.  Simmons  was  one  of  the  county  judges.  One  of  his  colleagues 
was  Governor  James  Douglas,  then  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany  at  Fort  Vancouver, "afterward  Sir  James  Douglas,  the  first  governor  of 
British  Columbia. 

While  the  Puget  Sound  region  was  part  of  Oregon,  Col.  Simmons  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  from  Lewis  county,  and  under  the  territorial  organ 
izations  of  both  Oregon  and  Washington,  Col.  Simmons  acted  in  some  public 
and  official  capacity  during  the  remainder  of  his  active,  busy  life.  Emphat 
ically  a  self-made  man,  without  education,  unable  to  read  or  write,  he  was  a 
leader  among  men,  inspiring  all  with  respect  for  his  native  force  of  character 
and  genuine  ability  and  practical  sense.  Just,  generous,  liberal  to  a  fault, 
impulsive,  strong  in  his  attachments,  excess  of  geniality,  which  would  per 
haps  have  been  fettered  or  restrained  by  education,  may  have  betrayed  him 
at  times  into  errors.  When  such  was  the  case,  he  alone  was  the  sufferer  ; 
to  no  fellow-being  did  he  ever  intentionally  commit  a  wrong.  All  the  early 
comers  to  Puget  Sound  will  ever  treasure  the  remembrance  of  his  unstinted 
hospitality,  his  ever  readyj  and  active  zeal  in[contributing  to  the  comfort  of 
every  settler.  To  the  extent  of  his  means,  none  more  than  he  contributed  to 
the  establishment  of  schools,  churches  and  roads  and  other  public  benefits. 
He  was  a  pioneer  in  every  sense  of  the  word  in  every/location  in  which  he 
made  his  home.  He  died  poor,  at  his  residence  in  Lewis  county,  on  Friday, 
November  I5th,  1867,  leaving  a  widow  and  large  family.  He  was  univer 
sally  known  in  the-;  early  days  of  Washington  Territory,  and  by  the  early 
settlers  his  name  and  many  good  deeds  are  held  in  just  remembrance. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON  RIGGS, 


One  of  the  Pioneers  of  1853  was  Thomas  Jefferson  Riggs,  the  subject  of 
this  brief  notice.  He  was  born  in  Wendom  township,  Morris  county,  New 
Jersey,  on  tke  twenty-first  day  of  March,  1808.  He  lived  there  until  he 
attained  his  majority,  in  the  meantime  learning  the  business  of  clothier.  In 
July,  1829,  he  removed  with  his  father  to  Ohio.  He  lived  there  a  little  more 
than  two  years,  and  in  November,  1831,  he  went  to  Illinois,  where  he  en. 
gaged  in  the  general  mercantile  and  commission  business.  On  June  9,  1846. 
he  married  Miss  Beulnh,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Drinkwater,  to 
whom  were  born  seven  children — Sarah,  now  the  wife  of  James  Lewis,  who 
resides  near  Dixie,  Polk  county,  Cass,  Seth,  Emma,  Pierre,  Scott  and  Breese, 
all  of  whom  are  among  the  most  substantial  and  highly  respected  people  of 
Polk  county,  to  which  Mr.  Riggs  removed  from  Illinois  in  1853,  .making 
the  trip  across  the  Plains.  In  this  country  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pur 
suits,  becoming  very  successful,  and  followed  this  business  until  his  death, 
February  7,  1872. 

Mr.  Riggs  was  a  man  of  superior  judgment  and  high  moral  worth.  His 
life  was  one  of  spotless  integrity  throughout.  He  held  different  positions  of 
trust  and  honor,  and  discharged  all  duties  devolving  upon  him  in  an  intelli 
gent  and  conscientious  manner.  In  his  death  the  community  in  which  he 
dwelt  lost  a  most  valuable  member,  and  the  State  a  most  uselul,  exemplary 
and  public  spirited  citizen.  His  remains  lie  at  rest  in  the  La  Creole  (Rick- 
reall)  burying  ground,  which  is  situated  upon  what  was  once  his  farm. 


SKETCH  OF  THOMAS  OWENS, 

A    PIONEER    OF    1843. 

Thomas  Owens,  a  pioneer  of  1843,  was  born  in  Tazewell  county, 
Virginia,  January  12,  1808.  His  father,  Thomas  Owens,  was  born  in 
Wyeth  county,  Virginia  in  1758,  and  with  his  family  came  to  Floyd 
county,  Kentucky,  in  1814,  where  he  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-four. 
"  Father  Owens,"  as  his  Kentucky  neighbors  called  him,  was,  we  are 
told,  "a  valued  citizen,  known  as  a  good  husband,  affectionate  father 
and  kind  master."  Before  his  death  he  gave  freedom  to  all  his  ne 
groes,  about  one  hundred  souls. 

Thomas  Owens,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  a  born  pioneer, 
having  the  courage  to  bring  his  wife  and  three  children  across  the 
plains  with  the  emigration  of  1843.  All  those  who  crossed  to  Oregon 
in  that  year  will  remember  the  familiar  figure  of  the  tall,  raw-boned, 
athletic  Kentuckian,  as  Thomas  Owens  was  thought  to  be. 

He  was  the  man  who  knew  so  well  how  to  meet  and  overcome 
every  difficulty  that  it  became  a  common  saying  among  his  comrades, 
"only  give  Tom  Owens  a  piece  of  wet  moss  and  he  will  make  a  rous 
ing  camp  fire." 

The  immigration  of  1843  was  the  first  to  bring  wagons  west  of 
Fort  Hall,  and  Thomas  Owens,  John  Hobson  (the  present  Collector  of 
Customs  at  Astoria),  George  Sommers  and  Holly  were  the  first  to 
bring  wagons  through  to  Oregon. 

These  four  sturdy  pioneers  were  obliged,  owing  to  the  near  ap 
proach  of  winter,  to  leave  their  wagons  and  stock  at  Walla  Walla,  in 
charge  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the  fall  of  1843.  'I  hey 
came  on  their  westward  way  with  their  families;  upon  a  raft  to  Van 
couver,  where  they  left  their  families  and  continued  their  journey 
down  the  Columbia,  in  a  canoe,  in  search  of  suitable  homes.  All  went 


96  THOMAS  OWENS. 

well  until  they  reached  Chinook  point,  where  a  gale  of  wind  wrecked 
their  canoe  and  left  them  at  the  mercy  of  the  many  Indians  who  then 
possessed  the  land.  Fortunately  the  Indians  were  induced  to  ferry 
them  across  to  Astoria,  where  they  fcund  Mr.  James  Burney,  in 
charge  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  post,  and  Colonel  John  Mc- 
Clure,  as  the  only  white  men  in  the  town  or  station.  By  their  advice 
Owens  and  party  went  on  down  to  Clatsop  Plains  and  there  found 
land  to  suit  their  wishes.  They  immediately  started  back  to  Vancou 
ver  after  their  families.  On  their  way  up  the  Columbia,  in  canoes, 
they  met  Gustavus  Hines,  Jason  Lee  and  Robert  Shortess,  coming 
down  the  river.  We  can  easily  imagine  that  these  hardy  adventurers 
had  a  merry  night  together  as  they  camped  where  Columbia  City  now 
stands.  In  those  days  there  was  not  a  single  white  man  between  Fort 
Vancouver  and  Astoria.  Arriving  at  Vancouver  Dr.  McLoughlin 
very  kindly  furnished  them  a  full  winter's  supply,  and  a  bateau  in 
Which  to  carry  their  families  and  produce  to  their  new  homes  on  the 
verge  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Christmas  day,  1843,  they  landed  on 
Point  Adams,  and  in  one  day  they  built  houses  into  which  they  put 
their  families. 

In  June,  1844,  Messrs.  Owens,  Hobson,  Sommers  and  Holly 
started  back  to  Walla  Walla  after  their  wagons  and  stock.  Early  in 
July  they  reached  Walla  Walla,  and  found  all  their  stock — cattle, 
horses  and  a  span  of  mules — in  a  fine  condition.  They  hauled  their 
wagons  to  The  Dalles,  where  Hobson  and  Holly  took  charge  of  the 
stock  and  drove  them  across  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  by  way  of 
Tillamook  to  Clatsop  Plains,  while  Owens  and  Sommers  made  a  raft, 
and  with  their  four  wagons,  goods,  and  Miss  Ann  Hobson  as  the  only 
passenger,  boldly  pushed  out  into  the  Columbia  for  Clatsop  Plains. 
At  the  Cascades  they  were  obliged  to  carry  everything  around  the 
rapids  and  let  their  raft  drift  over.  It  went  to  pieces  in  running  the 
Cascades,  and  again  Mr.  Owens  had  to  depend  upon  the  Indians  for 
transportation.  He  obtained  two  large  canoes,  and  by  laying  a  plat 
form  between  them  (catamaran  style),  they  again  had  a  boat.  Upon 
this  catamaran  these  dauntless  men  brought  their  wagons  and  lady 
passenger  safely  to  Clatsop  Point. 

Thomas  Owens  located  about  the  middle  of  Clatsop  Plains,  upon 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Goodwin.  Here  he  soon  made  a  com- 


THOMAS   OWENS.  97 

fortable  home  and  valuable  farm.  Here  several  children  were  born, 
and  his  oldest  daughter,  Diana,  married  Mr.  John  Hobson,  and  no  man 
ever  obtamed  a  more  grandly  beautiful  bride. 

Mr.  Owens  continued  to  live  in  his  ocean  home  until  1853,  when 
he  determined  to  remove  to  the  Umpqua  Valley,  in  order  that  his 
growing  herds  might  have  larger  pastures.  With  his  true  pioneer  in 
dependence  he  built  a  large  flat  boat  upon  which  he  carried  over  one 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  his  family  and  goods  up  as  far  as  St.  Helens. 
From  St.  Helens  he  made  his  way  by  land  to  near  where  Roseburg 
stands. 

In  the  charming  Umpqua  Valley  he  again  very  soon  made  him 
self  a  comfortable  home,  which  he  enjoyed  for  sixteen  years. 

In  1869  his  health  began  to  fail,  and  hoping  that  sunny  California 
might  restore  his  usual  vigor,  he  went  to  Trinity  county  of  that  State. 
Unfortunately,  he  got  little  relief,  but  lingered  on  until  death  came  to 
give  his  restless  spirit  rest.  He  died  at  Piety  Hill,  California,  in  1873, 
July  23d.  His  faithful  wife  and  nine  children  remained  to  mourn  his 
loss.  Three  of  his  children,  who  crossed  the  plains  with  their  parents, 
have  been  well  and  honorably  known  in  Oregon.  The  eldest,  Diana, 
already  referred  to  as  the  first  Mrs.  John  Hobson,  in  her  girlhood,  was 
justly  styled  "the  beauty  of  the  Plains;''  second,  Mrs.  Dr.  Owens- 
Adair,  who  is  still  highly  esteemed  by  a  host  of  friends  throughout  our 
State;  and  third,  the  late  Hon.  W.  F.  Owens,  of  Roseburg, 

How  wonderful  and  mysterious  are  the  workings  of  providence. 
The  defeat  of  Charles,  called  the  Pretender,  of  England,  at  Culloden, 
caused  one  of  his  followers,  Sir  Thomas  Owens,  to  take  refuge  with 
his  family  in  America,  and  so  make  it  possible  for  his  great  grandson, 
our  pioneer,  lo  lay  down  his  life  in  our  far-away  Western  land 
Peace  to  his  ashes. 


GENERAL  JOHN  ADAIR. 


ONE  OF  OUR  PIONEERS  WHO    CAME   TO    OREGON,  NOT    BY    THE  "PLAINS 

ACROSS."  BUT   BY    WAY    OF    PANAMA    AND 

THE    OCEAN    ROUTE. 


General  John  Adair,  was  born  in  Mercer  county,  Kentucky,  Au 
gust  8,  1808.  His  parents  were  natives  of  South  Carolina,  and  among 
the  earliest  pioneers  from  that  State  to  Kentucky.  His  father,  John 
Adair,  was  Governor  of  Kentucky  as  early  as  1818,  and  before  his 
death  represented  that  commonwealth  in  both  the  Senate  and  Congress 
ot  the  United  States. 

Mrs.  Catherine  Adair,  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  car 
ried  across  the  Cumberland  Mountains  the  first  white  baby  seen  in 
Kentucky.  General  Adair  inherited  a  pioneer's  nature  and  spirit,  and 
early  in  life  determined  to  go  West.  Although  imbued  from  childhood 
with  Southern  ideas,  and,  although  inheriting  democratic  principles, 
he  was  not  long  a  man  until  he  grew  tired  of  slavery,  and  in  1844  ^e" 
termined  to  remove  to  a  free  State.  To  make  this  move,  he  Freed  his 
negroes,  and  even  took  them  with  his  family  to  Indiana,  locating  near 
Terre  Haute,  on  the  Wabash  River.  At  their  home  on  the  Wabash 
General  and  Mrs.  Adair  lost  three  children  which  caused  them  to  seek 
a  more  healthy  region. 

In  1848  President  Polk  appointed  General  Adair  Collector  of  Cus 
toms  of  the  port  of  Astoria,  Oregon.  This  occurred  before  the  dis 
covery  of  gold  in  California  was  known  in  the  Atlantic  States. 
December  iSth,  1848,  General  Adair,  wife  and  six  children,  left  New 
Orleans  in  the  old  steamer  Falcon,  bound  for  Oregon,  via  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  The  Falcon  was  the  pioneer  steamer  of  the  since  widely 
known  Pacific  Mail  Si.eamsh.ip  Company's  line  of  steamers.  The 
Falcon  left  New  York  before  news  of  the  gold  discovery  was  known, 


GENERAL  JOHN  ADAIE.  99 

and  therefore  had  few  passengers  from  that  city  ;  but  before  she  sailed 
from  New  Orleans,  the  news  of  gold  had  spread  through  the  land,  and 
men  literally  crowded  on  board  the  old  steamer  up  to  the  last  moment 
of  her  leaving  New  Orleans  levee.  Among  the  passengers  were  Gen 
eral  Persifer  F.  Smith  and  staff,  our  General  E.  R.  S.  Canby  being 
one  of  the  latter. 

The  Falcon  landed  her  passengers  at  the  little  town  of  Chagres' 
from  which  point  they  had  to  make  their  way  by  canoes  and  "mule 
back  "  to  Panama.  To  make  this  journey  across  the  Isthmus  partic 
ularly  difficult  and  dangerous,  the  trails  were  almost  impassable,  and 
very  soon  after  this  first  lot  of  about  six  hundred  Americans  landed 
on  the  Isthmus,  the  cholera  broke  out  among  them.  While  getting 
up  the  Chagres  River,  under  a  broiling  sun  in  a  canoe,  Mrs.  Adair 
had  to  nurse  her  youngest  child  through  the  cholera.  We  know  that 
the  early  pioneers  to  Oregon,  "  across  the  Plains,"  suffered  many  griev 
ous  hardships,  and  all  those  who  came  by  way  of  Panama,  in  the  days 
before  the  existence  of  the  Panama  Railroad,  will  also  remember  that 
the  Isthmus  route  had  its  dangers  and  hardships ;  and  especially  did 
the  passengers  coming  by  the  pioneer  steamers  Falcon  and  old  Califor 
nia  suffer  in  many  ways,  while  making  their  slow  and  weary  journey 
from  Chagres  to  Panama,  where  they  had  to  wait  for  the  California  to 
take  them  on  to  San  Francisco.  During  the  waiting,  the  old  city  of 
Panama  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  Americans,  who  were  wild  to 
get  on  to  the  gold  mines,  but  many  of  this  eager  crowd  yielded  up 
their  lives  to  cholera  before  getting  beyond  Panama.  At  last,  after 
nearly  two  months  of  weary  and  expensive  waiting,  the  steamship 
California  reached  Panama,  and  General  Adair,  with  great  difficulty, 
was  able  to  get  his  family  on  board  for  San  Francisco.  Tickets  for 
the  voyage  were  re-sold  for  as  much  as  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  This 
pioneer  steamship  reached  San  Francisco  February  28th,  1849,  having 
been  twenty-nine  days  from  Panama,  out  of  fuel  twice,  on  fire  twice, 
and  little  to  eat  any  part  of  the  time  for  the  immense  load  of  passen 
gers. 

Arriving  in  the  Golden  City,  General  Adair  found  every  body 
going,  or  wanting  to  go,  to  the  gold  mines.  Many  of  his  friends 
strongly  urged  the  general  to  remain  in  San  Francisco,  and  report 


100  GENERAL  JOHN  AD  AIR. 

back  to  Washington  that  a  Collector  of  Customs  was  vastly  more 
needed  there  than  such  an  officer  could  be  needed  at  Astoria;  but  the 
general  felt  that  it  was  clearly  his  duty  to  push  on  to  his  original  des 
tination  ;  and  therefore  at  once  set  about  finding  the  best  means  of  get 
ting  to  the  Columbia  River.  After  trying  various  vessels,  he  fortu 
nately  met  Captain  Nathaniel  Crosfty  (an  early  Portlander),  who  was 
going  to  Oregon  with  the  little  brig  Valadora.  The  Valadora  dropped 
anchor  in  front  of  Astoria  on  the  evening  of  April  3d,  1849,  having 
General  Adair  and  family  with  a  number  of  returning  gold  seekers  as 
passengers.  The  little  vessel  had  been  twenty-eight  days  making  the 
trip,  and  her  passengers  were  indeed  thankful  to  get  safely  on  shore 
having  served  for  twenty-four  days  their  "  turns  at  the  pumps,"  in 
order  to  keep  the  Valadora  afloat. 

General  Adair  was  made  welcome  to  his  new  home  by  the  few 
white  people  then  living  in  Astoria,  and  during  the  summer  of  1849 
got  his  family  into  the  house  which  they  have  occupied  until  this  day. 

Having  so  persistently  pushed  his  way  to  his  far  western  post  of 
duty,  General  Adair's  services  were  so  well  appreciated  by  the  authori 
ties  at  Washington  City,  that  he  was  continued  in  office  through 
the  administrations  of  presidents  Polk,  Taylor,  Pierce  and  Buchanan, 
as  Collector  of  U.  S.  Customs  at  Astoria.  During  this  long  term  of 
service  General  Adair  was  a  leading  and  positive  democrat,  yet  no 
efforts  of  his  political  opponents  were  sufficient  to  obtain  the  removal 
of  the  Astoria  collector,  and  he  only  returned  to  civil  life  at  the  expir 
ation  of  his  official  term  under  President  Buchanan. 

Since  1861  General  Adair  has  continued  to  live  in  his  Astoria 
home,  upon  his  donation  land  claim,  enjoying  the  society  of  his  best 
and  noblest  wife,  with  children  and  grandchildren  in  dozens  around 
him. 

Although  over  twelve  years  a  public  officer,  he  quit  office  a  poor 
man,  and  for  all  the  goods  of  his  declining  years,  he  is  indebted  solely 
to  the  joint  energies  of  himself,  wife  and  children. 

General  and  Mrs.  Adair,  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  several 
vears  ago  and  from  present  appearances  may  live  to  see  some  of  their 
eight  living  children  celebrate  a  similar  event.  ^ 


GENERAL  JOHN  ADAIK.  101 

Many  of  the  Pioneer's  of  Oregon  and  California,  especially  those 
who  came  by  sea,  will  remember  the  hospitable  home  of  General  Adair, 
and  learn  with  pleasure  that  the  old  General  is  still  there,  with  Mrs. 
Adair  who  is  to-day  the  same  cheerful,  model  Christian  wife  and 
mother  as  she  was  when  they  knew  her  in  the  days  of  long  ago. 


DANIEL  LINDLEY  RIGGS, 


Mr.  Riggs  was  a  pioneer  of  1853.  He  was  born  in  Baskingridge,  New 
Jersey,  June  n,  1815,  and  descended  from  Sergeant  Edward  Riggs,  who  be 
longed  to  one  of  the  thirty  families — of  all  whom,  save  two,  were  of  strictly 
Puritan  stock,  from  England — who  moved  from  Branford,  Connecticut,  to 
New  Jersey,  in  1644,  and  founded  New  Work,  now  the  city  of  Newark. 
Edward  Riggs  was  one  of  the  builders  and  strong  supporters  of  the  first  church 
in  that  city — the  First  Congregational,  now  the  First  Presbyterian — of  which, 
from  1736  to  1755,  Rev.  Aaron  Burr  was  the  distinguished  pastor.  This  is 
the  oldest  fully  organized  church  of  any  denomination  within  the  state  of  New 
Jersey.  The  character  of  the  thirty  families,  above  referred  to,  is  thus  spoken 
of  by  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D.,  in  a  historical  discourse  delivered  in 
Newark,  in  1851  : 

"The  settlers  of  Newark,  were  an  eminently  industrious,  enterprising, 
public-spirited  race ;  firm,  without  bigotry  ;  gentle  and  affectionate,  without 
weakness ;  very  kind  and  loving  people ;  and  yet  bold  defenders  of  their, 
rights.  *  *  All  traces  of  them  that  remain  show  that  they  were  men  who 
united  strong  practical  common  sense  with  the  purest  morals  and  devoted 
piety." 

These  traits  were  well  exemplified  in  the  life  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
as  all  who  knew  him  can  abundantly  testify. 

Mr.  Riggs  lived  in  New  Jersey  until  1837,  learning  the  trade  of  a  carriage 
blacksmith  in  the  meantime.  His  aptitude  for  mechanics  was  evinced  by  his 
building  a  small  toy  steam  engine,  and  putting  it  in  a  perfect  running  order, 
before  he  was  out  of  his  time  as  an  apprentice.  In  1836  he  married  Miss 
Sarah  W.  Edwards,  of  Newark,  and  removed  to  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
in  1837,  the  great  panic  of  that  year,  which  proved  fatal  to  so  many  business 
men,  throwing  him  out  of  employment.  After  remaining  in  New  Haven 
about  two  years,  working  as  a  journeyman,  he  set  up  business  for  himself  in 
East  Haven,  and  conducted  it  successfully  until  April,  1853,  when  he  was 
prevailed  on,  by  friends,  to  come  to  Oregon.  Here  he  remained  for  two 
years.  During  that  time,  he  erected  what  is  believed  to  be  the  first  steam 
flouring  mill  in  Willamette  valley,  if  not  in  the  State.  In  1855  he  returned  to 


DANIEL  LINDLEY  RIGGS.  103 

Connecticut,  and  in  1858  returned  to  Oregon,  bringing  his  family  with  him, 
consisting  of  wife  and  four  children,  Frances  E.,  Theodore  L.,  Sarah  O.,  and 
Anna  F.,  now  the  wife  of  Geo.  H.  Himes,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased 
save  the  last  named.  He  buried  three  children  in  Connecticut.  He  found  a 
location  at  Eola,  Polk  county,  where  he  conducted  a  machine  and  repair  shop 
until  1866,  when  he  removed  to  Salem.  He  continued  the  same  business 
until  his  death  in  1883. 

Mr.  Riggs  was  a  most  ingenious  man,  and  worked  out  of  an  exceedingly 
fertile  brain  many  inventions  which  are  now  widely  used,  but  he  never  had 
the  faculty  of  turning  them  to  any  practical  account  for  himself. 

For  many  years  he  burned  with  a  desire  to  hear  the  old  Liberty  bell,  in 
Philadelphia,  peal  forth  once  more  its  joyful  notes ;  and  inspired  with  that 
idea,  he  invented  and  patented  a  process  whereby  this  might  be  done,  without 
injuring  its  tone,  and,  at  his  own  expense,  made  a  trip  to  Philadelphia  in 
1876,  to  make  the  attempt,  having  demonstrated,  beyond  question,  his  ability 
to  do  all  he  claimed.  In  this  move  he  had  the  warm  support  of  Gen.  J.  R. 
Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  and  many  other  prominent  men,  but  the  city  author 
ities,  who  had  the  custody  of  the  bell,  would  not  permit  the  repair  to  be 
made,  claiming  that  it  had  fulfilled  its  mission. 

Mr.  Riggs  was  one  of  the  oldest  Odd  Fellows  in  this  State,  having  joined 
the  order  in  1837,  or  1838,  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  connecting  himself 
with  either  the  second  or  third  lodge  instituted  in  America. 

In  all  the  walks  of  life  Mr.  Riggs  was  a  kind,  helpful,  sympathetic  neigh 
bor,  a  firm  and  devoted  friend,  a  consistent  Christian,  and  an  earnest  public- 
spirited  citizen. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS, 


A  meeting  of  the  board  was  held  in  the  Pioneer  room, 
State  House,  Salem,  January  18th  and  39th.  There  were 
present  M.  Wilkins,  President;  Geo.  H.  Himes,  Secretary  ; 
J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer  ;  and  Joseph  "Watt  and  F.  X.  Mat- 
thieu.  Absent — J.  "W.  Grim,  Yice  President,  and  Clark 
Hay. 

A  resolution  was  passed  authorizing  the  Secretary  to 
canvass  for  funds  for  the  Association  among  those  in  Port 
land  who  are  eligible  to  membership  by  reason  of  their 
having  settled  in  Oregon  prior  to  1855. 

A  resolution  was  passed  memorializing  the  legislature 
to  appropriate  funds  to  erect  a  suitable  monument  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  Dr.  John  McLoughiin,  of  Oregon 
City,  and  to  place  it  in  the  State  House. 

A.  resolution  of  thanks  to  the  legislature  for  setting 
apart,  for  the  special  use  of  the  Association,  a  room  in  the 
State  House,  for  the  reception  of  its  relics  and  documents, 
was  unanimously  passed,  and  the  room  was  placed  in  the 
custody  of  Hon.  K.  P.  Earhart,  during  his  pleasure. 

The  report  of  J.  M.  Bacon,  Treasurer,  was  read.  It 
showed  an  indebtedness  against  the  Association  of  about 
ninety  dollars,  without  taking  into  account  funds  necessary 
to  publish  transactions  of  the  Annual  Reunion  of  1886. 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS.  105 

After  considerable  discussion,  Portland  was  chosen  as  the 
place  at  which  the  annual  reunion  for  1887  should  be  held. 
Jos.  "Watt,  Hon.  D.  F.  Thompson,  Frank  Dekum,  C.  W. 
Knowles,  Clark  Hay  and  George  H.  Himes,  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  of  arrangements,  with  power  to  add 
to  their  number,  and  appoint  sub-committees.  Col.  John 
McCraken  was  chosen  grand  marshal,  with  power  to  se 
lect  his  own  aids. 

Jepthah  Garrison,  of  Yamhill  county,  and  D.  J.  Slover, 
of  Clackamas  county,  were  elected  standard  bearers. 

Rev.  J.  L.  Farrish,  of  Salem,  was  chosen  chaplain.  Rev. 
I.  D.  Driver  was  elected  to  deliver  the  annual  address,  and 
Hon.  George  L.  Woods,  the  occasional  address,  conditioned 
upon  their  acceptance. 

A  request  was  made  unanimously  that  Hon.  Willard 
H.  Rees,  of  Butteville,  prepare  biographical  sketches  of 
deceased  pioneers,  among  them  Hons.  J.  W.  Nesmith,  G. 
L.  Curry,  Geo.  Abernethy,  A.  C.  Gibbs,  Absalom  Hem- 
bree,  John  H.  Couch  and  others,  for  publication  with  the 
Transactions  of  1886. 

The  question  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  Association  was 
discussed  at  length.  After  due  consideration,  inasmuch  as 
all  expenses  ot  the  organization  since  its  existence  up  to 
this  time — a  period  of  more  than  fifteen  years — amounting 
to  some  thousands  of  dollars,  had  been  derived  from  mem 
bership  dues  and  individual  subscriptions,  it  was  thought 
best  to  petition  the  legislature  for  relief.  Accordingly, 
Hon.  R.  F.  Earhart  was  appointed  a  committee  of  one  to 
attend  to  this  matter. 


106  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 

The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  find  out  how  many 
complete  sets  of  the  Transactions  could  be  obtained,  and 
then  have  them  suitably  bound  and  exposed  for  sale  at  the 
coming  Reunion.  By  this  means  it  was  thought  a  con 
siderable  sum  might  be  derived  for  the  Association. 

No  further  business    appearing,  the  Board,  on  motion, 

adjourned. 

GEO.  H.  HIMES, 

Secretary. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  COMMITTEE  OF  ARRANGEMENTS. 


On  Friday  evening,  February  18th,  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements,  authorized  as  above,  met  at  the  parlors  of 
the  Commercial  National  Bank,  with  Joseph  Watt,  Chair 
man,  presiding,  and  every  member  present. 

Geo.  II.  Himes,  Secretary,  announced  that  Rev.  I,  D. 
Driver  had  consented  to  deliver  the  annual  address,  but  that 
Hon.  George  L.  Woods  declined  to  make  the  occasional  ad 
dress,  owing  to  professional  duties.  Whereupon,  on  motion 
of  D.  P.  Thompson,  Hon.  Geo.  B.  Carrey,  of  Ashland,  was 
selected  to  fill  that  place,  and  the  Secretary  instructed  to 
correspond  with  him. 

Mrs.  Theo.  Wygant,  Mrs.  R.  B.  Wilson,  Mrs.  W.  M. 
Molson,  and  Mrs.  Matthew  P.  Deady  were  added  to  the 
committee. 

After  an  estimate  as  to  expenses  was  made,  Clark  Hay 
and  Geo.  H.  Himes  were  authorized  to  solicit  sufficient 
funds  to  defray  them. 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS.  107 

D.  P.  Thompson  was  appointed  a  committee  to  arrange 
for  a  reduction  of  fares  by  the  transportation  companies 
centering  in  Portland. 

Win.  Kapus  was  selected  as  a  committee  to  arrange  for 
music,  and  generally  to  manage  all  plans  as  to  the  hall, 
decorations,  ball,  etc. 

Arrangements  were  perfected  whereby  the  exercises  of 
the  day  and  evening  will  be  held  in .  the  Mechanics'  Pa 
vilion. 

Frank  Dekum  was  appointed  Chairman  of  the  Commit 
tee  on  account  of  the  contemplated  absence  of  Mr.  Watt 
from  future  meetings. 

The  matter  of  a  monument  for  Dr.  McLoughlin  was 
discussed  at  length  and  the  idea  given  up,  as  it  was  not 
deemed  feasible.  Instead  thereof,  the  subject  of  a  life- 
size  oil  portrait  was  considered,  and  after  discussion  it  was 
unanimously  voted  that,  as  there  was  an  excellent  artist 
now  in  the  State,  Hon.  D.  P.  Thompson  be  appointed  a 
committee  to  engage  his  services  therefor,  and  to  arrange 
for  the  speedy  prosecution  of  the  work,  with  a  view  of  the 
portrait  being  placed  on  exhibition  at  the  coining  Reunion, 
and  afterwards  hung  in  an  appropriate  position  in  the 
Senate  Chamber  in  the  State  House  at  Salem,  and  thus  do 
honor  to  the  beloved  Doctor,  who,  more  than  any  other 
one  man,  was  a  benefactor  to  the  early  pioneers  of  Oregon. 

The  Secretary  reported  that  the  appropriation  of  $500 


108  BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS. 

by   the  legislature  for  the   relief  of  the    Association  had 
been  secured. 

No    farther   business    appearing,    the    Committee    ad 
journed  subject  to  the  call  of  the  Chairman. 

GEO.  H.  HIMES, 

Secretary. 


On  Wednesday  evening,  April  6th,  the  Committee  met 
at  Commercial  National  Bank,  with  Mr.  Dekum  in  the 
chair.  Mr.  Himes  being  absent,  R.  P.  Earhart  was  ap 
pointed  Secretary,  pro  tern. 

1).  P.  Thompson,  from  the  special  or  sub-committee  on 
transportation,  reported  that  the  Oregonian  Hallway  Co., 
and  the  O.  &  C.  R.  R.,  agreed  to  carry  the  Pioneers  and 
their  families  to  the  Reunion  in  this  city,  and  return,  at 
reduced  rates,  on  Secretary's  certificate. 

He  also  further  reports  from  sub-committee  on  portrait 
of  Dr.  McLoughlin,  that  he  had  collected  from  the  Mc- 
Loughlin  family,  Mr.  Buchtel  and  others,  such  photo 
graphs  and  daguerreotypes  of  the  Doctor  as  he  was  able  to 
find,  and  had  submitted  the  same  to  Mr.  Cogswell,  who, 
making  a  selection  therefrom,  had  the  same  enlarged  for 
his  use;  and  that  Mr.  Coggswell  agreed  to  paint  a  three- 
quarter  life  size  portrait,  therefrom,  for  $450.00. 

The  action  of  Mr.  Thompson  was  approved. 

Mr.  Kapus,  from  Committee  on  Music,  reported  the  offer 
of  the  Fourteenth  U.  S.  Infantry  Band,  to  furnish  music 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS.  109 

to  the  Reunion,  during  the  day  and  evening,  for  $200.00. 

The  action^of  Mr.  Kapus  was  approved^  and  he  was  di 
rected  to  close  the  engagement  with  said  band,  on  the 
terms  mentioned. 

He,  also,  from  sub-committee  on  place  of  meeting,  re 
ported  that  they  had  secured  the  Mechanics'  Pavilion  for 
the  use  of  the  Society,  free  of  charge. 

On  motion,  it  was  declared  the  sense  of  this  committee, 
that  the  sum  ot  $50.00  of  the  funds  of  the  Association  be 
expended  to  procure  the  steel  engraving  of  the  late  Dr.  Mc- 
Loughlin  for  publication  in  the  Annual  Transactions. 

On  motion,  Chas.  H.  Dodd  and  Frank  Dekum  were  add 
ed  to  the  Committee  on  Finance,  with  power  to  add  such 
other  persons  to  the  committee  as  may  be  found  necessary. 

On  motion,  R.  P.  Earhart  was  added  to  the  General 
Committee. 

On  motion,  the  several  camps  of  the  Indian  War  Vet 
erans,  and  the  organizations  of  the  Native  Sons  of  Oregon, 
were  invited  to  participate  in  the  Reunion. 

Adjourned,  subject  to  the  call  of  the  Chairman. 

'  R.  P.  EARHART, 

Secretary  pro  tein. 


TREASURER'S  REPORT. 


To  the  President,  Officers  and  Members  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  : 

1886.  J.  M.  BACON,  Treasurer,  Dr. 

June  15,  To  cash  received  for  dues  and  membership $131  oo 

"      "     "      "    donations  Oregon  City 175  oo 

"      •'     "      "    proceeds  of  ball 30  oo 

"       "    dues  since  June  15 20  oo 

1887. 

Jan.  17,  To  cash  received  H.  W.  Corbett    5  oo 


OR. 

June  15,  By  amount  paid  for  work  as  per  bills $  25  oo 

Band 54  50 

"      "         "           "        "       Work 16  50 

"      "         "           "        "       Use  of  Park 2500 

"      "         "           "        "       Meat 15664 

"      "         "           "        "       Bread 775 

"      "         "           "        "       Blacksmith  work 10  oo 

"      "         "           "        "        Hauling 2  50 

"      "         "           "        "       Sundries,  Rope,  etc 693 

"      "         "           "        "        Salmon 2000 

Due  J.  M.  Bacon,  1885 18  81 

1887 

Jan.  17,  on  hand  to  balance 16  87 

$361  oo 

Cash  on  hand $15  87 


Respectfully  submitted, 


J.  M.  BACON, 

Treasurer. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


1874. 

Address  by  S.  F.  Chadwick ....; 15 

Constitution.... 3 

History   of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon  by  Hon.  J.  Quinn 

Thornton  43 

Remarks  by  Gov.  L.  F.  Grover 33 

1875. 

Address  by  Hon.  Matthew  P.  Deady 17 

Address  by  J.  W.  Nesmith 42 

Address  by  Geo.  P.  Holman 63 

Address  by  Geo.  L.  Curry 66 

Capt.  Leven  English 76 

Col.  J.  L.  Meek 79 

Song  ot  Pioneers,  S.  A.  Clarke 87 

1876. 

Address  by  R.  P.Boise 23 

Address  by  John  Minto 35 

"A  Day  with  the  Cow  Column,"  by  Jesse  Applegate 57 

Gov.  Geo.  Abernethy 68 

Joseph  C.  Avery 66 

Joseph  Cox 67 

"Oregon,"  poem  by  E.  Eberhard 53 

1877. 

Address  by  Elwood  Evans 13 

Address  by  Stephen  Staats 4ti 

Elkanah  Walker 6S 

George  William  Burnett 74 

John  D.  Crawford 66 

Register  of  Members 75 

"The  Oregon  Pioneer,"  poem  by  Frank  Henry 38 

William  Pugh 73 

1878. 

Address  by  William  Strong 13 

Address  by  J.  Quinn  Thornton ..  29 


2  GENERAL   INDEX. 

Edwin  N.  Cooke 87 

George  Law  Curry 78 

Isaac  N.  Gilbert 82 

John  S.  Zieber 84 

Richard  Hobson 94 

Richard  H.  Eakin 74 

Simeon  Smith 92 

Stephen  Tarbox 76 

William  Whitney 72 

1879. 

Address  by  W.  H.  Rees 18 

Address  by  Ralph  C.  Geer 32 

"  A  Recollection  of  the  Rogue  River  War,"  by  J.  W.  Nesmith 43 

Constitution 3 

Donald  Manson 56 

Morgan  L.  Savage 54 

Tyrus  Himes 49 

1880. 

Address  by  J.  W.  Nesmith 8 

Address  by  Rev.  G.  H.  Atkinson 28 

Copy  of  a  Document  found  among  the  Private  Papers  of  Dr.  John  Mc- 

Loughlin 46 

Ewing  Young 56 

G.  A.  Cone,  Sr 59 

Geo.  Laroque 61 

"The  Attack  at  the  Cascades,"  by  Robert  Williams 40 

1881. 

Address  by  Medorem  Crawford 9 

Address  by  W.  C.  Johnson 20 

A  Gallop  through  the  Willamette 56 

Gen.  Joseph  Lane 60 

Joseph  C.  Geer 70,73 

Journal  of  a  Voyage  from  Vancouver  to  York  Factory 38 

Medare  G.  Foisy 63 

Reminiscences  of  Fort  Vancouver 75 

1882. 

Address  by  Medorem  Crawford 5 

Address  by  James  K.  Kelly 7 

Address  by  F.  A.  Chenoweth 28 

Address  by  Mrs.  A.  S.  Dun  i  way 36 

Funeral  Oration  by  Gen.  Jos.  Lane 80 

George  Gay.' M 

Historical  Letter  by  J.  Q,uinn  Thornton 40 


GENEKAL   INDEX. 


1883. 

Address  by  J.  W.  Nesmith  ...............................................................................  6 

Address  by  W.  Lair  Hill  ....................................................................................  10 

Gen.  Edward  Hamilton  ....................................................................................  27 

Mrs.  Harriet  Hawn  ............................................................................................  30 

Southern  Oregon  Names  and  Events,  by  Matthew  P.  Deady  .......................  22 

1884. 

Address  by  H.  Y.  Thompson  .............................................................................  5 

Address  by  F.  O.  M'Cown  ................................................................................  17 

Letter  from  Dr.  Tolmie  .....................................................................................  25 

Mrs.  Mahala  Wilson  ...........................................................................................  38 

1885. 

Address  by  J.  T.  Apperson  .................................................................................  5 

Address  by  E.  L.  Eastham  .................................................................................  7 

Address  by  Geo.  H.  Williams  ...........................................................................  18 

Alfred  Hovendon  ..............................................................................................  36 

Henry  Warren  ..................  .....................................  ...........................................  36 

Jerome  Jackson  ..................................................................................................  35 

Ode  to  the  Pioneers,  by  S.  A.  Clarke..  ...............................................................  12 

1886. 

Address  by  John  Kelsay  .............................  .......................................................  8 

Address  by  M.  C.  George  ...........  .  ..........  .  .............................................................  16 

Alexander  John  McEwan  .................................  ;  ................................................  85 

Daniel  Lindley  Biggs  .........................................................................................  101 

Dr.  John  McLoughlin  ...............................  ........................................................  41 

Gen.  John  Adair  .....................  ..........................................  .  .................................  98 

Gov.  Geo.  Abernethy  ................................................................  .  ...........  .  .............  37 

Horace  Lyman  ...................................................................................................  66 

John  H.  Couch  ........................................................  ...........................................  59 

Michael  T.Simmons  .....  .  ....................................................................................  89 

Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Case  .............................................................................................  82 

Recollection  of  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  by  Joseph  Watt.....  ............................  24 

Samuel  A.  Moreland  .......................................  ..................................................  79 

Sketch  of  J.  W.  Nesmith  .............................  .'  ......................................................  28 

Sketch  of  Thomas  Owens  ...................................................................................  95 

Thomas  Jefferson  Biggs  ...................................................................................  94 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Abernethy,  Gov.  George,  22,  59,  1874; 

68, 1876 ;  27,  1877 ;  43, 1879 ;  37, 1886. 
Adair,  General  John,  20, 1878 ;  98,  1886. 
Ainsworth,  Jehn  C.,  21, 1878. 
Albatross,  the,  67, 1875. 
Alden,  Captain,  43, 1879. 
Allan,  George  T.,  38,  56, 1881. 
Ankeny,  Alexander  P., 9, 1875;  26, 1878. 
Applegate,  Jesse,  25,  61,1874;  29,  1877; 

28, 1879 ;  19, 1882. 

Apperson,  J.  T.,  5, 1883;  5, 1885;  3,  1886. 
Ardent  Spirits,  75, 1874. 
Armstrong,  Pleasant,  43, 1879;  10, 1880. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  10, 1886. 
Astoria,  19, 1878. 
Atkinson,  George  H.,  28, 1880. 
Avery,  J.  C.,  66, 1876;  58, 1877. 
Baker,  E.  D.,  34, 1875. 
Babcock,  J.  L.,  57,  58, 1874 ;  14, 1882. 
Bacon,  J.  M.,  10,  1874;  9,  1875;  3,  1881; 

3,1882;  3,1884;  3,1886. 
Bailey,  W.  J.,  15, 1882. 
Baughman,  Capt.,  25, 1878. 
Barlow,  51, 1877. 
Beers,  Alanson,  57,  77, 1874;  24, 1878;  18, 

1882. 

Bellique,  Pierre,  54, 1874. 
Benser,  Capt.,  39, 1879. 
Bennett,  Charles,  37, 1875;  24, 1878. 
Benton,  Charles  H.,  30, 1887 ;  13, 1886. 
Benton,  Thomas  H.,  opinion  of,  30, 

1877;  13,1886.     ' 
Riddle,  Nicholas,  53, 1875. 
Bill  for  Territorial  Government,  86, 

1874. 

Black  Hawk,  23, 1878. 
Blanchett,  F.  N.,  53,  1874;  24, 1879;  57, 

1881;  14,1882. 

Boise,  B.  P.,  15, 1875;  11,  23, 1876. 
Booth,  John  C.,  3, 1884. 
Bradford,  G.  E.,  26,  1878. 
Brents,  T.  H.,  3, 1884. 
Breyman,  Mrs.  Werner,  15, 1875. 


Briggs,  3, 1884. 

Brown,  Mrs.  Tabitha,  36, 1880. 

Brown,  J.  Henry,  2, 14,  1875;  36, 1879. 

Burke,  22, 1885. 

Burns,  Hugh,  57, 1875. 

Burnett,  George  William,  74, 1877. 

Burnett,  Peter  H.,  68,  1874;  36,  46,  1875  ; 

19,1880;  19,1882. 

Bush,  George  W.,  38, 1876 ;  90, 1886. 
Calapooiah,  steamer,  52, 1877. 
Campbell,  A.,  57, 1874;  25,  1875 :  24,  1878. 
Cassidy,  Capt.,  25, 1878. 
Cannon,  William,  54,  1874  ;  43,  1876  ;  24, 

1879. 

Cannon,  John,  10, 1880. 
Carson,  Uncle  Davy,  52, 1877. 
Carter,  Andrew,  43,  1876. 
Carey,  Geo.  B.,  1, 1886. 
Case,  Mrs,  Sarah  A.,  82, 1886. 
Catlin,  John,  3, 1881. 
Cayuse  War,  15, 1878. 
Chadwick,  S.  F.,  8, 15, 1874 ;  3,  14, 1875. 
Chamberlain,  77. 1874;  56, 1875. 
Champoeg,  61, 1874. 
Charlevon,  M.,  14, 1882. 
Chenamus,  brig,  33,  1875. 
Chenoweth,  F.  A..  26,  1878;  28,  1882. 
Clarke,  Harvey,  29, 1875 ;  22,  1877. 
Clarke,  8.  A.,  87, 1875 ;  7, 1876;  12, 1885. 
Cochrane,  Capt.,  25, 1878. 
Coburn,  Mrs.  C.  A.,  33,  1882. 
Constitution,  3,  1874 ;  3, 1879. 
Cooley,  Eli  C.,  7, 10, 1874;  67, 1876. 
Coombs,  Nathan,  33,  1875 ;  18, 1881. 
Cook,  Amos,  50, 1874;  15,  1881. 
Cook,  Aaron,  12, 1880. 
Cooke,  E.  N.,  10,  42,  1874;  5, 14,  1875;  3 

1876 ;  87, 1878. 
Coe,  Lawrence,  26, 1878. 
Cornelius,  T.  B.,  16, 1875. 
Couch,  John  H.,  33, 1875 ;  59,  1886. 
Cornelius,  B.,  37, 1876. 
Cox,  Joseph,  67, 1876 ;  40, 1879. 


6 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Cone,  G.  A.,  sr.,  59, 1880. 

Crawford,  Medorem,  3, 1876;  4, 15, 1880 ; 

3,  9, 1881 ;  5, 1882 ;  3,  40, 1886. 
Crawford,  John  D.,  66, 1877. 
Crawford,  David,  92, 1886. 
Curry,  George  L.,  66,  1875;  29,  1876;  78, 

1878. 

Currey,  Geo.  B.,  106,  1886. 
Davidson,  A.  F.,  9, 1874. 
Davidson,  T.  L.,  3, 1881. 
Davis,  Geo.,  10, 1880. 
Deady,  Judge  Matthew  P.,  8,  11,   17, 

1875;  11,  29,  1876;  22,  1883;  27,  1884. 
Degie,  Philip,  23, 1879. 
Deaths,  13, 1876. 
Debate  in  Congress,  (Corwin,  Davis, 

Foote,  Benton)  90, 1874;  45,  69,  1875. 
De  Meers,  Modeste,  29, 1875. 
De  Soar,  56,  1875. 
De  Smet,  14, 1880. 

Dickinson  and  Benton,  68,  69, 1875. 
Dimick,  G.  W.,  10, 1874;  40, 1879. 
Donpriere,  53, 1874 ;  14, 1882. 
Dougherty,  35, 1875. 
Douglas,  Sir  James,  46, 1874 ;  92, 1886. 
Douglas,  Wm.  P.,  18, 1882. 
Durbin,  John,  57, 1877. 
Duniway,  Mrs.  A.  S.,  33,  1881 ;  28, 1882. 
Dupra,  Francis,  24,  1S79. 
Eakin,  Richard  H.,  74, 1878. 
Earhart,  R.  P.,  3, 1885 ;  6, 1886. 
Eastham,  E.  L.,  7, 1885. 
Ebbert,  George  Ward,*23, 1880. 
Edwards,  P.  L.,  50, 1880 ;  31, 1884. 
Eells,  Cushing,   28,  1875;   26,  1876;   10, 

1882. 

Elgins,  22,  1884. 
Enterprise,  steamer,  25, 1S78. 
Ermatinger,  44, 1874;  22, 1877. 
Evans,  Elwood,  13,  1877. 
Everman,  Ninian,  92,  1886. 
Fackler,  Priest,  40, 1879. 
Fackler,  St.  M.,  24, 1879. 
Ferguson,  Jesse,  92, 1886. 
Fisher,  Ezra,  23, 1881. 
"  Fifty-four-  forty  or  Fight,"  74, 1874. 
Finlayson,  C.  T.,  23, 1884. 
Fleming,  John,  57,  1877. 
Fletcher,  Francis,  30,  1875. 
Foisy,  Medore  G.,  63, 1881 ;  19,  1882. 


Ford,  Colonel,  37,  1875;  40,  1876. 

Forrest,  John  M.,  50, 1877. 

Fort  Hall,  47,  1875. 

Free  Press,  72, 1875. 

French  Prairie,  settlers,  23, 1879. 

Frenchmen  in  Cayuse  War,  25,  1879. 

Frost,  Dan,  20, 1878. 

Garrison,  J.  M.,  73, 1874  ;  19, 1882. 

Gale,  Joseph,  65, 1874 ;  10, 1880. 

Gault,  47, 1875. 

Gay,  George,  11,  1874;   34,  56,  1875;  15, 

1881 ;  88, 1882. 
Gazelle,  steamer,  24, 1878. 
Geer,  Ralph  C.,  32, 1879. 
Geer,  Joseph  C.,  Sr.,  39, 1879;  70, 1881. 
George,  M.  C.,  28,  1881;  4, 16,  1886. 
Gervais,  John,  54,  1874;  34, 1875;  24, 1879. 
Ghelston,  Roland,  82,  1874. 
Gibson,  Capt.,  25,  1878. 
Gilbert,  Mrs.  I.  N.,  16, 1875. 
Gilbert,  Isaac  N.,  82,  1878. 
Gilliam,  General,  39,  187(i. 
Gilmore,  Matthias,  68, 1874 ;  19, 1882. 
Grant,  Capt.,  47,  1875. 
Gray,  Dr.,  23, 1878. 
Gray,  Capt.  Robert,  31,  1874;  19,  1875; 

8, 1886. 
Gray,  W.  H.,  57,  60,  64, 1874 ;  28,  31,  1875; 

30,  1877;  15,  1882;  25,  1884. 
Green,  Jacob,  10, 1880. 
Griffin,  J.  S.?  29, 1875;  6,  1880. 
Grim,  J.  W.,  36,  1879;  3, 1882;  3, 1884;  3, 

1886. 

Griswold,  42, 1880. 
Grovcr,  L.  F.,  9,  33,  1871 ;  5,  1875. 
Hagood,  22, 1884. 
Halsey,  67, 1875. 
Hamilton,  E.,  16,  1878;  27,  1883. 
Harding,  B.  F.,  28, 1876. 
Hastings,  L.  W.,  59,  1874;  33,1875;   13, 

18, 1881. 

Hathaway,  J.  S.,  19, 1878. 
Haun,  40, 1879. 

Hawn,  Mrs.  Harriet,  30, 1883. 
Headrick,  "Uncle."  40, 1879. 
Hedges,  A.  F.,  24, 1878. 
Hembree,  77, 1874. 
Henry,  Francis,  21, 1877. 
Herren,  W.  J.,  8,  10,  1874;  14, 1875. 
Hill,  W.  Lair,  32,  1881 ;  18,  1882. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Hill,  David,  68,  1874 ,  30,  1877;  19, 1882. 

Himes,  Tyrus,  49,  1879. 

Himes,  Geo.  H.,  5, 104, 1886. 

Hines,  Gustavus,  52,  56,  57,  1874;   25, 
1875 ;  14,  1881 ;  23,  18S4. 

History  of  Provisional  Government, 
43,  1874. 

Hobson,  Richard,  94, 1878. 

Hobson,  John,  96,  1886. 

Holbrook,  Amory,  25, 1878, 

Holman,  George  P.,  8,  36, 1875. 

Holmes,  H.  N.  V.,  30,  1875. 

Hoosier,  steamer,  22, 1878. 

Hovendon,  Alfred,  36, 1885. 

Howison,  Lieutenant,  20,  30, 1877. 

Hoyt,  Richard,  23, 1878. 

Hoyt,  23, 1884. 

Hubbard,  Thomas  J.,  34, 1875. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  36,  45,  49, 1874 ; 
22,  30, 1877 ;  17,  1880  ;  8, 1882;  30,  1884. 

Hunter,  Ira,  19,  1884. 

Hunt,  John,  92, 1886. 

Immigration  of  1812,  18, 1881. 

Immigration  of  1843,  31,  187-5. 

Immigration  of  1844,  35, 1875. 

Immigration  of  1845,  35, 1875. 

Indefatigable,  The,  14, 1880. 

Independence,  31, 1878. 

Independent  Government,  59, 1874. 

"Independence  Rock,"  21, 1881. 

Iowa  Law,  35, 1875;  27, 1876. 

Jackson,  Jerome,  -35, 1885. 

Jamison,  Arthur,  24, 1878. 
James,  Clinton,  25,  23, 1878. 

"  Jefferson's  Manual,"  59, 1875. 
Jennings,  Colonel,  21,  1878. 
Johnson,  W.  C.,  20, 1881. 
Johnson,  William,  53,  1874;   57,  1875; 

14, 1882. 

Joint  Occupancy,  36, 1874. 
Johnson,  Hezekiah,  23, 1881. 
Jones,  Gabriel,  92, 1886. 
Judson,  J.  H.,  54, 1874;  25, 1875. 
Kamm,  Jacob,  21, 1878, 
Keizer,  Thomas  D.,  19, 1882. 
Keil,  William,  8, 1874. 
Kelly,  Hall  J.,  52, 1874;  22, 1875. 
Kelly,  Col.  James  K.,  25, 1878;  7, 1882. 
Kelsay,  Colonel  John,  4,  8, 1886. 
Kilbourne,  Ralph,  10, 1880. 


King,  William  M.,37,  1875;  29, 1876. 

Killin,  Benton,  23, 1884. 

Kindred,  David,  92,  1886. 

Kyle,  42,  1880. 

La  Bonte,  Louis,  24, 1879;  15,  1S81. 

Ladaroot,  Zania,  59, 1874. 

Laroque,  Geo.,  61, 1880. 

Lane,  Gen.  Jos.,  95,  1874;  27,  1877;  40, 

1879 ;  57,  61, 1881 ;  81.  1882 ;  15,  1886. 
Lausanne,  bark,  68, 1874. 
Lee,  Jason.  50,  52,  56,  57,  60,  1874;  37, 

1875;  50,  1880;  9,  14,  1882;  31,  1884;  9, 

1886. 

Lee,  Barton,  59, 1875 ;  19, 1882. 
Lee,  H.  A.  G.,  30,  1877  ;  19, 1882. 
Le  Breton,  G.  W.,  53,  1874;  14,  1882. 
Legislative  Committee,  71, 1874. 
Legislative  Districts,  74, 1874. 
Leslie,    David,   53,  1874;   25,  1875;   25, 

1877;  17,  1881. 

Lewis  and  Clarke,  20,  56, 1875 ;  9, 1886. 
Letter  of  Lieut.  Howison,  27, 1877. 
Letter  of  Gov.  Abernethy,  28, 1877. 
Le  Framboise,  57, 1881. 
Linn's  Bill,  33,  1875. 
Linn  City,  56, 1875. 
Linn,  Lewis  F.,  4-5,  1875;   12,  1882;  12, 

1886. 

Linvilles,  22, 1884. 
List  of  Dead  in  1843,  53,  1875. 
List  of  those  who  turned  off  to  Cali 
fornia  in  1843,  53, 1875. 
List  of  all  in  Oregon  in  1843,  54, 1875. 
List  of  Settlers  in  French  Prairie,  2i, 

1879. 

Littlejohn,  30,  1875 ;  22,  1877. 
Longtain,  Andrew,  24, 1879. 
Lownsdale,  77, 1874. 
Loouey,  77,  1874. 
Long,  J.  E.,  68,  1874. 
Loughborough,  John,  53, 1875. 
Lot  Whitcomb,  steamer,  21, 1878. 
Lovejoy,  A.  L.,  12,  1874;  33,  1875;  13,  21, 

1881. 

Luce,  56, 1875. 
Lucier,  Etienne,  21,  23,  1879 ;  48,  1880 . 

14, 1882. 

Luelling,  H.,  40, 1879. 
Lugur,  F.,  53, 1875. 
Lyman,  Horace,  66, 1886. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Magruder,  74, 1874. 
Manson,  Donald,  56, 1879. 
Maryland,  brig,  68,  1874. 
Mack,  Nathan  P.,  14, 1879. 
Massacre  at  Waiilatpu,  34, 1877. 
Matthieu,  F.  X.,  7, 10,  1874 ;  14,  33,  1875 ; 

22,  24, 1879;  12,  1881;  3,  1882;  3, 1884;  3, 

1886. 

Maxwell,  Dr.,  23, 1878. 
May  Dacre,  25, 1875. 
McAllister,  James,  92, 1886. 
McEwan,  Alexander  John,  85, 1886. 
McCown,  F.  O.,  17, 1874. 
McDowell,  Thomas,  42, 1880. 
McCarver,  M.  M.,  68, 1874 ;  19, 1882. 
McCarty,  William,  54, 1874. 
McClure,  73, 1874;  30, 1877;  20, 1882. 
McCraken,  7, 1875. 
McKay,  Dr.  William,  6. 1877. 
McLoughlin,  Dr.  John,  45,  51,  54,  1874; 

18, 1875;  32, 1877;  29,  62,  1879;  46,  1880; 

76, 1881 ;  26, 1882 ;  27, 1884 ;  24, 41,  89, 1886. 
McLoughlin,  Joseph,  15, 1881. 
McManus,  42, 1880. 
McRoy,  34, 1875. 
Meek,  Joseph  L.,  9,  11,  61,  1874 ;  30,  79, 

1875;  22,1877;  £3,1880. 
Meek,  Stephen,  50, 1877;  11, 1881. 
Merritt,  Matthew,  21, 1884. 
Methodist  Mission,  19,  50, 1880. 
Miller,  Mrs.  J.  T.,  15, 1875. 
Minto,  John,  26, 1874;  35, 1876. 
Modeste,  Captain  Bailie,  26, 1874. 
Moore,  Jackson,  53, 1875. 
Moore,  Robert,  53, 1874. 
Moore,  Michael,  92, 1886. 
Moores,  Mrs.  J.  H.,  16, 1875. 
Morrison,  R.  W.,  33,  1875;  39, 1876. 
Moss,  33, 1875. 
Mountain  Men,  52, 1874. 
Moreland,  Samuel  A.,  78, 1886. 
Mulkey,  Johnson,  40, 1879. 
Munger,  29, 1875. 
Moreland,  J.  C.,  23, 1884. 
Murray,  A.  S.,  23, 1878. 
Nesmith,  J.  W.,  11,  42,  45, 1875;  43, 1879; 

8, 1880 ;  25, 1881 ;  3, 1882;  3, 1884 ;  28, 1886. 
Newell,  Robert,  74,  77, 1874 ;  22, 1877 ;  24, 

1879;  15,1860;  19,1882. 
Nuttall  and  Townsend,  25, 1875;  31, 1884. 


Oaths  of  Office,  33, 1877. 

Odeneal,  T.  B.,  3, 1882. 

O'Neil,  James,  60, 1874;  15, 1881 ;  16, 1882. 

Opinion  of  Thomas  H.  Benton,  30, 1877. 

"  Oregana,"  67, 1875. 

Oregon,  steamer,  24, 1878. 

"  Oregon  Argonauts,"  31, 1875. 

Oregon  Pioneer,  38, 1877. 

Oregon  Spectator,  76,  1874. 

O.  S.  N.  Company,  25, 1878. 

Overton,  William,  57, 1875. 

Owens- Adair,  Mrs.  Dr.,  95, 1886. 

Owens,  Thomas,  95,  1886. 

Pacific  University,  27, 1876;  36, 1880. 

Parker,  Samuel,  31, 1884;  6, 1886. 

Parker,  David,  92,  1886. 

Palmer,  Joel,  8,  1874 ;  38, 1875 ;  55,  1877 ; 
34, 1879. 

Pambram,  P.  C.,  23, 1877. 

Parrish,  J.  L.,  9, 1874;  25,  1875;  14,  1882. 

Pearne,  Thos.  H.,  23, 1884. 

Pendleton,  Nathaniel,  21, 1874 ;  53, 1875; 
13,  1882. 

Petition  to  Congress  in  1839,  47, 1874 ; 
25, 1877. 

Petition  of  1840,  25,  1877. 

Perkins,  37, 1875. 

Peel,  Lieutenant,  26, 1874. 

"  Pilton,"  24,  1879. 

Pioneer  Day,  85, 1875. 

Pioneer  Lyceum,  27, 1879. 

Pioneer  of  Pacific,  39, 1875 ;  26, 1877. 

Population,  1841-46. 

Powell,  L.  J.,  29, 1880. 

Preamble  to  Constitution  of  Provi 
sional  Government,  66, 1874. 

Preamble  to  Organic  Law,  33, 1877. 

Provisional  Government,  32, 1877. 

Pugh,  William,  73, 1877. 

Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Co.,  28, 1875; 
27,1884. 

Raymond,  W.  W.,  17, 1881. 

Rector,  38, 1875. 

Reese,  William  H.,  7,  26, 1874;  18, 1879; 
3, 1882. 

Register  of  1877.  75, 1877. 

Regulating  Currency,  73, 1874. 

Rivet,  Francis,  23, 1879. 

Riggs,  Thomas  Jefferson,  92, 1886. 

Riggs,  Daniel  Lindley,  101, 1886. 


ALPHABETICAL   INDEX. 


Riggs,  Rufus  A.,  57, 1877. 

Rogers,  Cornelius,  17,  1881. 

Roll  of  1813,  49, 1875. 

Roll  of  1814,  40, 1876. 

Roberts,  23, 1884. 

Rooney,  Lawrence,  44, 1880. 

Ross,  John  E.,  43,  79. 

Ruckel,  J.  S.,  26, 1878. 

Russell,  Osborn,  69,  1874;  19, 1881. 

Savage,  Morgan  S.,  39,  51, 1879. 

Scott,  Harvey  W.,33, 1881. 

Scott,  L.  S.,  4,  1884. 

Sheridan,  Phil.,  44, 1880. 

Shark,  The,  20, 1877. 

Shively,  38, 1879. 

Shaw,  William,  39,  1876  ;  92, 1886. 

Shadden,  33,  1876;  18, 1881. 

Sha.w,  Aunt  Allie,  38, 1876. 

Shaw,  Thomas  C.,  16, 1875. 

Shepard,  Cyrus,  9, 1882. 

Shortess,  60, 1874. 

Simmons,  Michael  T.,  37,  39,  1876;  89, 
1886. 

Simpson,  Samuel  A..  60, 1877. 

Skinner,  Alonzo,  20, 1878. 

Slavery  in  Oregon,  69, 1874;  36, 1880. 

Smith,  A.  B.,  22,  1877. 

Smith,  F.  R.,  3,  1885. 

Smith,  A.  T.,  29, 1875. 

Smith,  Solomon',  25,  1875. 

Smith,  Miss  Maria,  16, 1875. 

Smith,  Greenbury,37,  1875. 

Smith,  Simeon,  92, 1878. 

Smith,  Jedediah,  47, 1880. 

Smith,  Sidney,  15, 1881. 

Smith,  J.  W.,  20, 1882. 

Spaulding,  H.  H.,  28,  1875;  10,  1882;  31, 
1884. 

Star  of  Oregon,  10,  1880. 

Staats,  Stephen,  46, 1877. 

Stephens,  37, 1875. 

Steptoe,  E.  J.,  44, 1880. 

Stewart,  Peter  Q.,  69, 1874 ;  19, 1882. 

Stott,  Raleigh,  28, 1881. 

Straight,  Hiram,  19, 1882. 

Strong,  William,  13,  1878. 

Sticcus,  Indian,  48, 1875. 

Subscription  for  Expenses  of  Govern 
ment,  34,  1877. 


/Success,  steamer,  25,  1878. 

Success,  bark,  22, 1878. 

Supply,  17,  1878. 

Switzler,  John,  42,  1880. 

Tarbox,  Stephen,  76, 1878. 

Taylor,  J.,  11, 1875. 

Terwilliger,  37, 1875. 

Thornton,  J.  Quinn,  43,  1874;  29,  1878; 

40, 1882. 
Thurston,  S.  R.,  42,  1879;  51,  1880;  37, 

1882;  15,  1886. 

Thompson,  H.  Y.,  5,  1884. 
Thompson,  D.  P.,  4, 1880 ;  105, 1886. 
Thompson,  R.  R.,  26, 1878. 
Thornton,  Selburn,92, 1886. 
Thorp,  Major,  40,  1876. 
Tonquin,  bark,  21, 1875. 
Torrence,  John,  23, 1878. 
Tolmie,  Dr.  W.  F.,  77,  1874 ;  38, 1881 ;  25, 

1884. 

Traveling  Nursery,  40,  1879. 
Treaty  of  1818,  37, 1874;  21, 1875. 
Turpin,  William,  40,  1879. 
T' Vault,  77, 1874  ;  47, 1877;  31, 1884. 
Valadora,  brig,  100,  1886. 
Victor,  Mrs.  F.  F.,  16, 1875. 
Wagon,  First,  22,  1877. 
Waite,  E.  M.,  16,  1875 ;  3, 1882 ;  3,  1884. 
Waldo,  Daniel,  36, 1875 ;  27,  1881. 
Waldrom,  Mrs.,  52, 1877. 
Walker,  E.,  28, 1875;  68, 1877;  31,  J884. 
Wallamet  Mission,  26, 1875. 
Waller,  A.  F.,  60,  1874;  25, 1875;  23, 1884. 
Warren,  Henry,  36, 1885. 
Washington  and  Columbia,  25, 1874. 
Washington,  steamer,  22,  1878. 
Wanch,  George,  92, 1886. 
Watt.Joseph,  10,  1874 ;  37, 1875 ;  18, 1876  i 

9,  1877 ;  4,  1878;  14, 1879  ;  3,  1&S1 ;  3, 1882; 

3,1884;  3,  24,1886. 
Watt,  Miss  Clara,  16,  1875. 
Waymire,  Fred,  27,  1876. 
Waymire,  John,  47,  1877. 
Welch,  John,  38, 1875. 
Wells,  William,  22,  1878. 
Whitcomb,  J.  L.,  24, 1877. 
Whitcomb,  Lot,  21,  1878. 
White,  Lem,  24, 1878. 
White,  S.  S.,  21,1878. 


10 


ALPHABETICAL  T.NDEX. 


White,  Elijah,  59, 1874 ;  10, 1881. 
Whitman,  Dr.  Marcus,  28, 1875 ;  35, 1877 ; 

15,  1878;  37,  1879;  22,  50,  1880  ;  14,  1881 ; 

9,  1882;  31,  1884. 
Whitney,  William,  72, 1878. 
Wilkes,  Commodore,  10, 1880 ;  14,  1882. 
Wilbur,  J .  H.,  15, 1875. 
Wilkins,  Caleb,  22, 1877. 
Willamette,  steamer,  24,  1878. 
Williams,  Richard,  22, 1878;  29,  1881. 
Williams,  George  H.,  19,  1885. 
Williams,  Robert,  44, 1880. 
Wilson,  A.  E.,  19, 1882. 


Willson,  W.  H.,  19,  1882. 

Woodcock,  Richard,  53, 1876. 

Woods,  Henry,  10,  1880. 

Woods,  George  L.,  29, 1881. 

Wolf  Meeting,  58,  1874;  45, 1875. 

Wyeth,  Nathaniel,  .50,  1874;  .50, 1880. 

York,  J.  S.,  22, 1884. 

Young,  Ewing,  52, 1874 ;  27, 1875 ;  56, 1880. 

Young,  A.  J.,  22,  1884. 

Young,  L.  W.,  22,  1884. 

Zieber,  Al.,  3, 1882. 

Zieber,  .John  Shunk,  81,  187S. 


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